FORT COLLINS — Tim Miles looks to quicken the pace for his fifth edition at Colorado State. To do so, he’s counting on junior forwards Pierce Hornung and Greg Smith.
The duo have done everything demanded by Miles in practice the past two weeks to speed things up. Neither is being asked to replace all-Mountain West center Andy Ogide, a senior a year ago. Yet both players, matched with a veteran three-man guard rotation, could make this the quickest version of CSU basketball in memory.
“It’s going to be a little bit of a different look, but we have to adjust and play to our strength,” said the 6-foot-5 Hornung. “We’re going to be running and gunning a lot more. I’m not going to be the traditional big man.”
The tallest player in the probable starting lineup, the 6-7, 220-pound Smith has had his weight room efforts pay off by adding 20 pounds since last season, but he’ll be at a major height disadvantage if matched against traditional post players.
As much as everyone admired Ogide, Smith said: “Without Andy, it’s going to be a lot quicker. We’re not going to be posting up as much. We’re not going to be a slow pace like last year.”
Smith said a season ago he was pushed around, which is why he felt it necessary to add weight.
“I knew that this year, with us not having much size, I’d also have to play lower. I needed to take those bumps. When I drive, I have to be able to take bumps better and get to the free-throw line.”
Hornung earned the Mountain West’s sixth-man honor last season. The junior from Ralston Valley moves into the starting lineup after two years as a defensive specialist. This season, he needs to help CSU create a quicker pace and add more offense.
“Pierce is good. His mentality has changed. He’s starting to look for himself more,” Smith said. “He makes plays we really need him to make. We’re guarding the post well in practice.”
Hornung, who averaged 4.3 points and 4.6 rebounds while blocking 17 shots, is ticketed for the power forward spot but will be used anywhere on the front line.
“Starting is not a big deal to me,” Hornung said. “I’d much rather be in at the end of the game than at the beginning.”
The sooner the Rams answer the “life after Ogide” question, the sooner they can move on. “Andy is a loss, but we have a bunch of good players,” Hornung said. “It’s going to be a little bit of a different look, but we have to adjust and play to our strength.”
If CSU needs to go big in the middle, Miles has redshirt freshmen Trevor Miles and Chad Calcaterra, at 7-0 and 6-10, respectively, to call upon. Also, Will Bell, a senior backup to Ogide last year, can come off the bench. Bell is coming off his second knee operation.
“The mark of a program in my eyes is if you lose a big senior class like we did, those guys that had subservient roles must progress and move forward,” Miles said. “I think we’re seeing that out of Pierce. I think we’re seeing that out of Greg.”
Through mid-February a season ago, CSU was viewed as a potential NCAA Tournament team. The Rams then slumped to the finish line. There were injuries in the backcourt, but Miles had trouble finding other reasons for the slump. He concluded that the Rams became too dependent on too much of a good thing: feeding the ball to Ogide. In the process, they stopped moving the ball like they had during a strong start.
Miles is emphasizing better ball movement and getting the offense to play quicker when they have a smaller lineup on the floor.
“It is hard to play that way for 40 minutes, especially when you are short in numbers,” Miles said. “You have to play in a variety of ways. The design is to try to get on the attack more often.”
Natalie Meisler: 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
Time to step up
Colorado State forwards Greg Smith and Pierce Hornung will be counted on much more this season. A look at their career statistics:
GREG SMITH
Class Gms./Starts Pts. Reb.
Freshman 2 8/0 7.1 3.8
Sophomore 2 8/12 6.3 3.3
PIERCE HORNUNG
Class Gms./Starts Pts. Reb.
Freshman 3 2/10 2.6 4.2
Sophomore 3 2/0 4.3 4.6
