At Division II Colorado Mesa the past few seasons, Trevor Baskin was leaned upon heavily.

Baskin needed to score. He needed to rebound. And he needed to be a play-maker for a squad that relied on Baskin’s big-time production every game.

Baskin still is expecting to do all of those things as a graduate transfer at Colorado, but unlike recent seasons for Baskin, the team’s success isn’t entirely dependent on him flirting with a double-double every game. It’s a shift in roles the fifth-year senior from Arvada’s Pomona High still is adjusting to as the Buffs complete their season-opening four-game homestand on Sunday afternoon against Harvard.

“There’s definitely growing pains with that,” Baskin said. “I think a lot of guys are kind of trying to adjust to that. Right now, I’m just trying to control what I can control. And that’s play hard and do the things that coach (Tad) Boyle values — play good defense and stuff like that. I’m still trying to find my niche and my role in the half-court offense. I’m still trying to attack on the perimeter and use my advantages. It’s been an adjustment for sure, but I’m happy with the way I’ve been contributing to the team.”

The player of the year last season in the Division II Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Baskin averaged 18.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists last year at Mesa. It’s unlikely he will approach those numbers in his single-season role with the Buffs, but the versatility Baskin brings to the mix has been on display during CU’s 3-0 start.

Baskin has shot 7-for-13 from the floor and has grabbed 21 rebounds, second on the team behind Assane Diop’s 23. He has drawn 18 fouls from the opposition, by far the most on the team (Elijah Malone is second with 11, all in the past two games), and Baskin’s seven offensive rebounds are tied with Malone for the team lead.

Boyle says Baskin’s next big challenge will be to improve his early assist-to-turnover rate. Baskin has recorded three assists against a team-leading 10 turnovers. “The thing that Trevor does a great job of is he plays hard, he exerts his will on the game,” Boyle said. “He is aggressive. He’s drawn more fouls than anyone on our team. And that’s given our scrimmages, intrasquad scrimmages, practices. He puts pressure on the defense. Where Trevor gets in trouble is his understanding that now he’s playing a level of basketball where he’s not going to be able to do it on his own. He could overpower people. He could out-talent people where he was before. He’s not going to be able to do that. “He’s talented, don’t get me wrong. He’s going to have to understand he’s going to have to rely on his teammates more.”

Harvard opened the season with a win against Marist but brings a three-game losing streak to its first visit to Boulder in 11 years. Crimson true freshman Robert Hinton has exploded out of the gate, averaging 20.0 points, and although Harvard is off to a .277 start from 3-point range (28-for-101), Boyle says the Buffs’ defense can’t get complacent against a Crimson roster full of talented shooters.

“They’ve got one of the most talented freshman I’ve seen in some time in the Hinton kid. He’s a good player,” Boyle said.

“They’ve got a multitude of capable shooters. You look at their numbers, and they don’t look to be a good shooting team. But, they are a good shooting team. We have to guard the 3-point line. We have to know personnel, because they have multiple guys who can shoot it.”