Colorado women’s basketball coach JR Payne has always enjoyed the recruiting process.
For decades, itap been a process of taking months to get to know players and their families, building relationships and trust and then hoping they’ll sign to play for Payne’s program.
Payne doesn’t have the same affection for the transfer portal process, which is more like speed dating than relationship building.
“I’d be lying if I said I loved it,” she said recently in an interview with BuffZone.
The Buffs’ head coach has, however, learned to enjoy the challenge that is associated with the new way of building a roster from year to year.
“I do like the challenge of it,” she said. “(Soon), we’ll know exactly who we have coming back and then itap like, ‘OK, how do we go from good to great?’”
CU had yet another good season this year, going 22-12 overall and 11-7 in the Big 12, finishing sixth in the standings. The Buffs also reached the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five years, falling to Illinois in the first round on March 21.
Looking forward, Payne said, the goal is, “How do we go from the first round to the third round or fourth round? We ended up with a single bye (for the Big 12 tournament); how do we make sure that we get that double bye? I do love the challenge of that.”
The challenge will be different for Payne and her staff this offseason.
Following a Sweet 16 run in 2024, the Buffs had 10 new players for the 2024-25 season. Then, they had 10 new players again this past year.
CU won’t have the same level of overhaul next season.
The transfer portal opened Monday and CU has had four players go into the portal. However, five players have announced they’ll return next season, including projected starting guards Kennedy Sanders and Zyanna Walker. As many as seven could be back next year.
“Everyone thatap returning are going to be good kids and culturally fit and work hard and all that stuff,” Payne said. “Now itap just going to be identifying sort of the pieces that we need, whether thatap a shooter or another point guard or another post player. Identify those and then basically get on the phone and make sure that they fit culturally. But I think that our foundation is so strong with who we have coming back that we will be able to plug in a few more pieces and be even better than we’ve been.”
Although the transfer process is much different and quicker than the typical recruiting process, Payne said the Buffs’ staff is adapting. It has meant being intentional on spending more time – quickly – in learning about the players they’re recruiting, by calling former coaches, family, etc.
With the portal now open, CU will look to fill out the rest of the roster, and it’ll happen quickly. The Buffs are likely to sign four or five transfers.
Payne said determining whether players are good shooters, good rebounders, etc., is “the easy part.”
“The challenges are making sure they’re the right fit for your system and culture, locker room, all of those things,” she said. “And then the financial piece comes into it. Do they have the skill set that you need? Are they the right fit as far as culture and identity? And then also can you afford them?”
CU doesn’t have as much money as some of its peers to spend on the roster, but this past year proved to Payne that itap very possible to build a good team by staying true to the core values of the program.
“There’s going to be 3,000 kids in the portal and lots of them would be really good for us, so if you’re not the right one, thatap totally fine,” she said. “But, know that and letap move on to the next one.”
Last year, CU brought in 10 new players that meshed with the four returners extremely well. That led to a successful season. She’s hoping the Buffs can duplicate that chemistry next year.
“They very quickly developed trust and cohesiveness and all the things that you want in a program and that a lot of times takes two, three, four years to build,” Payne said. “It gave me more faith that it can be done with new people if they’re the right people.”
