Colorado Basketball: Report Card for the 2021-22′ season

The Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball season came to a close last Tuesday night as the team fell in the first round of the NIT Tournament to the St. Bonaventure Bonnies by the final score of 76-68.

As disappointing as that is, Colorado lost to a very experienced Bonnies team that featured all seniors in their starting lineup. To put that in comparison, Evan Battey was the lone upperclassman playing for the Buffaloes.

Yet they still battled.

Colorado is a young and inexperienced team that overcame a lot from their rough start the Pac-12 schedule. To see how they rebounded after the Washington State and Arizona State losses shows this team has the fight in them to continue on with their success next season.

The Buffs weren’t exactly healthy this season too. Colorado lost their top recruit Quincy Allen to a season-ending hip surgery that took place prior to the season getting underway. Javon Ruffin, another recruit from the 2021 class, dislocated his right knee cap and eventually had surgery on it. He did not see action towards the end of the season and it is very likely Tad Boyle and company kept the redshirt on.

Lawson Lovering, yet another top recruit for the Buffs from the 2021 recruiting class, suffered an MCL injury in late-January during a team practice. The Buffs were undersized from that point on, relying on Battey and Jabari Walker to carry the load in the paint. Senior Will Loughlin even saw minutes in certain conference games due to foul trouble/injuries.

And last but not least, senior Eli Parquet missed a majority of the season due to a foot injury, leaving the Buffs low on bodies.

Despite missing four potential rotation players, the Buffs still battled with their youthful group. Boyle inserted freshman guard Julian Hammond III into the starting rotation towards the end of the season, pushing Keeshawn Barthelemy to the backup role — something he’s more comfortable in.

Kee did perform well in those conditions after having some inconsistent games in the starting lineup. It looked like a smart move on Tad’s part.

Luke O’Brien essentially had to cover forwards due to Colorado’s injured front court. He always seemed to come up with those second chance rebounds due to his hustle.

Freshman guard KJ Simpson provided that spark and flare off the bench for Colorado, giving them instant scoring and playmaking ability.

Nique Clifford looked a lot more comfortable in his second go-around, giving the Buffs reliable defense at the wing position in-place of Parquet.

Tristan da Silva always seems to be an x-factor for this team. His length and size gives him the ability to cover both forward positions and is a sneaky scorer.

We can’t say enough about Walker and what he means to this team. He was a double-double machine this season, averaging 14.6 points and 9.4 rebounds — both team-highs. The biggest question this offseason for the Buffs is whether or not Jabari will stay another season at Colorado.

That’s for another day.

Last but not least, Evan Battey. The work he put in this offseason didn’t go unnoticed, especially with his sudden improvement from the three point line. He was a reliable veteran and Colorado’s heart-and-soul.

Colorado is going to miss him dearly.

With all that being said, I’m going to give the Buffs a B+ for the 2021-22′ season. With all of the injuries they overcame and losing their leader McKinley Wright IV to the NBA, this team looked way better as the season went on.

Winning 21 games with all of that going on is a reflection of the players as well as their head coach.

FINAL GRADE: B+