BuffZone writer Pat Rooney takes a look at three topics surrounding CU Buffs athletics as portal season heats up in college basketball.

Exodus

Assane Diop experiencing an apparent change of heart once the season ended didn’t surprise me. The departure of RJ Smith was a bit of a shock.

Even head coach Tad Boyle, as he expressed a belief his team wouldn’t lose any players to the transfer portal beyond Harrison Carrington and Courtney Anderson, hedged his bet somewhat by adding, “One thing about being a college basketball coach in the spring is you can’t be surprised by anything.”

So maybe it comes as no surprise the 6-foot-5 Smith is on the way out, as the competition among big guards is about to become more crowded with the addition of incoming freshmen Josiah Sanders and Jalin Holland, both 6-foot-4, as well as the 6-foot-5 Ian Inman.

Smith, who spent three years in the program, might not have exactly silenced doubts that he can be a dependable rotation guard in the Big 12, but he certainly stated a case. Especially after redshirting two seasons ago and playing just seven games last year.

It was easy to dismiss Smith’s midseason slump as a result of the heightened Big 12 competition, but that fails to take into account his strong showing at the Maui Invitational, or his career night in the league opener against Iowa State, or the solid finish he put together after thawing out. But Smith’s departure illustrates another problem CU will face in the new world of college basketball. I have no idea where Smith will land, but in the pending reality of revenue sharing there will be many mid-major programs, unencumbered by having to pay for power conference football programs, that will be able to spend more on players than programs like CU.

(Smith technically has two years of eligibility remaining, but he would be a likely candidate to win a waiver for another season after his 2023-24 campaign was limited to the seven games due to a health issue.)

Shopping list

Two weeks ago, when the Buffs had only one apparent roster spot to fill, Boyle said it would be a “best available” situation. I thought then an experienced backcourt presence would be the most welcome addition, but I could see the need for looking for reinforcements on the glass. The loss of Diop magnifies that need.

Diop’s departure leaves the Buffs without three of their top four rebounders — Andrej Jakimovski (5.1 rpg), Trevor Baskin (4.8) and Diop (3.7) — on a team that was average at best on the glass (in Big 12 games, CU finished ninth in average rebound margin at plus-0.9).

Now, of course, the Buffs have three spots to fill, assuming the program remains at 13 scholarships as Boyle previously stated was the plan. For my two cents I think an experienced guard and an accomplished rebounder need to be the top two priorities on the shopping list. Even if a dependable rebounder is added to the mix, becoming the sort of rebounding team Boyle prefers will require marked improvement from 6-foot-11 Bangot Dak (3.9 rpg), 6-foot-10 Elijah Malone (3.2) and 6-foot-9 Sebastian Rancik.

Looking ahead

With three spots still to fill, and the threat of further portal departures, it’s too early to project what the Buffs’ 2025-26 rotation will look like. But it’s all but certain to once again be marked by inexperience.

This year’s Buffs at least had two players in Julian Hammond III (121 career games) and Andrej Jakimovski (154) who brought extensive Division I experience to the equation. Again, experience is an issue Boyle likely will address via the transfer portal, but as it stands the most experienced players set to return next year are Dak, who is coming off his first season as a regular rotation player; Malone, who is coming off his first Division I season; and freshmen Rancik and Felix Kossaras.

Regardless of the pending roster additions, the Buffs’ youngsters once again will be tasked with growing up in a hurry.