Over-signing recruiting classes could be new norm for Colorado
The new norm for Tad Boyle’s Colorado basketball program could be to over-sign recruiting classes as BuffZone’s Pat Rooney pointed out — with three recruits but only two potential open spots being the reality for the 2024 cycle.
“Over-signing is nothing new in major college athletics,” Rooney prefaced before saying, “It was new to Boyle, however. Yet now, on the cusp of beginning his 14th season at CU, it could be the new norm.
“It’s not Boyle’s preferred method of roster-building, but it is a nod to how the college game has changed, as CU once again likely will over-sign when national signing day arrives on November 8.”
Colorado basketball gamble ‘not as big as it sounds’
Conventional wisdom suggests that signing three players with two open roster spots makes for the ingredients of a potential disaster. As Rooney explains, though, that’s not so because of the increasing use of the transfer portal.
“If that comes to fruition, at least one or maybe two players will have to leave the program in order to make room for the 2024 newcomers,” Rooney prefaced before saying, “That may not be as big a gamble as it sounds. Over 1,400 players hit the transfer portal following last season, and the Buffs have had at least one underclassman leave the program after eight of the past nine seasons. Last year, the Buffs needed one scholarship spot to open up to accommodate the new signees. Instead three left, with Nique Clifford (Colorado State), Lawson Lovering (Utah) and Quincy Allen (James Madison) all exiting via the transfer portal.”
As The AP’s Pat Graham notes, Boyle will likely avoid joining the transfer portal trend and serve as a polar opposite to Colorado football head coach Deion Sanders; primarily strengthening the Buffs’ core through the high school ranks instead of dramatically rebuilding a roster like Coach Prime.
“Tad Boyle could have borrowed a page from the playbook of another Colorado coach and predominately dipped into the transfer portal to bolster his roster,” Graham prefaced before saying, “The thing is, Boyle simply prefers to build his program through the high school/club ranks even as the transfer portal has proven so beneficial for Deion Sanders in restocking the football team.”