There is no disputing the career that former Colorado Buffaloes guard Askia Booker compiled while in Boulder. In his four years with the Buffs, Booker never finished below fifth on the team in scoring and his teams enjoyed three consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament. But Adam Munsterteiger of BuffStampede.com says this year’s team might be benefitting from “addition by subtraction” in his absence.
The 2015-16 CU Buffs are off to a 7-1 start and face one of their biggest tests of the season Saturday when Brigham Young travels to Coors Event Center. A win could garner the Buffs even more top-25 votes. (They received one vote in the Week 5 USA Today Coaches Poll.)
Last year’s Buffs team, which started the year 7-3, went on to finish 16-18, missing the NCAA and even the NIT Tournament. That disappointing end, says Munsterteiger, was in part to the loss of now senior Josh Scott to injury, and the complicated leadership role played by Booker.
Munsterteiger joined Renaud Notaro and Dee White on Mile High Sports AM 1340 in advance of the Buffs’ big matchup with BYU and spoke about the difference between the team that came up short, especially in Pac-12 play, and the team that this year is off to a hot start.
Players like George King and Josh Fortune are helping the Buffs play as a much more cohesive unit this year, says Munsterteiger, and Scott has finally been able to assume the mantle of “the guy” now that he’s fully healthy.
Notaro has not only been impressed with Scott’s leadership, but of the way CU’s young point guard tandem, Dominique Collier and Thomas Akyazili, have blossomed. It’s great for the program, says Notaro, that a freshman in Akyazili has commanded the role of second-string point guard. It shows, as he believes, that head coach Tad Boyle and his staff hit better than expected in their recruiting efforts.
Collier has big expectations – having been compared at times to Chauncey Billups – but Munsterteiger says that’s a bit of an unfair comparison.
In the current climate, it’s really Booker that both Collier and Akyazili need to replace from a productivity standpoint. As far as leadership is concerned, Scott has that role well covered.
The real difference this year, says Munsterteiger, is the resilience this team is showing. He points to the games against Colorado State and Auburn as games last year’s team would have “folded tent” on. Instead, this crop of Buffs turned those struggles into character-building wins.
Everyone, he says, “so far has played up to or beyond expectations.” It may be addition by subtraction, as Munsterteiger suggests, but the sum is a solid start by a group of guys who “like each other and like playing with each other.”
Listen to the full discussion on the Buffs basketball team, plus some bonus CU football talk, in the podcast below…
Listen to Renaud Notaro and Dee White every Monday-Thursday from 6p-8p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 or stream live any time for the best local coverage of what’s new and what’s next in Colorado sports.