Quick Post: EuroTrip ends on a high note

The BasketBuffs wrapped up their exhibition schedule with a 96-57 victory over the Rotterdam Challengers yesterday afternoon.  Buoyed but yet another dominating night on the glass (55-29 rebound advantage), the result was never really in doubt, as the team enjoyed a 23-point advantage at halftime.

Josh Scott lead the way, yet again, scoring 19 points.  In the five games of the trip, he averaged 17.4 ppg, and lead the team in scoring four times.  While stats from these games are essentially meaningless, it's still very encouraging to see the freshman take on an offensive leadership role so quickly. 

Andre Roberson and Xavier Johnson each notched a double-double.  The 18/14 performance from 'Dre was his third in four attempts on the trip.  Sabatino Chen also had a big night, filling his stat line with 11 points, six rebounds, six assists, and six steals.

Much like the win from Saturday, I get the feeling that the Rotterdam Challengers weren't even close to the quality of the team in France.  Over the course of the two games, the Buffs out-rebounded Optima Ghent and the Challengers 105-48 (!!!!!).  Those are the kind of numbers you see when heavyweights are playing bad teams from the SWAC. 

Hell, even that French team, anchored by NBA big man Kevin Seraphin, got pounded on the glass 41-27 in the second game alone.  I'm starting to think European big mean are a little soft (big shock).  While I think CU will be very strong on the boards this season (the front-line additions of Scott, Johnson, and Wesley Gordon are a big boost), we'll have to wait and see what the rebound exchange rate is when the Buffs hit the court for real later this year.

With the win the Buffs improve their trip record to 2-3.  In a perfect world, that mark would've finished in the black, but the experience gained from the extra practices and in-game scenarios will be invaluable as this young team readies itself to take the floor in November.  Start the countdown clock: the team now has 80 days to rest up and prepare for Wofford on opening night. 

Monday Grab Bag: EuroTrip wraps up

Two weeks from today, I'll be wrapping up what will hopefully be the Buffs first win of the 2012 season.  It's scary to think how close the start of football is.  With the European trip wrapping up this afternoon in Holland, I'll be diving into 100% football talk by the end of the week.

Today in the bag, I'm talking the BasketBuffs double-dip in Belgium, the closing bell on the EuroTrip, and the recently completed football scrimmage.

Click below for the bag...

0-for-2 in Paris

Game two in Paris started much better for the Buffs.  A quick 11-2 lead gave Buff Nation hope of revenge against the AMW France Elite ''Pro A'' All-Stars.  It was not to be, however, as the French side would play +18 ball the rest of the first half, before putting the pedal down in the third quarter via 11-14 shooting.  Honestly, after that strong start, the Buffs were never really in the game as the French side poured on 58% shooting from the field.  The final read 91-74, making it back-to-back double-digit losses in the City of Light.

(Please remember that this trip is more about the extra practice time and in-game experience (and sightseeing!) than the final outcomes.  The individual box scores are not all that meaningful.)

Highlighting the performance for CU was freshman Josh Scott (nicknamed the "World's Only Chocolate Jellyfish" by the French radio crew) who notched his first double-double in a CU uniform with a 13/10 effort.  Andre Roberson barely missed his second double-double in as many nights, as he finished with 13/9.  Fueled by the pair of big men, the Buffs actually out-rebounded AMW 41-27.

Also for the Buffs, freshman Xavier Johnson chipped in 12 points.  XJ will come away from Paris having learned a painful lesson, however, as he watched a weak lay-up attempt get rocketed out of the arena by an AMW defender:

This was the final game in Paris, and only three games remain on the season-opening exhibition trip.  Leaving Paris behind is actually a sad moment, as it forces all of us in Buff Nation to say au revoir to the fantastic crew at 7pm Production who brought us the action from the Stade Pierre de Coubertin.  Nicolas and Francois followed up their strong Wednesday performance with even more nicknames, jokes, and brutally honest commentary during the second game.  They even did Buff Nation the honor of singing the fight song.

Nicolas (left) and Francois (right) were a lifeline of awesome during the Paris leg of the trip.

Buff Nation wasn't the only group impressed, either.  Virginia, who played in Paris Monday and Tuesday, also got the 7pm treatment, and Cavalier fans were equally happy with the crew's efforts.  A big thank you to both Nicolas and Francois for making the two CU games of the EuroJam the most entertaining games of basketball I've never seen.

