With just under three weeks left until the 2013-2014 season kicks off, Colorado basketball gave its fans a taste of the upcoming season Saturday morning during the team’s black and white scrimmage.
In 32 minutes of play, the black team dominated the court and ran away with a 77-51 victory. Black played well on both sides of the court with relentless pressure and good ball movement, whereas white’s pressure was not as consistent and they didn’t pass as well.
The black team consisted of Josh Scott, Tre’Shaun Fletcher, Jaron Hopkins, Dustin Thomas, Xavier Talton, Brett Brady, Beau Gamble and Ben Mills. Fletcher, Hopkins and Thomas make up three of the team’s four true freshman this year, and Brett Brady is a walk-on sophomore.
The white team was composed of Spencer Dinwiddie, Xavier Johnson, Wesley Gordon, Chris Jenkins, George King, Eli Stalzer and Kevin Nelson. Gordon and Jenkins will take the court this season after redshirting last year, and Nelson will return after sitting out his junior season with a broken ankle. King is the fourth true freshman on the team.
Junior guard Askia Booker sat out because he was sick, but head coach Tad Boyle is confident that he will return to practice in the coming weeks.
Junior forward Scott, freshman forward Fletcher and sophomore guard Talton dominated for the black team.
Scott played well offensively and defensively and appeared more versatile with the ball than he was last season, which gave the white team all it could handle. Fletcher shot the ball well and proved that he can score from anywhere on the court, whether it be in the paint or behind the arc. Talton showed more confidence with the ball shooting more consistently.
Junior guard Dinwiddie, sophomore forward Johnson and redshirt freshman forward Gordon carried most of the fire power for the white team. Dinwiddie and Johnson shot well but lacked the defensive power that their teammates on the black squad showed.
Gordon, on the other hand, took over on both offense and defense. After the scrimmage, Boyle said that he has seen incredible growth in Gordon over the past year, and he expects him to be a dominant force for the Buffaloes this season.
Guard Hopkins played extraordinarily well during the scrimmage by putting up a lot of shots and taking part in two alley oops, one of which he made himself. The Buffs will have no shortage of new talent this year as Fletcher, Hopkins, King, Thomas, Gordon and Jenkins take the floor.
The Buffs begin their 2013-14 season on Nov. 8 in Dallas against Baylor University and then will take on the University of Tennessee-Martin at home two days later.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Alissa Noe at Alissa.noe@colorado.edu.