Running Buffaloes

There are few things in this world that get me really excited. Some of these things include finding $20 in an old jean pocket, icing your friend with a Strawberry Acai, Chipotle, beating my friends in Words With Friends and ultimately, seeing Buff players get nationally known for their talents and eventually getting drafted.

Today Alec Burks announced that he is going to be taking his talents, not to the new CU basketball/volleyball facilities, but to the NBA and will forfeit the last two years of his college career. It's sad to see Alec leave but I can never be mad at a person for accepting millions of dollars and taking a shot at stardom. Well actually, yes I can (see Montag, Heidi). I can't wait until draft night to see where he might land, though. As of right now, ESPN ranks Alec Burks as the #1 shooting guard in the draft - yes, even above Kemba Walker - and the 14th overall prospect. Generally speaking, that means there is 13 players that will go ahead of Burks in the draft and then factor in a few overrated Europeans and it looks like Burks may have a shot of landing with a solid team that is in need of a scoring 2 guard. So what team will be sitting in the 15-20 range and in need of a wing player?? Well by the way things are shaping up for the Nuggets (down 0-2 in the playoffs, with JR Smith saying he likely won't return next year...) they may be in prime position to draft Burks and keep him in Colorado. I won't get my hopes up but it's wishful thinking. Aside from some other former Buffs that got a shot at the NBA, I think Burks has the best shot at making a name for himself. His size is ideal for an NBA shootingguard (6'6) and he definitely has the athleticism. Aside from most shooting guards coming out of college, Burks' stregth is attacking the rim and not settling for jumpers. His game reminds me of Dwayne Wade in a sense that he fearlessly drive the lane and then counters it with a mid range jumper when the defense plays off him. This is exactly what NBA scouts look for when drafting because the last thing they want to do is draft a shoot first shooting guard who ends up being Rashad McCants.

Burks ripped it up this year and headlined the All-Big 12 team because he averaged 20.5 points, leading the Big 12 in scoring and breaking CU's single-season record for points scored. He also led the Buffs in assists and was second on the squad in rebounds, averaging 6.5 boards per game. I have went 3 1/2 years in college with losing sports teams and then on the last leg of my senior year, I get a gift from the sports gods who bless me with a good basketball team. Top flight players, big time dunks, beating ranked teams, etc. were all present in a season that was cut too short by the douche-bags who finalize the March Madness bracket. That aside, it was nice to see a team, well you know, actually play basketball and win some games for a school that was in much need of shot of life in the athletic department.

Anywho, best of luck to Burks and his career. It will be nice to see a Buffalo in the NBA outside of Chauncey. Man that's depressing to see only ONE Buff in the NBA...

Cory Higgins - Whether he was droppin' dimes at the Coors Event Center or picking up dimes at the Absinthe House, the dude always brought his "A" game. I had the pleasure of watching Higgins play for all four years because he was in my freshman class. I actually met him like the first week of school because we had some mutual friends (he went to Danville High with a few of my good friends) and I knew the guy was legit. Lets be honest here, Higgins could and should have been playing for a big time basketball program but it was his wiliness to start something new and build up CU's basketball program that brings out the true character in Higgins. His loyalty to CU paid huge dividends to the program as we soon collected some talented prospects in Burks, Roberson, Sharpe, etc. which eventually allowed us become a top tier basketball team team in the country. It's a shame that the Buffs got completely screwed out of the March Madness tournament because that would have been a fitting way to end his career. BUT none the less, Higgins will have his name forever placed in the Buffaloes record books and there still is a chance that the scoring two-guard may get some looks in the NBA. By the way, it doesn't hurt when your god-father is the greatest basketball player to ever grace this planet (Michael Jordan) and your dad is the GM for an NBA team (Rod Higgins)....

Levi Knutson - Leave it to Jeff Bzdelik to bury our teams best shooter on the bench for his first 3 years. Levi came through huge for the Buffaloes this year and took home the Sixth Man of the Year award which was well deserved considering that Levi helped secure the Buffs backcourt which was desperately hurting in the point guard position. Levi was a sniper from downtown and smart/gritty defender on the perimeter. This year, Levi was a lot like Vanilla Ice. He burst onto the scene out of nowhere, began dominating a black mans craft, and everyone was asking "where the hell has this guy been all along?" Like Vanilla Ice though, he was a one hit wonder, his career was short lived and he will never be heard from again. At least Levi doesn't have a real name like Robert Matthew Van Winkle. It should be a law that no one with a name like that can pick up a microphone and try to rap. Stick to country. Or yodeling.

Andre Roberson - This kid came out of nowhere. At 6'7 I thought he was a small forward but his wingspan and insane leaping ability turned him into one of the most productive rebounders and shot blockers in the Big 12 (set the freshman Colorado rebounding record). With Harris-Tunks being sidelined for the season, Roberson was our last line of defense against opposing big men. Whether it was his explosive weak-side blocks or his monster jams, the sky is the limit for the guy who was already turning heads during his first year. He isn't a stiff either. He hit a few three's and could handle the ball better than expected for power forward.




Shannon Sharpe - If Shannon spent as much time working on his jumper than he does on Twitter than the Buffs might have made March Madness without any controversy. With Nate Tomlinson playing like how you would expect and short, white, Australian to play, the Buffs point guard position was Sharpe's to take this year. Shannon played pretty well considering he was coming off a season ending injury last year but his inconsistent jump shot and lack of left handled dribbling cost him big time minutes. Like I said, Levi filled in very nicely at the point for a majority of the game so we could afford to have Shannon come in as only a defensive specialist but next year will be Shannon's time to step with the departure of Burks, Higgins, and Knutson. I am excited to see the potential of Sharpe because the sky is the limit with him. If he can develop a consistent outside shot than watch out because he can already do things like this: