It’s no secret that junior guard Spencer Dinwiddie played a pivotal role in the University of Colorado men’s basketball team’s success the last two years, and that is exactly why he believes the upcoming season will be even bigger.
How he performs in the 2013-14 season, Dinwiddie said, will determine whether or not he declares his candidacy for the 2014 NBA draft.
“As long as I’m improving, then I’ll leave,” he said. “If not, I’ll probably come back.”
One of the most experienced starters on the team, Dinwiddie was put in a position of power in June when forward Andre Roberson was drafted into the NBA.
Spencer Dinwiddie shoots a free throw during the game against CSU on Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012 at the Coors Events Center. (Kai Casey/CU Independent)
Roberson’s absence also means the team will lean on young talent this season, including four true freshmen, two redshirt freshmen and four sophomores.
“We’re depending on some young guys, some inexperienced and somewhat immature guys,” Dinwiddie said. “If they come together and they help form a really cohesive nucleus, then the sky is the limit for this team.”
Dinwiddie said he’s looking to freshmen Tre’Shaun Fletcher, Dustin Thomas, Jaron Hopkins and George King to form this “cohesive nucleus.” Dinwiddie said he believes the team has the potential to be the best that Head Coach Tad Boyle has led at CU.
“We have a lot of offensive fire power to outscore people, which is something we haven’t had since Alec Burks and Cory Higgins played here,” Dinwiddie said, adding that the team is potent on both ends of the court.
“With the importance of defense, we’re going to try to pick up the pace, and we’re going to be probably the second-most, if not the most explosive offensive team that Boyle’s ever had,” Dinwiddie said. It’s Boyle’s fourth year with the Buffs and eighth year as a head coach.
Boyle’s trademark, Dinwiddie said, is encouraging steady, year-round improvement.
The team has been practicing together for much of the offseason, but Dinwiddie gained a little more experience this summer when he played in the July World University Games in Kazan, Russia.
Dinwiddie picked up new tricks when he worked with coaches Bob McKillop of Davidson College and John Beilein of University of Michigan at the Olympics of college sports.
“I learned a little bit of the intricacies of spacing and the way to teach the pick-and-roll,” Dinwiddie said. “Things like that I think really improved my game and the way I see the game.”
In addition to the coaching exposure, Dinwiddie got a taste of what it would be like to win a national championship from stories told by world games teammate and University of Louisville senior forward Luke Hancock.
The international experience will carry him into the 2013-14 season, he said, in a pivotal year for team and personal growth.
He plans to impart the knowledge and spirit from the Buffs’ 2012 Pac-12 tournament victory in each of the younger players “because a lot of our guys don’t know that and how great of a feeling that was,” Dinwiddie said. “I want to bring those two mindsets to the table.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer at Alissa.noe@colorado.edu.
