Tad Boyle has no problem admitting that last season was a down year for the Colorado Buffaloes. And after all the success the program had the previous four years, honestly, it was a gut punch.
Boulder had convinced itself that they had the answer, that Boyle was the type of coach that could build any program into a contender, and maybe he is, but like his team, he needs to get better first. He understands that, his players understand that and the fans understand that.
And on Wednesday, when the media piled into the Coors Event Center at the University of Colorado for the program’s annual media day, they admitted as much.
Here’s what the Buffaloes had to say about the growth and evolution of their coach, Tad Boyle:
Senior Forward Josh Scott: “Honestly, yes, there is a change. He talks a whole lot more, he explains a whole lot more. He takes the time on the court to really get his point across. Even if it’s the smallest detail, he’s going to take the time and pay attention to it. Just looking at practice, that’s just how our practice has been. He’s been taking the time to explain the smallest thing, if it’s showing a ball screen mistake or being on help side. He’s paying more attention to detail; I’ll put it that way. He’s always been tough.”
Boyle: “That’s the mistake I made last year. I didn’t take the bull by the horns, and say, ‘ok, it’s not here; I’m going to take it.’ I’m not going to make that this year, I’m not going to make the same mistake. I’ve got a lot of confidence in Josh Scott and the respect he has in that locker room, that when he says something people are going to listen to him. Again, we’ll see how it plays out, but I’m not going to make the same mistake again.”
Sophomore Guard Dominique Collier: “I’ve noticed it a lot in practice. Like Josh (Scott) said, he (coach Boyle) knew the little details last year, but this year he’s voicing his opinions and letting us hear what is on his mind. I feel like that’s good for us because we can learn from it and get better. He has always been tough on us but he’s voicing himself more this year.”
Scott: “There’s nothing different in his demeanor per say. Like I said earlier, it’s more of he’s extremely more detail oriented in practice and film. You could think you played well at a practice, then you go into film and he’s going to look at every single little detail. We might be on a play for about four or five minutes; it feels like just going over each individual person. Honestly, you’ve got to change something after last year so it’s not even a big deal. It’s one of those things where you accept it because, honestly, we had a bad year last year and we don’t want to repeat it so something has to be different.”
Boyle: “This fall I feel like, certainly in the first 12 practices, I’ve been more dialed in and engaged. I don’t know if I’ve been tougher or meaner, but I think what I’m trying to do is be consistent every day. I think last year I made a lot of mistakes. One of them was I figured we have guys in this program who have won, who have proven they can win; they’ll figure it out as time goes on. I’ll kind of let them learn, and guess what? Never happened, and that falls on me as a head coach. I’m not going to let that happen this year. If I see something that’s not right, I’m not going to ask our players to take care of it; I’m going to take care of it.”
