There will be more challenging competition ahead for the Colorado men’s basketball team.
As soon as next week actually, when the 25th-ranked Buffaloes take on Richmond on Monday in the first of two games at the Sunshine Slam in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Still, the early returns on the switch to a five-out offensive approach have to be encouraging for head coach Tad Boyle and his staff.
CU improved to 3-0 with a 106-79 dismantling of Milwaukee on Tuesday night, as the Buffs turned in their third impressive offensive performance in as many chances to start the 2023-24 campaign.
“That’s the reason we kind of implemented it,” CU point guard KJ Simpson said. “Because we saw a lot of times last year we were standing around, not getting too many guys cutting or moving. It’s kind of easy to guard us that way. When we have guys that are willing to cut, who spread the floor and our offense is spaced out, and guys sealing in and ducking in and setting hard screens and rolling hard, things like that … you’re going to get assists.
“Also, credit to the guys knocking down shots.”
No doubt, the Buffs so far are knocking down shots. And although only one full week of the season is complete, they are sharing the ball at a historic pace.
CU has topped the 50% mark from the floor in all three games, posting a .520 mark in the opener against Towson before shooting .556 against Grambling State and .587 against Milwaukee. The mark against Milwaukee topped any shooting percentage posted by the Buffs last season, and it is the first time CU has shot at least 52% in three consecutive games since the final few weeks of the 2009-10 season.
It is the first time the Buffs have shot at least 50% in the first three games of a season since hitting that mark in the first four games of 2009-10 (The Buffs hit at least 50% in three of the first four games just two years ago, but not in three in a row). After starting the season 0-for-7 on 3-pointers in the first half against Towson, the Buffs have shot a torrid .585 (31-for-53) from the arc in the two and a half games since.
Boyle opted to shift to the five-out system in part because of the versatile skills of the Buffs’ rotation, including the group’s ability to pass. That has been on full display in the first three games, with CU recording at least 20 assists in each win. It is the first time the program has enjoyed a streak of 20-plus assists in three consecutive games since the first three games of the 2001-02 season.
While Simpson (19 assists) and fellow point guard Julian Hammond III (15) have led the assists parade, the entire rotation has contributed. At least five players have collected at least three assists in all three games, including six players with at least three assists against Grambling State. Three of CU’s veterans — Simpson, Hammond and J’Vonne Hadley — have either matched or broken their previous career-bests for assists in the first three games. And that doesn’t count the seven assists compiled by freshman Cody Williams in his first two games (Williams missed the Grambling State game due to injury).
The Buffs were off on Wednesday and are set to resume practice on Thursday morning ahead of the first road trip of the season.
“I think our spacing is better. Our cutting is better. Our ball movement is better,” Boyle said. “We’ve got a presence inside with Eddie (Lampkin) that they have to worry about, which helps spread the floor for everybody else. And our guys are just making the right plays.”