Posted by NJBuff on December 7, 2007 at 5 a.m. (Suggest removal)

You are right Neill. During the Stanford game our offense became very stagnant, harking back to the Patton days. The team wasn't making solid picks or sharp cuts, and were either standing around watching the ball or "cheating" on offense instead of actually running it.

The season is still young, and Rich still has a chance to shine. I'm convinced he'll have a much better season...
Let's go Buffs!

Posted by roscoebuff on December 7, 2007 at 6:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Good column topic, Neill, I have been waiting for this one. Roby played aggressive and assertive as a frosh and soph, and now he looks downright passive at times.

Also, has anyone else noticed that he has not put on a pound of muscle since he came to Boulder? I am not a huge X Silas fan, but in one year, James' Son is already gotten yoked in the weight room. That Cat is Cut....while Roby still has the same spaghetti, flacko arms that he had back when Antoine "No Need To Guard Me" McGee was running the point. In addition, Roby's two moves -- the spin move on the baseline and his drop step off the wing always lead to him shooting tough, fallaway jumpers. The moves are way too predictable; add that to the fact that he was a better 3-ball shooter as a sophomore and you have the recipe for a mediocre player who hasn't elevated, progressed, or added to his game in three years.

Any scout knows that...his moves are as predictable as KMart shooting a jump hook in the lane --- Everytime, Baby.

There mama needs to teach those dawgs some new tricks.

I once thought Roby would be a pit bull on the court by now with the mindset of an assassin. Now I think he is just like a little stubborn kitty, a poor man's Donnie Boyce. Two years ago, I would have never thought we'd be saying that, and the fact that he is cream puff soft and his game is headed straight to Europe.

How sad.

Posted by theyronlykids on December 7, 2007 at 9:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)

You must always remember that they are only kids. They make mistakes, and are still learning the game of basketball as individuals are doing that have made it to the NBA. It could be any number of reasons why a player may not be reaching his full potential; and one of them may be reading the very abusive tone and nature of some comments.

They are only kids!
QUESTION: How many of us are critiqued every minute of the day by every Joe, Bob, and Susan? And their comments and OPINIONS of us placed in public viewed documents like newspapers, radio shows, etc?

Posted by GoBuffs05 on December 7, 2007 at 10:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I think Neil is right about Roby and the rest of the team playing timid, but there are relevant excuses. Going from an offense of no descernable structure to a very organized one has caused the players to think too much on the floor. There is a learning curve, and patience is required. Once these guys fully understand the offense, success will follow. Remember, these are still young guys, not even 25 years old.

Posted by kyle.senescu on December 7, 2007 at 10:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)

i don't think thats totally fair, with the exception of two or three games roby has had a good season. Roby is hitting 50.6% of his field goals this year and that is the best of any of his other three years so far. He is also hitting 37.5% of his shots from 3 land and that is slightly better than his percentage has been any of his other years here, and finally hes hitting 75% of his free throws which is also a little bit better than any of his other years here. So all of his shooting statistics are the best they've ever been so far this year, hes not taking as many bad shots, and hes making a lot more of them. I distinctly remember an article a few weeks back that was something along the lines of "Roby back to sophomore form." Like Hawk says you've got to stay off the mountain tops and out of the valleys, it is completely unfair to change your opinion of Roby as a player after every single game, and you also have to remember that he is still new to Bzdelik's system and getting used to it.

Posted by NorCalLovesDaBuffs on December 7, 2007 at 5:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I never thought i'd say a player made a big mistake by coming to CU, but you have to figure Roby would have been way better off going to UCLA like he originally intented.

