Colorado Buffs Rely on Bench Depth as New Season Looms

A roster of just nine primary players defines the upcoming slate for the Colorado men’s basketball squad. This represents a sharp contrast to the previous campaign, which concluded with a 17-16 record and a significantly deeper pool of contributors. The current squad is expected to rely on a tighter group of athletes as the new season approaches.

As of this Friday, the team is ten days away from its first game. They will host Abilene Christian on November 2 to kick off the seventeenth year under head coach Tad Boyle. While specific minute allocations and role definitions remain unsettled, the likely starting lineup is taking shape.

The projected rotation includes guards Barrington Hargress, Alex Dickeson, Jalin Holland, Josiah Sanders, and Ian Inman. On the front line, the team will likely lean on forwards Justin Neely, Noah Feddersen, Goc Malual, and David Gomez. Gomez’s initial playing time may be restricted as he continues his recovery from foot surgery performed a year ago.

In the prior season, eleven athletes appeared in at least twenty contests, and seven secured at least ten starts. Given the current roster composition, such frequent rotation is unlikely to occur unless injuries dictate a change. Consequently, a select group of freshmen has effectively joined the roster with the primary goal of supporting the team through daily practice sessions.

Chase Hill, a forward on the squad, described his objective with simple clarity. "Just develop," he stated. Hill noted that he could have attended a Division III program with the same developmental focus and potentially transferred later, but he opted to join Colorado immediately. He anticipates remaining in the program for four or five years to maximize his growth.

Hill, guards Amir Jones and Rider Portela, and forward Eric Jacobsen arrived in Boulder through distinct paths. Portela, a wing player from Phoenix, signed with the team last November. The other three were late additions to the roster during the spring recruiting cycle.

Jacobsen grew up in the Midwest, primarily in the Chicago and Wisconsin regions, before relocating to Colorado Springs. He played his final high school year at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire. The 6-foot-1 post saw his recruiting momentum slow after suffering a torn ACL during his junior year. Hill comes from a basketball lineage; his father is the all-time winningest women’s coach at Division III Trinity University in San Antonio. His grandfather, Bob, was a longtime NBA coach who helped recruit Boyle to Kansas 45 years ago. Portela’s father is also a coach, while Jones reopened his recruiting process after a coaching change at Georgia State, where he had originally signed.

Jacobsen admitted that accepting a limited role was initially challenging. "I'm realizing I can go as hard as I can every single day and I don't really have anything to lose," he said. "Just trying to earn what I can." The group is not expected to see regular game action barring unforeseen setbacks.

Boyle emphasized that he does not want these players to feel permanently excluded from the action. "It's a fluid situation," he noted, pointing out that Jones had a strong practice session on Friday. He also highlighted positive performances from Jacobsen and Hill. Boyle stated that while the players possess the necessary capability, they currently lack consistency due to their youth. He suggested that their standing in December could differ significantly from their status in mid-to-late October. The coach urged them to prepare daily so they are mentally ready whenever called upon.