Quotes: Tad Boyle previews Colorado’s 2023-24 squad at winter sports media day
The expectations for this season’s Colorado men’s basketball team are about as high as I can remember in my five-plus years covering the Buffs.
Coming off back-to-back NIT appearances, the Buffs, at least on paper, appear primed to finally crack the NCAA Tournament field. Colorado’s first focus, though, is on winning the Pac-12 in its final year as a member.
On Tuesday, head coach Tad Boyle and his players gave their thoughts on the upcoming season during CU’s annual winter sports media day. Everyone who spoke shared a similar level of optimism and a recognition that their goals won’t be met without hard work.
“I’m excited as ever about the team we have coming back. We’ve got a great combination of veterans who’ve been there and done that, who’ve been through the war, so to speak, and we have some really good newcomers, some good, young talent in the program. How we blend the old with the new, certainly over the first month or two of the season, is going to be critical to our success this year.”
“In terms of his approach to being a freshman in this program, he’s come in with great humility for a guy who’s had all the accolades he’s had. He’s a great teammate, he’s unselfish (and) he wants to learn. For us to get the most out of Cody this year, that learning curve, he’s got to conquer pretty quickly.”
For this program to take the next step, we have to advance past the first weekend (of the NCAA Tournament). Is that an expectation? Absolutely it is… Some teams are playing for NCAA Tournament berths and some teams are playing for seeds. We’d like to be a team that’s playing for a seed. Right now, we’re a team that’s playing for a berth, as most teams are because it’s not given.”
“Talent. When I see Cody, I see Courtney Anderson, who today was his first practice back… I see Assane Diop, I see Bangot Dak — two young bigs that are really, really talented. Courtney is going to be a great player here at Colorado before it’s all said and done. I see those four guys, and again, we don’t know how long we’re going to have Cody, that’s a year-to-year thing, but those other three guys (are a) great core to build around.”
“Without a doubt, Tristan is a confident player. He knows this is his team. He knows that he needs to be aggressive for this team to be as good as we need to be. He’s not afraid to open his mouth now. He’s letting his teammates know what the expectations are and what they need to be doing offensively and defensively.
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