CU Buffs' Freshmen at End of Bench Focus on Development as Basketball Season Nears

The Colorado men's basketball team finished last season 17-16 and did not solve every problem it faced. Still, the Buffaloes at least had a deep pool of players to try different answers from game to game. This season is expected to look quite different.

On Friday, Colorado reached the 10-day mark before its season opener. The Buffs host Abilene Christian on Nov. 2 to begin the program's 17th season under head coach Tad Boyle.

Boyle has not finalized minutes and roles, but the rotation is likely to be drawn from guards Barrington Hargress, Alex Dickeson, Jalin Holland, Josiah Sanders and Ian Inman, plus forwards Justin Neely, Noah Feddersen, Goc Malual and David Gomez. Gomez's early playing time may be limited as he continues recovering from foot surgery a year ago.

Last season, when Colorado went 7-11 in the Big 12, 11 players appeared in at least 20 games and seven made at least 10 starts. Barring a run of injuries, that kind of constant shuffling is unlikely to repeat. A handful of freshmen have essentially signed on to serve as practice players for 2026-27.

Forward Chase Hill described his aim simply. "Just develop," he said. He explained that he could have gone to Division III with the same goal and tried to transfer up, but chose to come to Colorado first and develop over the four or five years he expects to be there.

Hill, guards Amir Jones and Rider Portela, and forward Eric Jacobsen came to Boulder by different routes. Apart from Portela, a wing from Phoenix who signed with the Buffs last November, all were late additions to the roster last spring.

Jacobsen grew up in the Midwest, mostly around Chicago and in Wisconsin, before moving to Colorado Springs, though he played at Brewster Academy, a New Hampshire prep school. The 6-foot-1 post saw his recruiting buzz dampened by a torn ACL midway through his junior season. Hill comes from a coaching family: his father is the all-time winningest women's basketball coach at Division III Trinity University in San Antonio, and his grandfather, Bob, was a longtime NBA coach who helped recruit Boyle to Kansas 45 years ago. Portela's father is also a coach, and Jones reopened his recruiting after a coaching change at Georgia State, where he had signed.

Jacobsen said accepting a limited role was difficult at first. "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."

Barring injuries or other unexpected setbacks, this "third five" at the end of the bench is not expected to play regularly. Their daily work in practice will nonetheless matter to a Buffs team hoping to surprise in the Big 12.

Boyle said he does not want the players to feel permanently shut out. "It's a fluid situation," he said, noting that Jones had a very good practice on Friday and that Jacobsen and Hill have also done good things. He said they have the capability but lack consistency because they are young, and that their standing in December could look very different from mid-to-late October. He asked them to prepare every day so they are mentally ready when called upon.