Jeff Bzdelik is excited about the future of the Colorado men's basketball program and is going to do everything in his power to try to make sure his right-hand man is a part of it.

Monday night, Bzdelik announced that assistant Steve McClain had been promoted to CU associate head coach.

"Now he gets credit for half of the losses," Bzdelik quipped at CU's season-ending banquet.

McClain, who won a pair of Mountain West titles during his nine-year run at Wyoming, said it would take a "special" head coaching opportunity to leave Boulder. He was admiring a view of the snow-capped Flatirons from the luxury suites at Folson Field at the time.

"It was something Jeff approached me about and Mike (Bohn) approached me about," McClain said of his new title. "I felt greatly honored. We're excited about the future of this program. To have my name associated with Jeff Bzdelik is something I'm proud of."

McClain's Cowboys upset Bzdelik's Air Force teams in the first round of the MWC tournament the past two seasons. Together they experienced a little March Madness last week when the Buffs became the first No. 12 seed to beat a No. 5 seed at the Big 12 Tournament with the double-overtime victory over Baylor.

"In all my years of coaching, that was one of the great-est moments I've been a part of," Bzdelik said.

Another big win

McClain's ability to recruit is another reason Bzdelik enjoys his company so much. And it appears the coaching staff is on the verge of locking up another prize recruit.

Ebuka Anyaorah, a 6-foot-4 guard from Suwanee, Ga., is expected to chose CU over Michigan, Texas A&M;, Georgia and Georgia Tech. He made a visit to Boulder on March 1 and watched the Buffs beat Iowa State 67-55.

Anyaorah is a talented late bloomer who averaged 26.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and three assists per game. CU had a scholarship become available after Xavier Silas was dismissed from the team last month.

Bzdelik will have an additional scholarship available after deciding to also dismiss incoming recruit Javonte Clanton from the program when the guard was kicked off the Blinn (Texas) College team this month. The coaching staff would like to land another point guard.

Buffs to Portsmouth

CU seniors Richard Roby and Marcus Hall have both been invited to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, one of two pre-draft camps. NBA scouts from every team will be scouring the talent in Portsmouth, Va., looking for hidden gems.

Hall's stock went up after scoring 25 points and handing out 10 assists against Baylor, a team loaded with some of the best guards in the country. Roby, currently projected as a second-round pick, became the Buffs' all-time leading scorer with 50 points at the Big 12 Tournament.

The organizers of the Portsmouth event usually try to assemble the 64 best NCAA senior draft prospects in the country for an eight-team, 12 game tournament held over a four day period. The 56th edition of the tournament will be conducted this year from April 9th to April 12th.