From Paris, the team now travels to Belgium for a pair of games with local pro squads. The next game is scheduled for Saturday at noon MT against Optima Ghent.  Unfortunately, I don't think there will be any streaming coverage of the games, be it video or audio, the rest of the trip, so it's all on Andy Green and the CU SID office to relay information to those of us back home.  Get to it, Andy!

Go Buffs!  Beat Optima Ghent!

Buffs fall 86-73 in first game of European swing

Shortly before Coach Embree went and named a starter, the BasketBuffs tipped their preseason off against French professional side AMW France Elite ''Pro A'' All-Stars. After staying close for much of the game, the Buffs fell behind in the 4th quarter (playing by international rules, the Buffs have to deal with four 10-minute quarters, and a 24-second shot clock) before losing 86-73. A muted start to the season.

The loss, however, isn't as bad as it sounds. That French side is pretty good, having taken three their previous four exhibition games again collegiate competition (sweeping KU, and splitting with Virginia). They also feature bulky NBA power forward Kevin Seraphin. Throw in the fact that the game was being played on truly foreign soil, and an exhibition to boot, and I wouldn't read too much into the loss.

Scene of the crime.  From: Beau Gamble

Not surprisingly, Seraphin had a big game for the home team, dropping 24 points, and recording a few big blocks. For the Buffs, the losing effort was highlighted by Andre Roberson's 20 rebounds (along with 11 points for his first double-double of 2012-13), who seems more than willing to pick up where he left off in March. Spencer Dinwiddie and Askia Booker also chipped in 13 points a piece. Budding freshmen superstars Josh Scott and Xavier Johnson had strong collegiate debuts, dropping 12 and 9 points, respectively.

The biggest story to come out of the game, however, was the upsurge in Franco-American relations.

America and France have a long and storied friendship.  Going back to the founding of our country, France has not only been integral to our creation, but in our continuance as a free society as well.  They've given us many gifts over the years - Lafayette, money, and guns in the Revolution; the Statue of Liberty; a sporting stage to dominate other nations; the bikini - and in turn we've saved them from Ze Germans... twice!

The bonds of friendship between these two great countries were only strengthened yesterday afternoon, as the french radio broadcast of the CU/AMW France game brought down the house.  Over the course of two hours, Francois and Nicolas shared their world with a tiny, but dedicated, band of Buffs.  They were fantastic, coining nicknames ("Jelly" Scott, "Moumoute" or "hairy" Booker, "Mayor of Buffaloes" Dinwiddie, and "the Wonderful" Stalzer ), cracking jokes, describing the game in an honest manner, and even telling the world that "Kansas sucks."  Couldn't have been any better (Replay available here and here, first link starts in french).

Francois (?) interviewing Seraphin after a recent game.  From: 7pm Production

The Buffs have one final game in Paris this afternoon before heading to Belgium.  If you have the chance, clear out some time this afternoon to listen to Francois and Nicolas, it's well worth your time. You can check it out here.  Tip-off is set for 12:30 MT.

Go Buffs, beat the AMW France Elite ''Pro A'' All-Stars!

Quick Post: 2012-13's first gameday

Today, at 12:30 MT, the Buffs will tip-off their first game of the Europe trip.  Information on whether the game will feature streamed coverage is a little sketchy, but I'm more hopeful than I was a few days ago.  If anything else develops, I'll be sure to post it.

Also worth checking out, walk-on guard Beau Gamble has a tumblr account set-up, and is posting pictures and thoughts from the trip.  You may want to check it out.

Monday Grab Bag: Tad Boyle's European Vacation

The big news this week is two-fold.  Not only is the football program finishing up fall practice with its second full week, but the BasketBuffs are embarking on their long anticipated trip to Europe.  Apologies to the football program, but my focus is on Coach Boyle's European Vacation.

Today in the bag, I'll be talking trip details, recapping my recent visit practice, and touch on the half-way point of fall football camp.

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Monday Grab Bag: Fall camp is open for business

Football is back.  Officially.  I'm serious, just look:

Today is the first full day of fall camp, and the CU Video team was kind enough to put together that nice short to pump everyone up.  The video states "Believe and love what we are doing.  Success will come."  The coaching staff has stated that that success is a bowl trip.  All that's left is for the team to live up to that guarantee, because that success train is long past-due.

Today in the bag, I'll be looking at the five storylines I'll be following as camp unfolds, talking the un-official start of basketball season, and running through some Olympics notes.

Click below for the bag...