Contact CU Independent Sports Editor Sam Routhier at samuel.routhier@colorado.edu
If you wanted to draw a parallel between the Colorado men’s and women’s basketball teams, you could do worse than their focal points — the frontcourts. For the Lady Buffs, there’s senior forward Jamee Swan, the player upon whose shoulders the Buffaloes’ season rests upon.
Swan, who led Colorado with 13.2 points per game last season, will undoubtedly be a factor on offense. Her ability to create and finish around the rim is unrivaled on this team, and it will certainly be relied upon when Swan is often sharing the court with multiple freshmen this season.
On defense, Swan also brings a rare tenacity that will be essential if this team brings back a revamped hard-nosed defensive mentality that head coach Linda Lappe has claimed in the preseason. Last year, Swan was already recognized in this space as a leader and an x-factor for this team.
This year, the only thing we can do is double down with the acknowledgement that until further notice, discussion regarding how successful the Buffaloes will be this season starts and ends with Jamee Swan.
Joining Jamee Swan in the frontcourt are other seasoned veterans on a team that will largely be defined by its amount of underclassmen.
Alongside Swan in the starting lineup will be junior guard/forward Haley Smith. Smith, who started every game for Colorado last year, is another player whose experience will be crucial as this team finds its way early on.
As her status as a wing suggests, Smith is a versatile player. She’s a capable ball handler and scorer who makes her free throws when she gets to the line. Keep an eye on Smith taking three-point shots early in the season — although last season she only took 26 (and made nine) — the loss of senior guard Lexy Kresl’s volume shooting will necessitate other players filling in and providing shooting from range for Colorado.
Junior forward Zoe Beard-Fails has been a valuable reserve for Colorado in previous years, and this season she should be one of the first names called off the bench. Any experience playing basketball at the collegiate level is valuable on this team in terms of leadership and setting an example, and Beard-Fails will certainly be looked to as a signpost in that regard. On the court, look for her to make her presence known in the paint on both ends of the court as an able rebounder and post scorer.
Sophomore center Zoe Correal is hard to miss; coming in at 6-foot-4, she is often the tallest player on the court when she gets minutes. There were times last year when Correal showed her inexperience with clumsy ball handling or decision making, but the same could be said of almost any freshman getting used to the pace and skill on college basketball. This year, Correal could begin to show her rebounding skills, which even in limited minutes last season were apparent when she averaged 2.1 rebounds per game.
Junior center Bri Watts could also see minutes this season. Watts posted an impressive display starting last season’s exhibition game against Colorado State University-Pueblo, when she led the Buffaloes with 14 points. After that, though, Watts had some difficulty finding her way onto the court, averaging only 4.8 minutes per game the rest of the way. When Watts does make appearances on the court, she’s a capable low post presence on both ends and has demonstrated a capable offensive acumen in the half court.
As freshmen go, the frontcourt for Colorado will boast two newcomers as well this season.
Makenzie Ellis, a freshman forward out of Tulsa, Oklahoma, drew a start in Colorado’s preseason scrimmage against USC-Aiken last weekend. In 20 minutes, Ellis scored eight points efficiently, making four of her five field goal attempts. With so much depth and experience in the front court, it remains to be seen how much time the freshman will get on the court in this season. But Ellis, who missed all of her final season in high school due to an injury, may benefit from limited minutes this season to get back up to speed.
Monica Burich will miss this season due to a torn ACL in her left knee suffered during preseason practices. It’s probable that when she makes her debut for the team next year, it will be as a redshirt freshman.
Colorado makes up for a relatively inexperienced backcourt with a frontcourt occupied primarily with upperclassmen. We’ll see how far that veteran talent goes against the always physical and talented Pac-12 Conference.
Colorado opens its season at home this Saturday against Loyola Marymount with tipoff at 2 p.m. The game will be available online via a Colorado live stream.
