BOULDER — Wesley Gordon uses any opportunity he can to remind Colorado men’s basketball teammate Josh Scott that the state title his Lewis-Palmer High School team captured in 2012 deserves an asterisk.
“I tell him his state championship is a fluke,” said a laughing Gordon, a 6-foot-9 redshirt junior whose Sierra team lost the Class 4A championship game that year to Scott and Lewis-Palmer 44-43. “It should have been a lane violation.”
Gordon was referring to a free throw Scott shot with 1:38 left and Lewis-Palmer trailing 41-39. Scott’s shot bounced off the front of the rim, but he grabbed the rebound and tied the score with his putback.
“I remember him cheating and stepping over the line before anyone else could,” Gordon said with a grin. “That’s about it.”
A review of the tape makes Gordon’s claim questionable, at best. Scott appeared to bolt forward just as the ball hit the rim. Besides, the 6-foot-10 Scott can let his championship ring do the talking.
But the fact there is still good-natured ribbing about the high school days between Buffs teammates is music to the ears of CU coach Tad Boyle.
“The one thing about Colorado kids is they all know each other,” Boyle said. “They play against each other growing up, during AAU in the summertime.
“We’ve got great arguments in our locker room about who’s better between Sterling and Sierra and Lewis-Palmer. They all played in this building (CU’s Coors Events Center) in the state tournament. You get banter like that.”
As Boyle nears the end of his sixth season at CU, with the Buffs chasing what would be the fourth NCAA Tournament appearance of his tenure, he continues to rely on the talent of in-state players.
Recently against Oregon State, four Colorado players — Gordon, Scott and guards Dom Collier (Denver East) and Xavier Talton (Sterling) — were in CU’s starting lineup. The CU staff also recently received a verbal commitment from Arvada West 7-footer Dallas Walton. And the Buffs have made a scholarship offer to the state’s top-ranked junior, 6-6 forward D’Shawn Schwartz of Sand Creek High School in Colorado Springs.
The success Boyle began building upon the impressive 2012 class of Scott, Gordon and Talton shows little sign of slowing.
“When I got the job 5½ years ago, I made the statement that we are the University of Colorado and if there’s a young man in this state that will help us win Pac-12 championships and go to NCAA Tournaments, we’re going to recruit him,” Boyle said. “We felt that way about Dom (Collier). We felt that way about Xavier Talton. We felt that way about Wesley (Gordon), and we feel that way about some kids in the state right now. We are always going to recruit the state of Colorado first and foremost.”
Schwartz, a four-star recruit who is averaging 19.7 points and 8.6 rebounds per game this season, said the success Boyle has had with players from all corners of the state is intriguing.
“It’s something to be confident in when you’re being recruited,” said Schwartz, who has already taken a number of visits to CU and also has scholarship offers from Weber State, VCU, Utah State and UNLV. “A lot of people say you can’t make it out of this part of town. It definitely gives you confirmation that you can.”
This state isn’t chock-full of major- conference talent every year. So far, Walton and Indiana-bound big man De’Ron Davis of Overland, a 6-10 post player the Buffs recruited heavily, are the only players in the state’s 2016 class who have committed to major-conference Division I programs. And the state’s 2015 class had no players receive scholarships to schools at that level.
“I always say this: Colorado, from a basketball standpoint, is a cyclical state,” Boyle said. “Some years are going to be better than others. Some years are going to be deeper than others in terms of Division I talent.”
With the exception of Davis, Boyle and his staff have been successful recruiting just about every in-state player they have targeted, success built on relationships that are founded on being straight shooters.
“I liked that he was just very honest,” Walton said of what he enjoyed most about Boyle’s recruiting approach. “His honesty stood out to me the most. He never really beat around the bush like some colleges do.”
“They’re very consistent,” added Schwartz, who has yet to commit to a college program. “They’ll text you when you have a bad game. They’ll text you when you have a good game. They’re very honest in what they have to say.”
The current Colorado players suiting up for the Buffs believe their success the last four years will open the eyes of the state’s next wave of talented players.
“Just the momentum we’ve gained, I think we’ve earned national attention a little bit,” Talton said. “That’s opening kids’ eyes to want to partake in something like that and stay close to home.”
Nick Kosmider: 303-954-1516, nkosmider@denverpost.com or @nickkosmider