Posted by barney56 on December 7, 2007 at 5:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Not sure why the comment below appears in another area of the site but not here? I took the liberty of cutting and pasting it as I find Coach Frink's comments to be spot on, especially since he coached Richard Roby during his outstanding sophomore season. Neill Woelk, what is the purpose of this column? Has Bzdelik asked you to "send a message" to Richard because the new CU head man is unable to "get through" to his star player on his own? As Coach Frink says, all you've done is make the situation worse, and it really is a cheap shot on your part!
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Posted by mikedfrink on December 7, 2007 at 8:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)

IT IS SO UNPROFESSIONAL THAT YOU TAKE THIS COWARDICE "SHOT" TO CRITIQUE RICHARD ROBY'S SENIOR SEASON.
HE SHOULD NOT BE CONCERNED IN THE LEAST LET ALONE REMINDED BY YOU OF ALL PEOPLE IN A PUBLIC FORUM SO THAT HIS TEAMMATES,FANS,AND ALL OF YOUR READERS CAN SECOND GUESS HIM DAILY ON HOW MUCH MONEY HE IS "LOSING" WHILE WINDING DOWN HIS COLLEGE CAREER. HE NEEDS TO PLAY FOR THE TEAM UNDER HIS PRESENT COACH'S GUIDELINES AND LEAD THIS 07-08 TEAM TO POST SEASON PLAY. HE IS ADAPTING TO "ANOTHER PHILOSOPHY" AT CU FOR THE FIFTH OR SIXTH TIME IN HIS FOUR YEARS. IF YOU WERE OBSERVING HIS PREVIOUS 3 SEASONS SURELY EVEN YOU UNDERSTAND THIS POINT.
I,ON THE OTHER HAND,CAN PERSONALLY TESTIFY THAT RICHARD ROBY IS A YOUNG MAN DESTINED TO BE A PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYER.
I WITNESSED HIS ALL BIG 12 SOPHOMORE SEASON FROM THE "FRONT ROW AND LOCKER ROOM " EVERYDAY.
RICHARD HAS HAD TO CONTEND WITH SO MANY VARIABLES AT CU WHICH WERE FOR THE MOST PART BEYOND HIS CONTROL AND DOING.
LIKE ANY PLAYER HE MUST TRUST AND RESPECT HIS COACH; AND, ALSO KNOW THAT HIS COACH TRUSTS AND RESPECTS HIM AS WELL. EVEN AFTER HIS ALL BIG 12 SOPHOMORE SEASON RICHARD WAS DISTRAUGHT ABOUT SO MANY ISSUES.
IT WAS MY ADVICE AT THE TIME TO "KEEP ALL OF HIS OPTIONS OPEN" BY CONTINUING TO TAKE COURSES ON THE INTERNET WHICH WOULD NOT JEOPARDIZE HIS ELIGIBILITY AS A JUNIOR IF HE RETURNED TO SCHOOL. TRANSFERRING WAS ANOTHER CONSIDERATION BUT THAT WOULD HAVE MEANT THAT HE WOULD NEED TO REDSHIRT AT ANOTHER SCHOOL IN A DIFFERENT CONFERENCE WHICH WOULD "DELAY" CONSIDERABLY HIS DREAM TO PLAY IN THE NBA.
I DO NOT FEEL IT NECESSARY TO BELABOR MYSELF OR YOU WITH "ALL OF THE MESS" WHICH HE FACED IN HIS FIRST 3 YEARS AT CU.
SUFFICE IT TO SAY THAT RICHARD HAS BEEN "SHORT
CHANGED" BY HIS COACHING STAFF AND CU ATH ADM DURING HIS 3 SEASONS WHICH BRINGS HIM TO A VERY PRESSURE PACKED FINAL CAMPAIGN.
BASICALLY, RICHARD NEEDS TO HAVE STOOD UP MORE FOR HIMSELF AND HIS TEAMMATES(SOME OF WHOM WERE DISMISSED LAST SPRING)WHEN HE WAS DISRESPECTED BY THE ADULTS WHO WERE HIS "FANS WHEN HE WAS STARRING" AND HIS CRITICS INCLUDING YOU WHEN HE WAS STRUGGLING.
NONE OF US CAN KNOW WHERE RICHARD WOULD BE AT THIS MOMENT HAD HE BEEN ENCOURAGED AND COACHED IN A POSITIVE ENVIRONMENT AT CU.
I HAPPEN TO BELIEVE THAT HE WOULD BE IN THE NBA ALREADY.

Posted by roscoebuff on December 8, 2007 at 6:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I understand where Coach Frink is coming from and the poster who said they are only kids does raise a good point. Still, that doesn't mean we cannot criticize a Division I athlete for under-performing on or off the court.

