Brooks: Boyle Still Looking For That Special Stopper

BOULDER – A Colorado men’s basketball season brimming with promise opens Friday night. And what coach Tad Boyle wants as much as anything else is a promise, a pledge, a commitment from at least one of his Buffs.

By the time the Pac-12 Conference schedule begins in January, Boyle is hoping that someone – or better yet, two someones – has taken a purposeful stride to the forefront and said, “I’m your lock-down perimeter defender . . . put me on ________ (fill in the blank with a top Pac-12 scorer).”

For now, though, the sound of silence is deafening for Boyle. There have been no thundering footsteps from any player stepping forward to be the Buffs’ shut-off switch. Where’s that guy with the required “want to?”

Finding him wasn’t a problem for Boyle in seasons past; players such as Cory Higgins, Andre Roberson and Spencer Dinwiddie relished the role and said so. And Boyle was delighted.

“But (now) we don’t have anybody on the perimeter who has stepped up, anybody I could consider a defensive stopper,” he said. “And until we get that, there’s going to be nights when we say, ‘Who do we put on the best perimeter player?’

“Right now I don’t know who that is. I don’t have it answered yet. I’ll give somebody a shot, but who’s going to get it done?”

I asked him if he had likely candidates, and he answered, “Multiple . . . (Askia) Booker could be the best on-ball defender in the Pac-12, but he’s not.”

Then Boyle walked through his short list: “Jaron Hopkins -- but he’s not. Xavier Johnson – but he’s not . . . there are multiple guys who have that ability. The closest guy is maybe Xavier Talton, but he’s challenged size-wise against big guards. We’re going to have to have somebody step up and take that challenge, take that ownership.”

If no new ownership of that role surfaces for the 2014-15 Buffs, then this team, lamented Boyle, will “have a mediocre year, we’ll win some games, lose some games . . .”

He believes his fifth CU squad isn’t cut out for mediocrity, particularly with the motivation provided by the Buffs’ less-than-mediocre showing against Pittsburgh last March in the NCAA Tournament. Pitt flat out embarrassed CU 77-48 in Orlando, Fla., and eight months later the wounds have only partially healed – which is not a bad thing.

“We’ve been waiting a long time (for this season), especially with the way last year ended,” said Talton, a 6-2 junior who is athletic and determined enough to defend guards of similar size but, as Boyle said, would be “challenged” in matching up with 6-6 or 6-7 perimeter players.

Don’t tell that to Talton, though. “I’m not going to be able to guard a post player but any perimeter player, I feel like I’ve been around enough to know where his next move is going to be,” he said. “I feel like I can come in and do whatever it takes to help our team win. If it’s guarding the other team’s best guy, I’ll take that challenge every time.”

Boyle’s best two defenders are found in CU’s frontcourt – forwards Josh Scott and Wesley Gordon. “Without a doubt,” Boyle said. The 6-9 Gordon, a redshirt sophomore, already is an accomplished shot blocker and perhaps the team’s best help-side defender.

What’s more, said Boyle, Gordon is “very, very unselfish; that’s what makes him a great teammate. Guys like playing with Wesley . . . defensively he can make up for other guys’ mistakes. He’s a good shot blocker and good help-side defender. Offensively, he shares the ball and sometimes he over-passes. We want to get him shots and touches just like we do Josh.”

Like Talton, Gordon’s confidence in his ‘D’ seems boundless. If called on to slide outside, Gordon said he’s willing, able and eager: “It’s my mentality. I don’t like people scoring on me. If (Boyle) wanted me to guard on the perimeter I think I could do it. I mean, it’s just really a mentality. I’m versatile; I’ll guard anywhere – inside, outside.”

For now, though, Boyle wants Gordon’s focus to be on those things he does so well as a low-post defender, as well as improving on the offensive end. Gordon knows that; he’s worked on his mid-range game and says he’s more confident now about taking open shots.

“My shot’s not where I want it to be; I need consistency, making sure it looks the same every time,” he said. “But my confidence is growing to take my shots. It’ll get there.”

He conceded that at times last season he lacked confidence in taking his shot: “People would leave me wide open and I’d pass. So I’m going to shoot more . . . but I’ll take smart shots,” he said.

In practice, Boyle said Gordon is a “very skilled offensive player, a good passer with good instincts. He makes jump hooks, 15-footers (jump shots). Now that has to translate to our games, but his skill level – the shooting, passing and scoring – have all gotten better.”

Meanwhile, Talton has established himself – in Boyle’s eyes – as CU’s “Mr. Steady . . . he understands the game and what we want. He’s a good shooter, can make open shots and is a playmaker. He can affect the game in a lot of different ways. He gained a lot of confidence in himself after Spencer’s injury (last January).”

Talton will see plenty of backcourt time with Booker, and Boyle is eager to see a healthy Dom Collier, the true freshman point guard who is recovering from a lingering ankle injury.

“When I see him not limping I’ll say he’s better,” Boyle said. “We have to get Dom healthy; he makes just such easy plays. He makes every right play out there, decision-wise, he really does. We need to get him right.”

The other scholarship freshman is 6-9 Tory Miller, who has dropped 17 pounds since reporting in early summer and is now on the way to gaining “good weight” and returning to the 250 range. Boyle likes Miller’s defensive improvement and loves his mentality: “He’s so conscientious; he wants to be a great teammate,” Boyle said. “When he makes a mistake it pains him. You see the pain on his face, the disappointment in his body language. As long as he’s got that he’s going to keep getting better.”

The Buffs’ opening opponent (6 p.m., Coors Events Center) is Drexel, a Colonial Athletic Association member that finished 16-14 last season and lost a pair of close games to top 25 Pac-12 opponents (72-67 to No. 22 UCLA, 66-62 to No. 4 Arizona). Boyle calls the Dragons “tough Philadelphia kids” who are talented and athletic.

 “We’d better be ready to roll, we better have a sense of urgency,” he said. “I’ve got a sense of urgency . . . I don’t know if the players feel it but the coaches do.”

Both Talton and Gordon see a sky-high upside for these Buffs. Said Gordon: “There really is no ceiling for this team. We’re good at every position. Every player has a little bit of everything in their game. Josh can drive, I can drive. We both can post up. We have a lot of players who have that three-through-five skill set. I think we can be really good.”

Talton said the 2014-154 Buffs can go “as far as we want to, honestly. It comes down to us getting it together defensively and rebounding.”

That’s more of what Boyle wants to hear. And if he also hears the sound of someone, anyone stepping forward to defend on the perimeter, that’s all the better.

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU