BOULDER — Factors that contributed to the plunge of Colorado men’s basketball from a string of three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances are numerous and varied. And some statistics are downright ugly. But one explanation in particular could keep coach Tad Boyle awake at nights as he tries to learn why he couldn’t connect with his players.
“What’s difficult for me is, I don’t feel I reached this team,” Boyle said. “I don’t feel like I’ve had an effect on this team like maybe I had on teams in years past. I have to evaluate the reasons for that.”
Picked to finish third in the Pac-12, Colorado (12-15, 5-10 Pac-12) instead enters its Sunday home finale against Arizona State languishing in 10th place. The Buffaloes must be viewed among the nation’s most disappointing teams.
There were solid reasons for the preseason optimism. Colorado returned nine of its top 10 scorers from a 23-12 team. That included three proven standouts: senior guard Askia Booker, junior center Josh Scott and junior forward Xavier Johnson.
In Boyle’s previous four seasons at Colorado, the Buffs never failed to reach 20 victories. But Boyle put this season’s team in a group with his first team at Northern Colorado (4-24 in 2006-07) as ones that failed to improve.
“We got a year older from last year but not a year better,” Boyle said. “That’s on me. That’s the head coach’s responsibility, and I haven’t done a very good job. It makes me re-evaluate what we’re doing and how we’re doing it, what’s worked and maybe why things this year haven’t worked.”
A Kansas guard under Larry Brown during his playing days, Boyle has been praised by college basketball analysts and fellow coaches for turning a stagnant CU program with little buzz into a winner playing before sellout crowds. One bad season isn’t about to taint his reputation.
“Tad is an outstanding coach,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said. “Years like that happen. I’m pretty confident that Colorado will be back.”
Miller pointed to injuries suffered by Scott (lower back) and Johnson (high ankle sprain) that led to Boyle “to do patchwork coaching … that I wouldn’t wish on anybody.”
Scott, a preseason all-conference pick, missed eight games and hasn’t been at full health since his Feb. 7 return. Johnson sat out four games but has not had his usual explosiveness. He hasn’t scored more than 12 points in a game since his Jan. 29 return.
And Colorado did not find an adequate replacement for the loss of point guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who left early for the NBA.
“This (current) team is built to have Spencer Dinwiddie as a senior,” Boyle said. “And to have Askia Booker as his running mate, and Josh Scott and Xavier Johnson healthy. That would have been a little different animal.”
Reasons for failure
As it was, things began to spiral early in the season — when CU got hammered by 23 points at Wyoming — and never got appreciably better.
There were many reasons, the biggest among them:
No team identity. Boyle told his players early in the season that the Buffs needed to “hang their hat on something.” He preferred that to be his philosophical staples of defense and rebounding.
It never happened. Among 31 NCAA statistical categories, Colorado does not rank in the top 50 (among 351 Division I teams) in any of them. The best CU ranking: No. 52 in defensive rebounds per game.
Poor ball movement. Much was made during the October practices about Colorado, with advice from former Nuggets coach George Karl, increasing its tempo on offense. The new-look offense was supposed to not only lead to improved scoring but better utilize the skill sets of the players. Instead, CU ranks 11th in scoring (66.2) among Pac-12 teams and is 12th in assists-to-turnovers ratio.
Lack of resolve. Colorado can look outstanding when things are going well, but the Buffs are quick to give in when adversity strikes. Boyle pointed to that trait throughout the season.
Senior Booker said that once the team began losing, the sophomores and freshmen on the team didn’t dig in hard enough.
“I could only say so much to young guys about how important it is,” Booker said.
Lack of shooters. Colorado is making just 42.2 percent of its field-goal attempts, 11th in the Pac-12. With shooting that poor, almost every game becomes a struggle.
It didn’t take long for the warning signs that all was not right. The first big one came when Colorado scored just 33 points at Wyoming on Nov. 22. And the Buffs won just one of three games at the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii, which was scheduled to be a final tuneup for Pac-12 play.
“I knew when we lost to George Washington and Hawaii (at the Diamond Head Classic) that we had some challenges ahead,” Boyle said.
Backcourt disaster
Looking ahead, Colorado loses only Booker among its scholarship players. Ready to help next season is 6-foot-5 shooting guard Josh Fortune, a junior transfer from Providence who is practicing with the team. Boyle has said that Fortune immediately will be CU’s best outside shooting threat.
Even with Fortune, though, CU needs vastly improved point guard play to jump back near the top of the Pac-12. Compounding the absence of Dinwiddie were the struggles of junior Xavier Talton and freshman Dominique Collier.
Talton never found his shooting touch (.287), and Collier, the former phenom at Denver East, has made just 11-of-43 (.256) from 3-point range. Both have more turnovers than assists, and neither showed an ability to consistently attack the opponent with penetration in the lane.
Boyle remains “bullish” on Collier, who needs to get stronger.
“I think Dom will become a terrific player for Colorado,” Boyle said. In the meantime, Boyle said he hopes to sign a combination guard in the spring recruiting period.
As for his entire roster, Boyle said he still believes in his players and expects a bounce-back season. To make that happen, the Buffs had better be prepared for a boot camp next fall.
“We have a lot of work to do, a lot of work to do,” Boyle said. “This offseason is going to be a whole different deal for our returning players than what they’ve experienced.”
Tom Kensler: tkensler@denverpost.com or
Boyle ball at CU
Denver Post CU beat reporter Tom Kensler looks at the Buffs’ program under coach Tad Boyle:
2014-15* (12-15, 5-10 Pac-12)
Injuries, .422 shooting contribute to first poor season for Boyle at CU.
2013-14 (23-12, 10-8 Pac-12, NCAA)
Salvaged 9-10 record without Spencer Dinwiddie (knee).
2012-13 (21-12, 10-8 Pac-12, NCAA)
Had Pac-12 defender of the year Andre Roberson, balanced scoring.
2011-12 (24-12, 11-7 Pac-12, NCAA)
Defense shines, and CU earns NCAA bid by winning Pac-12 tourney.
2010-11 (24-14, 8-8 Big 12, NIT)
Boyle’s best offensive team (79.6 points per game) reaches NIT semis.
* Through games of Feb. 28
