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Woelk: CU's Higgins envisions full house wearing black and gold
Colorado freshman Cory Higgins had heard the stories -- he just didn't know how much to believe.
Not, at least, until he walked onto the Coors Events Center floor Saturday afternoon, looked up and saw as many folks dressed in Kansas blue and red as Colorado black and gold.
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Then Higgins knew the stories weren't exaggerations. And, when the Jayhawks finally took the lead for good with an 8-0 run to start the second half, he didn't need to look.
He heard. The visitors had taken over the floor and the stands. The Buffs had no answer in either department.
"The guys who have been here for a year or two tried to warn me," Higgins said. "It's not that I didn't believe them ... but I didn't expect anything like that."
Certainly, Saturday's scene in CU's arena is nothing new to folks who have spent even a few years watching Buff hoops.
As CU coach Jeff Bzdelik noted, Kansas fans are proud of their basketball team. And, when KU pays its annual visit to Boulder, it always guarantees a genuine college hoops atmosphere, something rarely seen in these parts.
"It's a great environment," Bzdelik said. "We told ourplayers to embrace the experience. Enjoy it and compete."
The Buffs did their best. They competed on even terms with the nation's No. 2 team for 20 minutes, and kept it close for another 12.
But in the end, Kansas' superior talent and superior depth did what it is supposed to do: win. If you want to measure your college basketball program, Kansas is a pretty good place to start, and Saturday provided the perfect example of why.
Higgins, though, didn't walk off in awe. The Buff freshman delivered a solid accounting of his abilities with 11 points, three assists, a couple of rebounds and a solid defensive effort.
And when the day had finished, he set a goal for himself and his fellow youngsters on the team.
"Before I leave here, we're going to have fans like that," he vowed. "We're going to have our gym full of our fans, and we're going to have people following us like that on the road."
Of course, those of us who have been around long enough to know better tend to smile at such statements. Attribute them to the innocence of youth.
But Higgins isn't the first to make such a promise at Colorado.
Years ago, a young football coach walked into Boulder and immediately vowed to end the days of CU's stadium being half red for Nebraska games. We all laughed then, too -- and just a few years later, Bill McCartney was filling Folsom Field with black and gold.
Guaranteed, Higgins isn't laughing. Higgins wants to win, and he firmly believes Bzdelik has the Buffs pointed in the right direction.
"You have to look at the big picture," Higgins said. "We're going to get there. You can see the difference in the way we're playing, even from just a couple of months ago.
"We've played people tough. Just about everybody we've played, we've played them close. But we have to take it to the next level, take that next step. We have to get better."
Given the fact that CU basketball hasn't been a tough ticket for the better part of 50 years, it's hard to imagine that day ever coming.
But this is a new era at CU. Basketball no longer plays second fiddle to football.
The new operations center is almost complete. The locker rooms are being remodeled. Just a few days ago, Bzdelik received assurances that a weight room will be built in the Events Center.
The commitment is there, and Bzdelik is making it clear to his team that there will be not shortcuts. When Bzdelik sat starter Xavier Silas on the bench for the entire game Saturday, it was a message to everyone on the team -- do things the right way, or you won't be doing them at all.
"You have to be excited about the future here," Higgins said. "We're going in the right direction. Before we leave here, we'll fill the gym."
Go ahead, smile.
But check back with Cory Higgins in a few years and see who has the last laugh.
Posted by mgmtgrad on February 3, 2008 at 6:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This is great, I was there when Chancey Billips was and it was fun to go to the games. If I lived in Colorado I'd buy my season tickets next year to get the good seats before the band wagon pulls out of the factory.
Bz isn't just building new improvements to the operations and team, He's ordered the coolest bandwagon. The special order is going to take a year or two to build, but it will be fun when both football and basketball are winning. It'll make reading about the team from a far, far more interesting.
Marcus J
Posted by TallyBuff on February 3, 2008 at 7:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Neill has come back to roundball! Now if we can get him to have a look at coach McC's (sadly struggling) squad...
Seriously, I am with Neill on this. And despite the remarkably labile performance of McC's team, I think CU hoops are looking up.
Go Buffs!
Posted by dsnow622 on February 3, 2008 at 8:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I'll trump mgtmgrad. I remember Ken Charlton, Spider Davis, and the Frink brothers, and losing to Cincinnati and Oscar Robertson in the NCAAs. It would be wonderful to bring back those days.
Posted by rswright on February 3, 2008 at 12:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I think I can trump that. I remember sitting with Dan Creedon for three weeks of great basketball:
the Industrial league playoffs (the DC Truckers, Phillips 66'ers,George Bonsalle); next week the AAU and the third the Olympic team with the Big O and Daryl Imoff.
Posted by neb_cu_buff on February 4, 2008 at 6:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I love watching CU hoops, no matter what. They just continue to be more exciting each game and that's because they really are improving in different areas each contest. They have come close to beating a couple of good teams and have hung with the top teams in Big IX so far. I can't wait to make it to a game at Coors Events Center and I can't wait to move back to Colorado this summer and be part of CU football and basketball where it's going to be close to me and not so far away as I am now (stuck in that big black whole in the middle of our country that someone named Nebraska). GO BUFFS! Be Proud!
Posted by ryanrehkop on February 4, 2008 at 8:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
They suck so bad it is horrible. When does football start!!!!!!! I live in Georgia, but if I had the chance I would be there. Come on CU support!!!! I come from the SEC and that is sports. Get off your liberal smoking drugs hippy ass and support your buff. I may be from the south but I love my buffs. I only wish and dream to have the oppertunity to one day come there.
Posted by JAWS on February 4, 2008 at 8:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Allright All here's the deal: ESPNZONE on 16th street downtown WILL NOT open it's doors to anyone untill 11:00AM (bad decision on there part, could have been a lucative kick start to their normally mundane Wednesday lunch), making watching the decision as a group there impossible; However, I just spoke with my buddy who owns The Bull and Bush Brewery (4700 Cherry Creek South Dr. Denver, CO - mapquest it if you need, it's rght in the middle of Glendale)which is not only a GREAT sports-bar, but also a huge backer and fan of all things CU - they normally open at 11:00, but they will open about 15 minutes early for ANYONE who wants to come and watch/hopefully celebrate the decision as a group!!! Let's make a big push to get in there and show some pride as a 'team' ourselves... I'll be in there in full force decked out in Black and Gold and ready to have a celebratory 'Black and Tan!' Hope as many of you other Denverites want to join me... They also have a great selection of beer/scotch etc... as well as KILLER food, so it would be a blast to have lunch there as a CU contingent... Post back if you plan on attending and let's have a blast as the best and most loyal part of BUFFNATION!! I will post this on he other forums in buffzone as well as in the chatroom on Rivals.com - And no, I DO NOT work for or represent the bar in any way, I am not 'promoting' an event for my own self-interest, I am gaining nothing from this, I just want to have a group together to increase our support as a whole. I just think it's a wonderful and supportive enviornment for us Buff fans to get together. Hope we can pack the place and pop the roof off of it with a thunderous round of screaming/cheering/applause etc... at 10:50 - GO BUFFS - COME TO BOULDER D. SCOTT!!!
Posted by rswright on February 5, 2008 at 9:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"I only wish and dream to have the oppertunity..." Try the dicsionary. This cracker must be kidding.
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