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!

Quick Post: Christian Powell is no Lawrence Vickers

Eric Bieniemy compared Fr. FB Christian Powell to ex-Buff and NFL vet Lawrence Vickers today. #CUBuffs
— Brian Howell (@BrianHowell33) August 16, 2012

All apologies to Coach EmbreeBieniemy, but I think he has lost his damn mind. There has been, and ever will be, only one LV.  I say without reservation that he was the greatest fullback in the history of the world.  In fact, the original V-back was more god than man, capable of winning football games and destroying whole planets with the slightest flex of his biceps.  Before there was the Honey Badger, there was Lawrence.  He took what he wanted while still giving a shit.

Let me ask you coach, has young Mr Powell shown capable of karate kicking punters in the face?

Is he willing to destroy a man's soul in the pursuit of a touchdown?

Is he capable of leaving fool defenders in his tracks, as if they weren't even there in the first place?

I didn't think so.

Christian Powell may be great someday, hell he may even be great today, but he can never approach the legacy of the great Lawrence Vickers.

I rest my damn case.

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!

Webb is the QB

Remember last week when the coaching staff teased the possibility that the open QB competition could bleed into the first few games of the season?  Well... about that...

Buff fans do you like Sunflower Seeds?The Buffalo is the official animal of what state?
— Jon Embree (@JEbuffs) August 15, 2012

Before I even got home from work, Coach Embree had sent out that tweet, cryptically signaling that the coaching staff had named their starter, and that it was Kansas transfer Jordan Webb. I commented yesterday that Buff Nation would know more after the upcoming weekend's scrimmage, but Coach Embree didn't even bother to wait for that live-fire test.  So much for a long, protracted battle.

Anoint him with oils, he's been chosen.  From: the BDC

Of course, it's not like this wasn't expected.  Recent comments by the coaching staff had made it very clear who they were favoring.  It was only a matter of whether the coaching staff would afford Wood the remaining time before the season to try and close the gap.

So, with a week and a half to go before the RMS, CU has their QB.  But that doesn't mean everyone in Buff Nation is happy with the result.  While the news was still digesting, noted Buff commentator Tyler Ziskin raised a few salient points.

Of Webb's 17 career losses... he's lost by 50+ points 2x, 40+ points 4x, 30+ points 4x...of his 17 losses only 3 have been by single digits
— Tyler Ziskin (@TZiskBuff) August 15, 2012

Webb has thrown for 200+ yards just 5x...only 3x vs BCS opponents.He has 1 career 300 yard passing game.He lost to 1-AA ND St in 2010
— Tyler Ziskin (@TZiskBuff) August 15, 2012

The depressing truth about new #Buffs QB Jordan Webb. He's 4-17 in his 2 years at KU, 1-16 vs BCS opponents.Last BCS win?9/11/10 vs GT
— Tyler Ziskin (@TZiskBuff) August 15, 2012

Jordan Webb hasn't had over 170 yards passing since Oct 8, 2011, a span of 7 games.All in lopsided losses, conducive to passing yards
— Tyler Ziskin (@TZiskBuff) August 15, 2012

Not exactly the stuff of legend, is it?  His point, and it's a fair one, is that the staff put far too much importance on Webb's last two years as a starter.

Of course, I've been on the Connor Wood bandwagon since his arrival last fall, so I'm predisposed to agree with TZisk.  I've always been enamored with Wood's measurables, and I just don't hold Webb's "experience" in high regard, having come in a program reeling through their own calamitous coaching era.  While it's true that Wood had yet to see any of a collegiate field, his career, at least, isn't lousy with losing.

However, the decision has been made, and I'm nothing if not a CU homer.  I for one welcome our new Jayhawk overlord, and wish him luck garroting the lambs on Sept 1st.

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.

Quick Post: Has a front-runner in the QB battle been established?

QB competitions are always rife with speculation and innuendo.  Throw in a blanket media ban on attending practices, and the guess-a-thon goes into hyper-active.

