BOULDER — After Colorado won 24 games in a transition season, coach Tad Boyle can’t wait for the next transition. He’s merely transitioning in the highest-rated recruiting class in school history.
“I’m really happy where the program is,” Boyle said Friday, “but probably more important now is where it’s going in the future.”
The nation’s No. 22 recruiting class, according to , did not disappoint as seniors. Chris Jenkins, a 6-foot-7 swing man from Detroit’s University of Detroit Jesuit High School, made first-team all-state while averaging 20.6 points and 8.9 rebounds a game.
Xavier Johnson, a 6-7 four-star wing, is averaging 18.4 and 9.3 in leading Mater Dei High in Santa Ana, Calif., to a 33-2 record entering tonight’s CIF Division I state title game.
And many in Colorado know about Boyle’s in-state haul. Four-star Josh Scott led Lewis-Palmer High to the Class 5A state title over Sierra and fellow Colorado commit, Wesley Gordon. Sterling High’s Xavier Talton is averaging 18.6 points a game. Also, the Boulder Daily Camera reported Friday that Boyle received a commitment from point guard Eli Stalzer, Johnson’s teammate at Mater Dei.
It sounds promising, but for how far in the future Boyle doesn’t know. CU loses three senior starters in leading scorer Carlon Brown, forward Austin Dufault and point guard Nate Tomlinson. The only senior next season will be backup guard Sabatino Chen.
“I’m excited, and I’m nervous,” Boyle said. “We’re going to have a lot of new faces, a lot like last year’s transition. We’ve got a lot of key parts coming back but also a lot of unknowns. We’ve got an opportunity for some guys coming back to establish themselves as a go-to guy.”
Boyle sounded certain that Spencer Dinwiddie, who started every game this season as a freshman, will replace Tomlinson at the point. Sixth man Askia Booker, another freshman standout, likely will move into the starting lineup at the other guard spot.
Scott could fill a huge scoring void in the post, leaving open one wing spot opposite second-leading scorer André Roberson. That could be another incoming freshman.
“The five that we signed early all have the physical ability to step in and play right away,” Boyle said.
These incoming freshmen will learn faster than their predecessors. Boyle picked a good summer for a European trip. They’ll play four games in France from Aug. 13-23. Playing pro teams will toughen up the frosh and build camaraderie, and they may develop an appreciation for brie.
But Boyle sees another benefit.
“The games are fine,” he said. “It’s the 10 days of practice you get leading up to the games that is, for where our program is, so critical with so many young guys coming in. We’ve got to get their feet wet.”
Next season’s schedule isn’t complete, but confirmed nonconference games include away at Wyoming and Fresno State, home against Colorado State and Air Force and the Charleston Classic, which includes Baylor, Boston College, St. John’s, Dayton, Southern Illinois and College of Charleston.
John Henderson: 303-954-1299, or jhenderson@denverpost.com
CU / incoming freshmen
• Wesley Gordon, 6-foot-7, Colorado Springs, Sierra High School, 21.7 points per game
• Chris Jenkins, 6-6, Detroit, University of Detroit Jesuit High, 20.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg
• Xavier Johnson, 6-7, Santa Ana, Calif., Mater Dei High, 18.4 ppg, 9.3 rpg
• Josh Scott, 6-8, Colorado Springs, Lewis-Palmer High, 30.7 ppg, 9.7 rpg
• Eli Stalzer, 6-3, Santa Ana, Calif., Mater Dei High, 5.8, 2.3 assists per game*
• Xavier Talton, 6-2, Sterling High, 18.6 ppg
* Oral commitment
