Black and Gold Truth: Let's start off and get loose Dusty. I see you enjoy acting and were in drama in high school, so how about sharing a little on your favorite actors?
Sprague: I like all of Will Ferrell's stuff -- it's always a good laugh.
BGT: You're a highly-intelligent guy, how do you break down the fall of the program last season to depths that haven't been seen in about 20 years, especially the offense -- it didn't seem at all like a CU team. What were coaches Eric Kiesau and Mark Helfrich telling you, especially as receivers?
Sprague: Our timing was off, whether it was the length of the route or the drop (of the quarterback) but the real key is consistency because there are going to be openings and there are going to be ways to move the ball. It's just executing it and doing it consistently.
BGT: What else is going to be the big key this spring and then in the fall to get this offense back to being prolific, outside of the consistency you mentioned?
Sprague: Having a year of experience in the system.
When I was a redshirt freshman, I remember trying to learn the system (under former coach Gary Barnett) and you're swimming. So that first year is hard to stop thinking and just play.
My next season was so much easier having a year under my belt.
Now (year 2 under coach Dan Hawkins) we can build on some of the stuff we did last year and mix some things up a little more.
BGT: You've shown you can play but CU fans were clamoring for more receivers, better talent during recruiting and it looks like the coaches were able to bring in some pass catchers with better speed and better reputations. How do you make sure #83 is still going to be relevant in the passing game?
Sprague: Just compete.
The better players you bring in, the higher the competition is going to be and the better everyone's going to get. Just play hard every day. The one good thing is at receiver you need four or five people who can compete and play.
BGT: The practice bubble -- is it really that important to have, to you personally, and to your teammates and recruits?
Sprague: With it, there's no excuses to lose any practice time -- it will definitely be nice and on snowy days it will make sure we still have a place to practice at 100 percent.
BGT: What else, Dusty, would players like to see as resources for themselves to make the football experience at Colorado better?
Sprague: I definitely hope we can get from this bubble to an indoor facility and maybe expand on to our locker room, and I know they have some plans going on for that right now.
The rest is just bells and whistles.
BGT: Final play here. No matter how bad things got last season on the scoreboard, in the standings, the players, at least publicly, always seemed relatively up in spirit and never lost faith. What makes you believe the coaching staff has the answers this season to maybe get this all turned around and put a winning record in the books?
Sprague: Like everyone says, you have to look at the track record.
That and all the coaches brought a positive attitude every day, building you up. One thing we all talked about was how we just didn't finish in the fourth quarter last year. It's encouraging to think about how close we were in six or seven games.
BGT awards
Still have someone working in the shop, o.k., in the alley out back, producing some trophies for the BGT post-season awards for Buffs' basketball. I'm sure he'll have it all ready to go by the time I get this out for you. Just ignore his hollerin' and cursing over a lack of facilities and financial resources for this project.
Team MVP
---Richard Roby: O.K., not a season to put on the resume for the NBA but Roby probably learned something about how he can't let so many things shake his confidence. He also likely knows now he has to push himself harder, consistently. He thinks this is difficult? The next level ain't no picnic either. You have to work, keep your head up and never lose your aggressiveness.
That said, he was still the team's most dangerous and productive scorer, a solid rebounder and best hope for the future. He does have professional-level talent and with the right work ethic and guidance could go out in a blaze of glory as a senior.
Most underrated
---Dominique Coleman: Way too inconsistent and never the dynamic scorer he was in junior college but when he had it all lined up in a given game, we was quite a player, a guy who could do a little good in a lot of areas. Too bad he wasn't a four-year player. He could have been something.
Biggest surprise
---Roby: No one on this team really came out of nowhere to impress but Roby did shockingly struggle. Wonder why Chauncey Billups split town after two seasons? Look at Roby, who while not the talent Billups was, had a long winter at the office playing with so many pups.
Best all-around talent:
---Coleman: The best rebounder on the team, as a guard, while leading the Buffs in assists and steals. Second on the team in shooting percentage behind Jermyl Jackson-Wilson.
Gets no respect:
---Jermyl Jackson-Wilson: O.K., so he wasn't the star we were all led to believe but he certainly didn't embarrass himself either. Shot well, rebounded (second behind Coleman), finished second in blocks (behind Marcus King-Stockton) and was the star of the road win at Utah. He's the kind of player you need to have on a good team.
Best freshman
---Jeremy Williams: It's true. Sure, Xavier Silas shows promise scoring the ball and he might actually rebound it a little too but he doesn't yet understand the game like Williams does. Williams plays within himself better, doesn't force the action, hits a high-percentage of his shots and boards the ball.