There is a lot to read into when reading Michael Frink's comments; the first of which is for those of you who don't remember, he was essentially forced out and left his alma mater thoroughly and utterly disgusted with the way Ricardo treated and related to the players. The players on the 2005-06 squad liked and respected Coach Frink a lot, and Patton felt threatened by that in many ways (Patton was and is gravely insecure about certain things) ---- because he had lost that senior-dominated team and they unraveled in psychology and performance late in that disappointing season.

All that being said, there is one line Coach Frink brought on that said everything..."Richard has had to contend with so many variables at CU which for the most part were beyond his control and doing." This is my point: My thing with Rich is the same issue I talk about with a lot of the students I teach everyday in high school: Worry about the things you can control and pour all of your energy and emphasis in those areas and don't worry about the things you can't."

Richard Roby surely has had 100 percent control over improving his one on one skills by learning better how to explode to the rack, his ability to break people down from the wing, to have a mid range jumper, to better his 3-point shooting, and to play defense. Anyone who has ever played or coached basketball knows that individual skills are honed in the summers. Richard Roby has also had 100 percent control over his body and getting stronger by working out. All you need to do is look at his frame and know he hasn't spent surmountable time in the weight room since he arrived on campus. Richard also has 100 percent control of his oral expression on the court and he has 100 percent control of playing fearless, with the reckless abandon of a junkyard dawg. Division I hoops is played about 65 percent above the neck (at the high school level it is 85 percent), which means playing with intelligence, awareness and a sense of desparation. How many times have we seen him mope or bury his head in the sand when his offensive game is eluding him? He is getting better at this, but still, a true leader and team player has to have the makeup of a warrior. Body language can say so much about someone --- and often watching Richard Roby has been like watching a fragile, socio-emotional challenged, overly sensitive, lost pup. So much of everything is attitude and confidence that at some point needs to be a choice of a young man but can be heightened or hurt with the right (or wrong) amount of nurturing. And this is where there is blame, because in many ways Roby has been a victim of circumstances beyond his control.

Posted by roscoebuff on December 8, 2007 at 7:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Ricardon't Patton had a life sized chip on his shoulder that he was the underdog in everything he did all of the time. He believed in tough love, a forthright paternal hand laced with heaviness and was demonstrative in how he showed it. To Ricardon't, that's how you relate to young people, in particular young black men. In many ways, that is limiting and in its own way ignorant. For all of Ricardo's ways, his ego, and leadership style, when all is said and done, Jeff Bzdelik, a middle aged white guy, is going to have been the best mentor of a coach that Richard Roby has ever had. Patton got so caught up in drama and his self-proclaimed role as a supposed father/mentor that he forgot to worry about raising the emotional intelligence of young men and the basketball acumen of his players: that is where the rubber meets the road in terms of turning young men (regardless of their background) into well adjusted, positive and productive adults.

Those of us who have our own children, have coached, or actually were raised by dad's differently know Patton's style doesn't always work. Anyone who knows Richard Roby knows he is pensive and sensitive as hell. I want to see him succeed but I also am frustrated by watching him not dive for loose balls, not get angry on the court, not fire up his teammates, and continuing to accept being a head case; at some point, there has to be personal accountability for a 22-year-old, in particular one who once spoke OPEN and OFTEN about his eyes being on the NBA. Coach Bz says it best when he describes how his team needs to play with desparation, desparate energy, no fear, relentless. That is the instinct of an on the court killer, and one that Roby will need to master both in his life and as an athlete. I have no doubts he will play professionally, I just don't think it will be in the NBA. Certainly there is blame all around -- but I am confident in saying that Richard Roby has not done everything in his power, in his control to become a bona-fide NBA talent.

Posted by CABuffalo on December 12, 2007 at 10:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I can't stand Roby. I'm excited for the future of this team, but I don't really enjoy watching them with Roby in there. They just can't seem to get into any kind of offensive rhythm with Roby in the lineup. His Basketball IQ is minimal and he is about as consistent as a snowflake.