LYNCHBURG, Va. — A few weeks ago, after the Colorado Buffaloes began the season with a somewhat lethargic performance in an exhibition game against Colorado Mines, head coach Tad Boyle stopped a film session to ask his players what characteristics the team owned that could be considered elite.
When no one provided a reasonable answer, it was senior walk-on Josh Repine who spoke up.
With his shrewd coach’s view from the sideline, Repine exhorted his teammates to play with elite-level effort and elite-level concentration, traits that should not be impacted whatsoever by the team’s youth.
That focus and concentration has been on display throughout CU’s unexpectedly solid start, particularly on Sunday night, when the Buffs capped a run of three games in three days by defeating Mercer 79-70 in the championship game of the Paradise Jam.
The victory improved CU to 5-0 for the first time since the beginning of the 2012-13 season when the Buffs also claimed their previous tournament championship at the Charleston Classic.
“Coach Boyle asked the team, ‘What are we elite in?’ And we couldn’t answer him. We weren’t elite in anything,” CU senior George King said. “Josh Repine was like, ‘That’s bull.’ It takes no talent to be elite in our concentration and our effort. That really hit hard. Be elite in our effort and concentration, and we can give ourselves a chance to win games. Because of that we were able to instill that and take it into our games here.”
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