If he can refine his skills, become more aggressive and find a way to get to the foul line more, he will be a rock-solid piece of the puzzle for this program.
The other frosh of note, Kal Bay, looks like he too will be a player. When in rhythm, he can shoot it strong, hit his foul shots (he looked like Calvin Murphy on this team) and pass it a little in what was a purple-haze offensive approach.
Too one-dimensional:
---Silas: He might one day be a no. 1-scorer on this team but he has a lot of tightening up to do with his game. He is turnover prone compared to what he does passing and defending the ball, and his shooting percentage is low. Right now, he does one thing above average. In time, with some work, self-discipline and a more-giving mentality, he could become a worthy successor to Roby.
Needs to get incorporated in the game plan more
---Williams: A freshman, yes, but too good not to push him a little, expect more and to give him the chance to do more. Others you could mention for next season would include Bay and Jackson-Wilson.
Merit award
---Marcus King-Stockton: Everyone knew CU was going to struggle in the paint this season -- from ex-players to newspaper reporters to radio announcers, they all knew. The freshman were large and did nothing. King-Stockton, however, stuck his undersized self in there and battled.
He had moments rebounding and blocking shots but as Mark Johnson, the voice of the Buffs told me, MKS is best off being a backup center, getting 12-15 minutes. It wasn't King-Stockton's fault he was starting. That was a recruiting faux paux of year's past.
Finally, some send-offs
Coleman: CU could have used you on its' better teams. On this one, you couldn't make it much better. On the way out, please check to see if you don't really have one more season of eligibility.
Ricardo Patton: Coach, I really don't dislike you as much as this space might indicate. NCAA tournaments, a better quality of player, and no academic, recruiting or sleazy scandals on your watch are nothing to easily dismiss. I think you might be a decent man and the pressure simply got to be too much in Boulder. I will readily admit more could have been done to support men's basketball, which will be done now that you are sending out change-of-address cards. I know that's gotta hurt and between you and me, I have a parallel experience, so I get that pain all too well.
That said, we all learn from our shortcomings (hey, I have a warehouse full of them), and we try to correct them and open ourselves up to new and better opportunities. Most of us learn from bad endings.
Hey, we all have stresses that test us. You're allowed to be human, too. In the end, we all said things we wish we could have back. Seeing 184 more wins in the book is nice and wish you the best in your next endeavor. Sometimes, while ugly, going separate ways can be the rebirth we all need. In this case, that might be the case. Best to you and your family.
Turn out the lights when you leave and if you don't mind, leave the keys.
And if you don't mind, don't forget to donate to the program as a booster.
Coach Patton?
Coach?
You still there?
Letters
This one comes from Mark who says effort is missing as much as commitment for CU basketball.
"Hey Truth,
"Although some may criticize you for your seemingly negative comments towards Ricardo Patton, I am not one of them. Just keep telling it like it is, brother.
"For example, with every announcement of improved facilities, Patton seems to use this news to make an excuse for a loss the Buffs suffered back in the day. When news of the fact that most road trips will be done with chartered planes next year, he used this news to point out how the lack of a charter hurt his team in a loss at KSU last year.
"No one knows more about CU’s poor commitment towards basketball in the years prior to the arrival of (athletic director) Mike Bohn than Patton. What will always amaze me is that even though Ricardo knew and understood these shortcomings, he did nothing to help his own cause. If I knew that I had a “part-time” athletic director like Dick Tharp, I would have done everything (including go behind his back) to help procure funding for my team. I would have gone on every talk show and spoken to every possible booster in Denver or California or Yugoslavia to help get me the things that I would have needed to succeed in the Big 12.
"For some reason, Patton either never did these things or he failed trying to do these things. And that’s no one’s fault but Ricardo’s.
"Thanks for letting me vent,"
MarkBGT: Mark, RP is one of those coaches who thought the program was best served by him recruiting and coaching and none of that junk on the periphery, such as seeking out and developing relationships with ex-players, high school coaches, fans and others. He had little interest in promoting his program. I'm sure he's not the only one courtside in the country who feels that way.
However, as you point out, in a program such as CU's, you have to work harder, do different things to overcome the inherent challenges this program has presented coaches for many years.
Personally, I didn't see the finger pointing so much until recently and I believe that to be solely a defense mechanism. It was the seemingly annual fades, the inability to drive the program through that wall that separates the mediocre from the good that was what got people frustrated or flat-out ticked off.
Patton lifted the program, no doubt, but it was unlikely to go further under his direction. He probably could have coached another decade and not increased the frequency of postseason visits nor the success ratio when he got to that party.
Note: Look for a Buff interview in tomorrow's post.
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