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LOS ANGELES -- Tad Boyle is back here in his home away from home.
Since it was announced that Colorado was moving to the Pac-12, the Buffs' head basketball coach has bolstered the talent level in the program by landing several promising prospects from the greater Los Angeles area.
Two tantalizing true freshmen, 6-foot-5 point guard Spencer Dinwiddie (Woodland Hills, Calif.) and 6-1 shooting guard Askia Booker (Los Angeles), are expected to have an immediate impact as CU transitions to its new digs.
"Askia and Spencer are very talented players physically. Their big challenge is making the mental adjustment to college basketball," Boyle said. "Physically, skill-wise, they're ready to go. They've got the athleticism. ... Both of those guys' roles are going to be important to our program this year."
A third member of the 2011 recruiting class, Damiene Cain, a 6-7 power forward from Los Angeles, enrolled at CU this semester but told the coaching staff he wanted to focus on academics and was not going to play basketball.
"I was a little surprised by it," Dinwiddie said of Cain's decision. "It's not every day you see a top-100 caliber player decide not to play."
The setback did nothing to slow down CU's momentum on the recruiting trail in Southern California.
The coaching staff has a verbal commitment from 6-6 forward Xavier Johnson from powerhouse Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif.
Another top-100 national prospect, 6-5 guard Tyrone Wallace Jr. from Bakersfield, Calif., also could be joining Boyle's impressive 2012 class after making a visit to Boulder last Saturday and narrowing his schools of choice down to CU and Cal.
"What made CU so attractive, of course the Pac-12 had a lot to do with it," Dinwiddie said. "But coach Tad Boyle and the staff, they were pretty much the deciding factor. One thing that's really different about them, as opposed to other staffs, is they're really good people and honest people. Whatever they tell you, you can take it to the bank. That's big in college basketball where you have a lot of people that you can't trust."
Boyle decided not to bring any of his new stars from Los Angeles home for Friday's Pac-12 basketball media day event. The second-year head coach rewarded senior forward Austin Dufault, who is from tiny Killdeer, N.D., with the free junket to Hollywood to promote the 2011-12 Buffs.
With the return of Big 12 veterans, including point guard Nate Tomlinson and rebounding leader Andre Roberson, and an infusion of young talent, the Buffs believe they will fit right in amongst their new Pac-12 peers.
"I feel we're coming in with a lot of speed. Other teams want to set plays, but we want to run. That's what coach has been talking about," Booker said. "A lot of people want to talk about running, but who really runs? I feel like we're one of those teams that really runs enough to beat some people."
Friday's event is another chance for Boyle to spread the message that CU basketball, coming off a program record 24-win season, can be good in the long run.
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