1997 1ST ROUND DRAFT PICK CHAUNCEY BILLUPS 5-Time NBA All-Star, 2004 NBA Champion, 2004 NBA Finals MVP 17-Year NBA Career (Retired Sept
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HISTORY2012 Pac-12 Champions 1997 1ST ROUND DRAFT PICK CHAUNCEY BILLUPS 5-time NBA All-Star, 2004 NBA Champion, 2004 NBA Finals MVP 17-Year NBA Career (Retired Sept. 2014) Colorado Basketball History Over the last five years of Colorado Basketball, head coach over 124,000 each season. Tad Boyle and his coaching staff, have built the Buffaloes into The staff enjoyed their best start to a season in four years one of the elite Pac-12 Conference basketball programs, if not (14-2), a No. 15 nationally ranking, the highest a CU team has the nation. seen since 1997, and a 10-game winning streak, the fourth Five years have produced five-straight postseason longest in the programs history. appearances, a school-first three consecutive NCAA Tournament After making the conference freshman team in 2012-13, berths; four-straight 20-plus winning seasons, and Pac-12 junior-to-be Josh Scott made the Pac-12 first team a year Conference Tournament championship. Under his tutelage, later. Scott developed into CU’s constant force down-low and Boyle has won an impressive 108 games at CU, the fastest around the basket making 51 percent of his shots, collecting 13 win total in the shortest amount of time in school history, and double-doubles and averaging 14.1 points and 8.4 rebounds a his postseason winning percentage of .614 ranks third (with a game. Senior-to-be Askia Booker made the Pac-12 Tournament school-best 15 post-season victories). team for his outstanding play in the opening and quarterfinal Very impressive for coach and a basketball program that rounds, and Wesley Gordon began his initial season as a red- had only four 20-plus winning seasons before his arrival during shirt freshman, making the conference all-Freshman team. the spring of 2010. During the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons, CU basketball In those short four years, CU basketball history has been saw back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths for the first time re-written altogether. Boyle’s success has brought ESPN College in 50 years, in addition to a school-first, three-straight 20-win GameDay to Boulder (Feb. 22, 2014); he has won a school seasons with another school-first, three-straight post-season record 24 games in a single-season, twice; home dominance at appearances. the Coors Events Center with a 72-14 record (.837), in addition The coaching staff has also helped the Buffs reach to school attendance records being broken, then re-broken a unprecedented heights in the win column. CU won a school year later; and most importantly every senior that has made record 24 games in each of the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons, his final year on the Buff roster, has graduated (Boyle’s staff with another 21 victories in 2012-13. The 69 victories were the is 17-for-17). most victories in any three-year span in school history. On the court, there have been seven all-tournament Also in 2011-12, the Buffs won their first in-season team selections; five conference first-team recipients; two tournament since the 2002-03 campaign winning the tournament most valuable players; one Pac-12 Conference Charleston Classic that catapulted the Buffs into the national Defensive Player of the Year; and one Wooden Top-20 Finalist. rankings for the first time since the 2005-06 season earning a Over the last five years, three student-athletes have left the No. 23 spot in the Associated Press top-25 poll. The following program to pursue the next step of their basketball endeavors. week, CU earned a No. 19 nod in the AP/USA Today Coaches’ Frosty Cox HISTORY Spencer Dinwiddie left school after his junior year (2013-14), Polls. where he was selected by Detroit in the second round of the It was also the first year of the Pac-12 Conference and at 2014 NBA Draft (No. 38 overall); in 2012-13, Andre Roberson inaugural conference tournament, the Buffs became just the was selected in the first round (No. 26 overall) by Minnesota 10th team in the nation to win at least four games in four days then traded to Oklahoma City, and in the 2011 draft, Alec to capture the tournament title (CU’s first since winning the Burks, became CU’s second-ever lottery pick, selected No. 12 Big 8 title in 1968-69). CU earned its first NCAA Tournament overall by Utah. appearance since 2002-03 when the Buffs would go on to Rounding out the four former players who have played for upset No. 6 UNLV in the second round. Boyle while at CU is