Those familiar with Rivals.com KNOW it's America's prominent source for college and high school sports. Interested in a school, league or player, we have the goods.
Utilizing that incredible brain trust, this episode of Network Share provides an insider's look at Colorado, the first 2021 NCAA Tournament foe for Georgetown, a school participating in the Big Dance since 2015. Asked to help was Justin Guerriero, editor of CUSportsNation, the PRIME space for all things Colorado Buffalo sports!
Below are excerpts of our conversation. A full transcript is available on Premium Court.
1) Is the legend of McKinley Wright true? Was he really almost an afterthought who is in a handful of CU's best players ever?
"I think the legend of McKinley Wright IV is most definitely true. He is a Colorado men's basketball Mt. Rushmore figure. He's just the third player...
Head coach Tad Boyle frequently refers to Wright IV as a generational talent, a player whose caliber Boyle...
To your point about Wright IV almost being an afterthought, I definitely think he was in limbo a bit when Archie Miller left Dayton for Indiana.
Wright IV was initially a Flyers commit..."
2) Who else stands out for the Buffs?
"Georgetown will definitely need to keep an eye on grad transfer forward Jeriah Horne. Horne is on pace to produce one of the most solid seasons by a transfer at Colorado ever and his numbers in general are already quite high. He's shooting...
Evan Battey presents Colorado's biggest threat in the post; he'll get a lot of feeds and is a good finisher...D'Shawn Schwartz is another senior with Wright IV in that now-senior Class of 2017...
...7-footer Dallas Walton at C/F, Maddox Daniels, a former JUCO transfer who's been shooting the ball pretty well from deep this season and Jabari Walker, the true freshman on the team who's undoubtedly shown the most promise.
Finally, Eli Parquet deserves a mention here as a player to watch out for..."
3) How does CU play offensively and defensively?
"Boyle is a defensive-minded coach without a doubt. He's the kind of guy that wants to see robust rebounding and defense first, offense second. That mentality has thus shaped the identity of his teams in Boulder and the 2020-2021 squad is no different. Colorado's guards...
The Buffaloes will play man-to-man the vast majority of the time, with Boyle's...
As for offensively, in the immediate past, Wright IV was tasked with facilitating the majority of Colorado's offense. This year has been..."
4) Where does this team rank with you among Buff squads over last four years?
"This one has to be the best. The only other unit that would give this year's squad something of a run for its money would be the..."
5) What is the tone and tenor of CU nation?
"I think the greater Buff Nation rightfully has its expectations pretty high. Anything less than a Round of 32 appearance will rightfully be considered a disappointing end to this season. And to be blunt, I can tell that eyes are already on the Sweet 16 as being the distance that needs to be covered in the NCAA Tournament for this year to be reflected on positively.
Boyle's CU teams have made it to the Round of 32 just one time and thus, if this indeed is one of his best squads ever, it should be capable of entering uncharted tournament territory.
The Buffs have been recruiting very well the last few years and their 2021 class is also looking solid, but there's no way around the fact that the time for a deep tourney run, with your outgoing senior point guard widely considered to be one of the greatest players in program history, is now.
Fans want to see the team accomplish something special for Wright IV..."