Road to Glory: Colorado Basketball

[vicebeliever42]

Colorado nabs Two Recruits on Mid-season Signing Day

December 8th, 2008

Boulder, CO -- The Buffaloes were told within a matter of hours that two different recruits had decided to attend Colorado next fall. This is just before CU upsets the previously unbeaten and #13 ranked UCLA Bruins (6-1) 66-53, Colorado fans would end what seemed like a perfect day. The recruits who verbally committed were 6'7 SF Darnell Proffitt and 7'1 C Nate Little.

Proffitt is a five star junior college freshman from Aurora, Colorado looking to play Division I college basketball and being close to home. He made his announcement on the final day of the Mid-season signing period with offers from Texas Tech, Arizona State, and Oklahoma. This is a strong veteran recruit coming in with a skillset that can definitely fill in some gaps for next season. Proffitt is considered the second best junior college player in the countru, he is currently averaging 18.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2 steals per game.

Little was a surprise signing for the Buffaloes. Insiders and experts expected him to choose UCLA but on the final day of the Mid-season signing period he made it known that Colorado was where he wanted to take his talents. This high school senior's last name might be Little but he's nowhere near little. Weighting at a whopping 261 pounds, standing over 7 feet tall he has been a man amongst boys. This four star recruit from San Francisco, California is ranked 52nd overall and the #1 best center according to ESPNU rankings. He has been a force wherever he plays ball at and Buffalo fans hope that this talent translates at the college level. This past summer he played in the ABL for the Northwest region Thunderstorm team averaging 14.6 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 1 block per game.

Quote:

"Colorado was not my first choice and they wasn't even my second choice. The one thing that changed my view of Colorado is coach Kody Smith. He made me feel wanted and made me feel like I was their number one priority. In this whole recruiting process I never felt like that from any school. They have been recruiting me since the beginning of my junior year and they never let up. That's why I can't see myself playing for any other coach. All I needed left to do was visit the campus and when I did that...I was sold." - Nate Little

With only two scholarships for this season 2nd year head coach Kody Smith and his recruiting team does it again bringing in great talent and exciting Colorado fans and alumni everywhere.

[vicebeliever42]

Buffaloes ranked 23rd after Non-conference play

January 6th, 2009

Boulder, CO -- This marks the end of non-conference play for the Colorado Buffaloes (10-2) and they have played at a high level. For playing so well they have found themselves going into conference play ranked 23rd in the AP Top 25 Media poll. This will be Colorado's second time ranked in the Media poll this season. Along with being ranked in the Media poll CU is also ranked 20th in the Coaches poll.

Coach Smith has this team disciplined with defense being the key. Currently ranked 26th in the country and 3rd best in the Big 12, they are a pest to deal with on the defensive side of the ball. As a team they are averaging 8.8 steals, 3.7 blocks, and causing 17.9 turnovers per game, which is remarkable considering how young this team is with just one senior. Even with 6'1 FR PG Elijah Wilkins playing with a pulled hamstring, which has him playing less, he is still leading the way averaging 15.7 points, 3.7 assists, and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 35% from three. 6'6 SO SG Cory Higgins is backing him up averaging 13.8 points, 4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1 steal per game while shooting 39% from three. Other notables are 6'6 FR SF Jaaron Duffy, who's averaging 11.3 points, 6 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game, and 6'5 JR SG Xavier Silas, who is averaging 10.3 points, 2.8 assists, and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 37% from three. However they did lose their starting center 6'8 SR PF Jermyl Jackson-Wilson to a high ankle sprain injury, he missed out 3 games and will miss out their first conference game of the season. 6'11 FR C Arden Camper was named the starter to replace Jackson-Wilson and he has been playing very well averaging 4.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, and 1 steal playing 18.3 minutes per game in Jackson-Wilson's absence.

Currently on a 6 game win streak and 13th in RPI rankings the Buffaloes had a solid schedule where they have gotten some considerable wins. Like key wins against Towson (10-4) 82-79 during the first round of the Old Spice Deodorant Classic and upsetting #10 UCLA (12-2) 66-53 at home. The only losses CU took this season were from Rutgers (8-4) during the second round of Old Spice Deodorant Classic (53-66) and #14 Notre Dame (12-2) 56-69, Colorado's only home lost this season.

With Big 12 conference play starting for the Buffaloes they have their sights set high as they try to take the Big 12 Regular Season Title. They're first bout will be at Texas Tech (7-6) on Saturday, January 10th. Will Colorado continue to turn some heads and ride this moment, they certainly think so.