As the full-time battle between Connor Wood, Jordan Webb, and Nick Hirschman winds through it's 2nd week, the general assumption amongst the media is that a front-runner has been established, if not named.  It's long been the fan consensus that, while Hirschman was the primary backup last year, and even grabbed a few snaps last year, the in-program QB was not really an option.  It's transfers Webb and Wood that are considered "serious candidates for the job," and recent quotes may have hinted that the coaching staff is leaning towards one over the other.

The first quote came from QB coach Rip Scherer: "It's easier to make up 15 days of spring practice than it is 19 starts." The second, and probably the more eye-opening, was from Coach Embree in regards to Wood: "We need him to be more consistent in his decision making.  He needs to continue to work his accuracy.  He's sometimes erratic with his throws." 

The coaching staff seems to be hinting that, not only are they swayed by Webb's in-game experience, but that Wood is not nearly impressive enough to overcome his playing-time deficiency.  This feeds into a general narrative.  It seems that every time that Coach Embree and crew discuss the QBs, they rave about Webb, using words like "experience."  When discussing Wood, it's almost as if they're looking for reasons to doubt, adding qualifiers to his attributes.  He's got the "big arm," and "has a good grasp of the offense," but he's "sometimes erratic."   

Football coaches love intangibles.  When one guy is being praised with words like "experience," "presence," "leadership" (not to mention being compared favorably to CU legend Koy Detmer), while the other is mentioned for his skill, but has his "consistency" questioned, it's easy to assume who has the lead.

The good news continues to be that this is a honestly open QB competition.  During the Hawk years, the QB race was one in name only.  The thankfully departed former coach would leave the race "open" more as a disinformation tactic than genuine search for a starter.  Coach Embree and crew seem to be open minded about the race, and are leaving it open as a result of healthy competition.  I don't see that indecision in August as a problem unless it begins to overshadow performance in September.

There's been plenty of talk that the competition may bleed over into the season, but I'm starting to feel that might not be necessary.  Embree himself said that he's looking to this Saturday's scrimmage as an important milestone on the timetable.  Buff Nation should know much more after the weekend.

Quick Post: Defensive backfield on the road to recovery

If I had the ability to travel through time and magically fix one thing about the 2011 Colorado Buffaloes, I'd immediately change the federal disaster area that was the defensive backfield.  Of all the things wrong with the team that barely escaped the Pac-12 basement, that one factor, more than any other, became the team's Achilles heel.  Through injuries, suspensions, and last minute position switches, the Buffs took the field against some of the best passing offenses in the nation with what amounted to a Division-2 defensive backfield.

Mercifully, that painful situation has been addressed.

Injuries have healed, suspensions have been lifted, and, most importantly, reinforcements have arrived.  One of the primary recruiting efforts last season was finding immediate contributors on the edge, and that effort has proven successful.  Coach Embree and staff hauled in a total of five DB's, with the expectation that many of them would see plentiful, and immediate, playing time.

Enter the quartet of Kenneth Crawley, Yuri Wright, Jeffrey Hall, and Marques Mosley.  They bring with them an infusion of skill and athleticism that was sorely lacking last fall.  What's more, they arrived in Boulder with a predisposition to play the position at a high level:

"There are different ways you are going to play man, different ways you are going to play cover two, different zone pressures - these guys all get it. I hate using coach clichés but they get it. From the jump, it all makes sense to them. It’s all natural for them. [...] For Coach Brown, that’s great because he can focus on technique and that says a lot." -link

It's both a combination of skill and need that these freshmen will be thrown into the fire so quickly.  Expect Crawley and/or Wright to start opening day, they're that impressive.  Hell, expect all four to play big minutes throughout the season.  If not for an injury, a fifth signee, John Walker, would also see plenty of the field. 

Combined with returning veterans Ray Polk, Parker Orms and Greg Henderson, the defensive backfield suddenly looks to be a strength.  While youthful mistakes will surely be abundant, having multiple scholarhsip athletes healthy and eligible at a position of need is a massive step in the right direction.  I expect exciting plays, both positive and negative, from this crew.