Blocking out any exterior noise often is easier said than done.
J’Vonne Hadley does his best to avoid those sorts of distractions. Still, a few comments inevitably get through. And, much like his first year at Colorado, Hadley heads into the season feeling as if he has something to prove.
Now in his second season with the CU men’s basketball team, Hadley is attempting to build on an injury-shortened performance last year that showed him to be a gritty and resilient interior player who nonetheless played with limitations.
“I’m just a lot more confident in myself,” Hadley said. “I see some of the things that go out there on Twitter and stuff like that. I try not to but sometimes it finds its way back to me. Itap just like Coach Prime says. I’m taking mental notes. I know what everybody says about me, that I shouldn’t be a starter and can’t shoot the ball. I proved them wrong before. I guess I’ll have to do it again.”
On a 2022-23 team whose lack of toughness occasionally was questioned by head coach Tad Boyle, Hadley was the exception after transferring from Indian Hills Community College. Despite his 6-foot-6 stature, Hadley proved to be crafty inside and recorded at least eight rebounds in each of his first four games with the Buffs. That run included a season-high (later tied) 10 rebounds in CU’s upset of No. 11 Tennessee.
Hadley missed two November games due to a shoulder injury but remained a fixture in the starting lineup through January. Hadley shot .525 from the field, averaged 8.0 points, and posted a team-best rebounding average of 5.9 before suffering a season-ending thumb injury against California on Feb. 2.
What Hadley did not do, however, was stray beyond the paint. He attempted just one 3-pointer in 22 games despite showing a willingness to shoot from the arc earlier in his career. Hadley attempted six 3-pointers in limited time as a freshman at Northeastern in 2020-21. During his lone season at Indian Hills, Hadley shot nearly two 3-pointers per game and finished with a solid 3-point percentage of .354 (23-for-65).
He went 10-for-17 from the arc (.588) over the final six games of that season, yet that long-range confidence didn’t travel to Boulder.
“For me, J’Vonne Hadley knows who he is. He’s very conscientious and he wants to help the team,” Boyle said. “He doesn’t want to ever hurt the team. Every player has a comfort level with what they’re good at. What they default to. And J’Vonne’s comfort level is around the basket. He’s a great cutter, attacking the rim. I don’t begrudge him that. It didn’t affect his playing time.
“We didn’t have him the first three practices (due to illness). To have him out here (now)? He’s a difference-maker. He’s a difference-maker with his energy, his ability to cut, his ability to rebound, his toughness, his effort and energy. He brings so much to our team that doesn’t maybe show up in the stat sheet.”
It remains to be seen if Hadley will retain his spot in the starting lineup, or if Boyle will turn to him as one of the first options off the bench. Regardless, a squad without a premier individual rebounder still will need Hadley to display a nose for the ball. Plus, in the move to a five-out offensive system, the Buffs still will be able to take advantage of mismatches to utilize Hadley’s scoring touch inside.
“The coaches are telling me every day at practice to get your shots up,” Hadley said. “I’m shooting the ball more at practice. I’m not forcing it, but whatever comes my way, I’m working on getting that shot, getting my feet set and letting it go just like I did in junior college.”