the school’s all-time co-scoring leader, In addition to the last three years, a number of student- Cory Higgins (2,001 points). Higgins played with the Charlotte athletes that have earned conference excellence with a number Bobcats from 2011-13. of conference accolades. In 2013-14, the Buffaloes produced another banner year for In CU’s first year of the Pac-12, Andre Roberson (first team, the program by being seeded eighth at the NCAA Tournament, all-defensive, all-tournament team), Carlon Brown (second the highest seed since being the number nine in the 1997 team, tournament’s most outstanding player), and Spencer tournament. The 23 victories was the third-most victories in Dinwiddie (freshman team) were all named to conference school history, and for the first time in 18 years, the Buffaloes teams. finished had a third place finish in the final Pac-12 Conference In year two of the conference, Roberson (first team, standings, the program’s highest conference placing in 18 defensive player of the year, all-defensive team); Dinwiddie years (in the conference tournament seeded fifth). (first team) and Josh Scott (all-freshman team) all earned More attendance records fell once again as the program set post-season accolades, and in CU’s last year of the Big 12 a pair of attendance records (season total: 173,429 bettered Conference in 2010-11, Alec Burks (first team, Big 12 All- the previous record of 155,884; non-conference total: 84,133, Tournament team), Cory Higgins (second team), Levi Knutson also bettered last year’s best of 61,513). (co-sixth man award) were all recognized. Year four under Boyle, has seen a significant average each Although the 2012-13 season did not capture the exciting and every year. For the first time in the programs history, the moments of another Pac-12 Tournament championship, the men’s basketball team has seen four-straight seasons where Buffs did see another exciting year ranking No. 1 in Pac- conference attendance figures are 9,000-plus each season with 12 Conference-only defense (62.2 ppg.); No. 1 in Pac-12 season attendance has also increased for all games, reaching Conference Team (all games); 3-Point Defense (32.0). They Sox Walseth 78 colorado buffaloes and No. 23/25 ranked UNLV in the second round, then fell to conference games in his first year, in addition to becoming the No. 3 Baylor, 80-63, two days later. first Buff head coach since Henry Iba (1933-34) to win his first Carlon Brown was named the tournament’s most three conference games. outstanding player, in addition being named to the all- “This is it (my dream job), there’s no doubt,” Boyle said. tournament. Andre Roberson also earned all-tournament team “I remember talking with (with Maryland head coach) Mark had a superb sophomore year becoming the first CU player to Turgeon once when he asked me where I wanted to be in 10 average a double-double for the entire season (11.6 ppg., 11.1 years, and I said the head coach at the University of Colorado. rpg.) since Stephane Pelle (2001-02; 12.8 ppg., 10.8 rpg.). This is a destination job. I’m humbled and honored.” Roberson also became the 12th player in school history to lead From 2007-10 the program was led by Jeff Bzdelik, who the team in rebounding in back-to-back seasons, and just the came from the United States Air Force Academy, where he led third CU player to lead the team in rebounds, blocks, and steals the Buffaloes to a 36-58 (.383) record. His best season was in the same season, duplicating that feat during his freshman his last, a 15-16 mark and 6-10 in the Big 12 in 2009-10. Over season. his three seasons with the Buffs, Bzdelik experienced a series In addition, Roberson set the single-season rebounding of near-misses, losing 27 single-digit games, 18 of those in the record (401) breaking a 58-year old record (Burdette Big 12. The 27 losses were an average of 4.6 points. Haldorson, 1954-55); set the single-season defensive Entering the 2015-16 season, the Buffalo program boasts rebounding record (290) breaking the 225 by Shaun Vandiver a winning record of 1,236-1,155 (.517) in 115 years of (1989-90), 23 years ago; and shattered sophomore season basketball being played with the 1942-44 seasons not played record for most rebounds (401) topping old mark of 337 (Cliff due to World War II. Meely in 1968-69, 44 years ago. A program first known as the Silver and Gold, won its first Roberson ranked third nationally in rebounds per game with game back on Jan. 10, 1902 defeating State Prep School, 34- 11.1 and trailed the national leader (Siena’s O.D. Anosike) by 10. That game marked the beginning of what was to become 1.4 rebounds per game.