Junior forward Tory Miller-Stewart reacts to a massive dunk during the second half of play at the Coors Events Center. Dec. 22, 2016 (Nigel Amstock/CU Independent File)
So far, the Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball team has played an exhibition game against the Colorado School of Mines and a closed scrimmage against the SMU Mustangs.
Colorado hosts Northern Colorado at the Coors Events Center on Friday night to officially begin the 2017-18 campaign.
Now having witnessed a decent sample size of the Buffaloes in a few matchups, head coach Tad Boyle admitted that his team’s presence on the glass is looking lackluster at best.
“[Rebounding] is officially a concern,” Boyle said. “I wasn’t too concerned based on our personnel but now after the inter-squad game, the black-gold game where nobody really exerted themselves defensively, only out-rebounding Mines by one and then getting crushed on the boards by SMU, it’s an official concern. We’ve got guys who are capable rebounders, there’s no doubt about that, but we’re just too soft right now.”
Although the Buffs retain their top rebounder from last season in senior guard George King, Colorado lost its big man, Wesley Gordon.
Gordon’s senior season last year saw him rank second among Colorado players in rebounding and 14th in the Pac-12 with 6.3 rebounds per game.
Senior forward Tory Miller-Stewart is now the man to fill that role in the Buffaloes’ rotation. Gordon failed to be a comparable successor to standout Josh Scott, who averaged 16.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game while shooting 53 percent from the field during his final season in 2015-16.
With a guard-heavy team, Miller-Stewart’s ability to step up and snag rebounds will be big for the Buffaloes this year.
“He’s gonna be important,” Boyle mentioned. “Wesley was good for us … Tory is the guy to fill that role and we’ll see how he does. He has his moments where he’s really good. Tory will just play like he practices, he’ll be fine, but for some reason the Tory Miller-Stewart when the lights come on and we tip it up, it’s not the Tory Miller-Stewart I see in practice every day.”
Miller-Stewart only averaged 5.6 points while grabbing four rebounds and playing 15.8 minutes per game but is expected to have more minutes this season. This means that the rebounding totals for the Kansas City native are projected to rise.
Miller-Stewart however, isn’t feeling too much of a burden in that department.
“I’m not really worried or pressured to go get more rebounds,” he said. “I’m just going to play my game. When the cameras weren’t on, when the Coors Event Center isn’t filled, I still rebounded with Wesley [Gordon] just as well in practice. So I’m not worried about that make-up as far as rebounds go.”
In the exhibition game against Mines, Miller-Stewart scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting with four rebounds. He did go on to give a taste of a potentially new aspect to his game, as he hit two 15-foot jump shots near the baseline.
“This year I’m focused on staying within myself as far as doing what I worked on,” Miller-Stewart said. “I think it adds another element to my game especially being able to shoot those short corner jumpers, the turnaround jumper I have, the pick-and-pop. It all adds another dimension to my game, but my bread and butter’s on the post and being a force down there. That’s gonna stay true.”
Heading into his senior year, Miller-Stewart hasn’t gotten specific advice from both Gordon and Scott, but is planning on doing so in the near future.
As their season begins Friday, the Buffs will have to contend with their current dilemma on the glass, but the confidence level among the players nonetheless hasn’t changed.
“I think we’re gonna be pretty good going into the first game,” Miller-Stewart stated. “If we focus on defense and rebounding like our values are based upon, I think the rest will take care of itself.”
The Buffs will take on the Northern Colorado Bears Friday, Nov. 10 at 6 p.m. The game will air on Pac-12 Mountain.
Contact CU Independent sports staff writer Drew Sharek at andrew.sharek@colorado.edu and follow him on Twitter @drew_sharek.
