As released by the school, the probable starters for Colorado Friday night in the season opener against Drexel is the same Buffs lineup that finished the 2013-14 season after Spencer Dinwiddie went down with a knee injury in January.
That’s a backcourt of 6-foot-2 senior Askia Booker (13.7 points per game last season) and 6-2 junior Xavier Talton (4.9), 6-7 junior swingman Xavier Johnson (12.0, 5.9 rebounds) and two post players: 6-9 sophomore forward Wesley Gordon (5.9, 6.0)and 6-10 junior forward-center Josh Scott (14.1, 8.4).
There’s good depth this year with 6-6 sophomore guard Jaron Hopkins (4.8), 6-7 sophomore swingman Dustin Thomas (3.6), 6-7 sophomore forward Tre’Shaun Fletcher (2.9), 6-3 junior guard Eli Stalzer and two freshmen: 6-9, 240-pound forward Tory Miller and 6-2 guard Dominique Collier, the Denver East legend.
Collier has missed substantial practice time with an ankle issue and his contribution may be delayed.
For those who haven’t heard, 6-6 sophomore guard George King is redshirting.
Colorado, 23-12 last season, showed up in some preseason top-25 lists in magazines or on websites, but the Buffs are generally projected to fall just outside the top 25. In the Pac-12 preseason media poll, CU was voted to finish third, behind Arizona and No. 2 Utah.
Few things I’ll be looking for tonight from CU:
* The new offense. It’s supposed to be a faster tempo and will spread out the court. Coach Tad Boyle describes it as “less predictable” than the style the Buffs have played.
* Outside shooting. Everybody expects it to be improved. It had better be. Colorado hit 31.8 percent from 3-point range last season while Buffs opponents connected on 35.6 percent from beyond the arc. That’s a significant number of points the Buffs had to make up during a game.
* Miller. He adds a big body to CU’s front line which will especially help in certain matchups against burly teams. Remember the blowout loss to Pittsburgh in the NCAA Tournament last spring? I want to see if Miller is more than a banger and can also be a treat offensively.
Tipoff at the Coors Events Center is at 6 p.m. The Pac-12 Network will have the telecast.
