Bangot Dak may not be quite to peak form following an offseason knee injury.
But he’s getting close. And he showed the home faithful just how close against UC Davis.
Rocketing skyward to snare a fast-break pass from Barrington Hargress on Friday, Dak delivered an electric alley-oop slam dunk that highlighted Colorado’s game-opening 10-0 run.
The Buffaloes still had to weather an upset bid before beating the Aggies 95-79 and improving to 5-0 for the first time since the 2019-20 season. And Dak might not yet be 100% confident in his knee. But his fast-break slam showed quite clearly the spring is back.
“I told (Hargress) before the game, ‘Just go throw it at the square. I’m the only person that can go get it,’” Dak said. “I was thinking, ‘Go dunk it.’”
Dak didn’t practice all summer due to the knee injury and didn’t play during the Buffs’ four-game exhibition trip in Australia. The rust might’ve shown during CU’s first few games, but Dak has impressed in the past two.
Dak shot .455 (10-for-22) through the first three games, with a 6-for-12 mark at the free throw line. After going 8-for-10 in the win against UC Davis, Dak has shot .632 (12-for-19) while going 10-for-12 on free throws in the last two games. His 18 points against the Aggies was the third-highest of his career, trailing a 19-point game against Cincinnati last year and a career-high 20 points at Iowa State.
What has been consistent for Dak through all five games is a more aggressive approach on the boards. Dak’s five rebounds against UC Davis was his lowest total of the young season, and after averaging 3.9 rebounds last season, Dak goes into Thursday’s date against San Francisco in the opener of the Acrisure Holiday Classic (noon MT, CBS Sports Network) averaging 7.2 rebounds per game.
“I feel like I’m getting closer,” Dak said. “I feel like I won’t really know until I’m fully confident in my game. Dribbling the ball, shooting the ball, just going out there and playing the way I know how to play. But I definitely feel a difference from game one to (UC Davis). I’m feeling better day by day.”
The upcoming two-game tournament in Palm Desert, Calif., will be the first road test (although in a pair of neutral-floor games) for a Buffs team that has played stellar offense alongside erratic defense.
CU has scored at least 90 points in four consecutive games for the first time since the nonconference portion of the 2023-24 season. The Buffs scored 90 points just once last year, and that was exactly 90 points in an overtime game. On the other hand, CU has allowed three of its first five opponents to shoot at least 51%, with the Aggies finishing with a .517 mark.
“They’re a team that runs their stuff. They’ll force you to guard their actions, for all 30 seconds of the shot clock,” Hargress said of UC Davis. “They definitely gave us some long possessions, and they also just played really hard. We gave up seven (offensive rebounds). Thatap not ideal for what we want to give up. They got to the actions and they put us in some tough positions.
“We’ve got to do better of just imposing our will and make it more of a difficult environment to run your offense around.”
