David Gomez is back in action.
The rest of his October will be spent cramming in preparation for his first season at Colorado.
After missing the entire summer as well as the first two-plus weeks of preseason practice, Gomez joined practice for the CU men’s basketball team this week after dealing with the lingering effects of a significant foot injury.
A key acquisition for the Buffaloes out of the transfer portal, any outlook in which CU is competitive in the Big 12 this season likely will require key contributions in the paint from the 6-foot-9 Gomez.
“Itap been very frustrating,” Gomez said. “Itap been one year since I’ve been like this. As a player, itap so frustrating to be out while you see your team playing.”
Gomez said his slow start at CU was due in part to the lessons learned last year at Charlotte.
A native of Spain, Gomez injured his foot during the preseason last year, a setback that cost him the first six games of the season. Charlotte had lost three of four games when Gomez made his collegiate debut Nov. 27 against Illinois State, going 2-for-4 with six points, four rebounds and three blocked shots in 21 minutes. Gomez played the following day, going 2-for-3 with four points and three rebounds in 19 minutes against Richmond, but Gomez’s foot refused to hold up. He didn’t play another game, eventually having surgery to repair the injury.
“I got injured (in the preseason) and I was watching my team lose, and my blood boiled,” Gomez said. “I’m a competitive (player) and I said I cannot let this happen. I rushed back, I played two games, and I got re-injured.
“But right now I’m here. I’m in the present. And I’m playing right now and itap all good. I was on the sidelines trying to learn everything, trying to keep it up, so when I came back I didn’t have to slow everyone down.”
While Gomez’s lone collegiate season was limited to two games, he has extensive international experience, playing a role in Spain’s gold medal run at the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup.
Gomez is part of a trio of transfer portal additions tasked with making the Buffs tougher on the glass.
Including the Big 12 tournament, CU was outrebounded in 12 of 19 games against conference foes last season. After posting a rebounding advantage in nine of the first 11 games while finishing even in the other two, CU was outrebounded in 14 of the final 22 games of the season. And then the Buffs’ top three rebounders — Bangot Dak, Sebastian Rancik and Alon Michaeli — opted for the transfer portal.
Gomez, along with former North Dakota State forward Noah Feddersen and UNC-Greensboro transfer Justin Neely, were acquired to address that shortcoming. Feddersen averaged 5.5 rebounds over his final two seasons at North Dakota State, while the 6-foot-6 Neely was one of the most efficient rebounders in the country last season, ranking second in the nation with 11.5 per game.
“He’s catching up from a physical standpoint, being out so long,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said of Gomez. “He’s catching up from a mental standpoint. Even though he’s been at practice, he’s been listening, hopefully he’s been learning; itap different being on the sideline than being in live action. Physically, getting in shape is one thing. The other thing is getting his mental part and understanding what his job is and do his job.
“But itap nice to have him out there. Because David’s a very capable player.”
