Monday Grab Bag: Coach Boyle Stays Hot on the Recruiting Trail

I'm back from vacation in Tampa (... or will be once this damn plane lands).  One of the many reasons for my trip was the opportunity to visit my 17th Major League Baseball stadium - Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays.  It's far from the nicest place to watch a game - it's a hateful dome, fer crissakes - but I got to spend Mother's Day with my Mom, and watch Longoria patrol third from less than 50 feet away.  Not too shabby.

Now, safely returned to Colorful Colorado, I'm focusing on a new basketball recruit, honors in track and field, and another Husker running afoul of the law.

Click below for the bag...



Long Live King, George - 

For the second year in a row, Coach Boyle has pulled a fast one, and added an under-the-radar recruit in the late signing period.

Following closely on the heels of last week's headline grabbing commitment from 2014 PG Dom Collier comes news that the 2013 class is not yet finished.  George King, a 6-6 SF from San Antonio, TX, has signed on the dotted line, and will be joining Jarron Hopkins, Dustin Thomas, and Tre'Shaun Fletcher on campus this fall.

Kin completes the '13 recruiting class... I think.  From: MySanAntonio.com

I need to stop trying to guess what Tad will do with his remaining scholarships.  Every time I think he's going to bank for future years, he hits the recruiting trail, and comes up with a surprise.  Last year at this point, we were celebrating the arrival of Eli Stalzer after I had declared the 2012 recruiting class finished.  Now, King jumps into the program after I had turned my attention to 2014.  You just can't sleep on Coach Boyle, as he continues to dig up D-1 talent well after everyone else has moved on.

Admittedly, I know next to nothing about King.  Originally a verbal commit to UNC (Northern Colorado, not North Carolina), he experienced a growth spurt prior to his senior year which helped his name explode on the amateur tournament circuit.  Add to it some dramatic improvement on the academic side, and high-major programs began to pay attention.  While interest was reported from teams like Texas, Gonzaga, and UTEP,  it was the Buffs who landed the rising star.  (Will Whelan over at Rivals has much more on the nitty-gritty of King's recruitiment, if you have a subscription.)

King was named the 2013 San Antonio area player of the year after notching 17/12 for 4A Brennan, and looks to bring his sweet shooting stroke and versatile rebounding nose with him to Boulder.  There is some speculation that his growth spurt hasn't yet finished, which would make this late addition even more enticing.

The signing leaves the Buffs with only one probable scholarship left to spend on the 2014 class.

Welcome to the Black and Gold, George!


Lewis Becomes a Husker, Immediately Accused of Committing a Felony - 

News broke last week that promising CU offensive lineman Alex Lewis was fed up with the program, and on his way to transferring to, of all places, hated Nebraska.  OK, the Buffs are awful, but couldn't you have picked some other transfer destination?  *sigh*

Lewis, #71, apparently likes red.

While I waffled between wishing the former Buff good luck, and plotting his doom for defecting to the enemy, noted anti-CU troll John Henderson gleefully passed along that Lewis was leaving because "he wanted to go somewhere and be around guys who want to win."

Oh, I see how it is.  Well, this should wipe the smile off everyone's face...

In true Nebraska fashion, the newly minted Husker couldn't even get to the weekend without landing on the police blotter.  He was booked on two charges of second degree assault stemming from a Friday night incident.  As Coach MacIntyre helpfully points out:

"[...] as of Friday he was off of the team when he did a media interview and announced that he is transferring to Nebraska. Since he is no longer a Colorado Buffalo, it will be up to Nebraska to decide what discipline he might face." -link

But, don't worry, Alex, Lincoln has a long and storied tradition of turning a blind eye to the felonious pasts of it's football stars.  Whether convicted or acquitted, you'll fit in just fine in the land of Thunder Collins, Christian Peter, and Lawrence Phillips.

Of course, injured CU QB Jordan Webb was also arrested and charged for the same event, but I have to believe it was all the damn Husker's fault.


Coburn and Van Halen Sweep Steeplechase - 

Just in time for the release of brand new episodes of "Arrested Development," the banana stand comes through with more hardware for Dal Ward.

Cross country stars Emma Coburn and Aric Van Halen (awesome name, brah) each won their respective 3,000m steeple chase runs at the Pac-12 Track and Field Championships in LA.  It's the first such sweep for CU since 2007, when Jenny Barringer and Billy Nelson swept through the Big XII field.

Van Halen, chasing steeples.  From: CUBuffs.com

Both Coburn and Van Halen cruised to easy victories, with Coburn besting a stadium record set in 2005.

Despite the steeple chase dominance, and a strong showing in the men's 5k, the Buffs still finished well out of contention for the overall team titles.


Happy Monday!