Sebastian Rancik admits the weight room hasn’t exactly been a second home through the bulk of his teenage years.

That has changed in recent years, of course, as Rancik took aim at leaving his native Slovakia in order to earn a scholarship to play basketball in America.

After playing prep ball at JSerra Catholic in Southern California, Rancik is making that dream happen as one of three true freshmen going through their first preseason with the Colorado men’s basketball program. Like his recruiting classmates Andrew Crawford and Felix Kossaras, Rancik still has much to learn.

And, although he checks in at 6-foot-9, 210 pounds, Rancik says getting to know CU strength and conditioning coach Steve Englehart has been a focus since arriving in Boulder this summer.

“This summer was extremely important to me. It was great to get adjustment to the environment here,” Rancik said. “I’m a toothpick for sure. But Steve did a great job preparing me in the weight room. When I went home this summer, my strength and conditioning coach back home, we worked out a lot. I have a lean build, but I definitely got stronger and put on some weight.”

Rancik was ranked as a three-star recruit by 247Sports, and he has been tabbed as a possible replacement for Tristan da Silva, the versatile, high-scoring forward selected by Orlando with the 18th overall selection in June’s NBA Draft. That, however, will be a work in progress.

Before da Silva recorded two of the top 19 single-season scoring marks in team history, he was a freshman struggling for playing time behind a veteran rotation. Da Silva came on late as a freshman, but he didn’t get off the bench in eight of the first 18 games.

Rancik isn’t joining the sort of team full of experience and expectations as da Silva did with a 2020-21 squad that reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Yet Rancik nonetheless will have an opportunity to ease his way into the mix. Not only do the Buffs return two sophomore forwards taking aim at bigger roles in Assane Diop and Bangot Dak, but CU head coach Tad Boyle spent his transfer portal capital on adding three graduate transfers to the frontcourt in Andrej Jakimovski, Elijah Malone and Trevor Baskin.

“I’m really, really pleased with where he is,” Boyle said of Rancik. “When you talk about a returning player in your program, my expectation level with those guys is higher. Because they’ve been here. They know what we expect. They know the standards that we have. Sebastian’s coming in, and my expectation level is low. So it’s a lot easier for a freshman to come in and open my eyes.

“Now, is he still making mistakes? Yeah, he is. Has he got a lot to improve on? Absolutely he does. But, the things he brings — his toughness, his fluidity, his versatility, he’s not afraid, he wants to be great — I’m pleased with all three of our freshmen.”

Rancik hasn’t been shy about mixing it up in battles under the basket through the first two weeks of his first preseason, and he and his classmates (in addition to the graduate transfers) will get their first small taste of game action at the Events Center when the Buffs hold their annual Black and Gold intrasquad scrimmage on Oct. 12 ahead of the Kansas State football game.

The specific start time is expected to be announced early in the week, but it is all but certain to be a few hours ahead of the 8:15 p.m. football kickoff. The scrimmage is open to the public and admission is free.

“I feel like I’m fitting in really well,” Rancik said. “The thing that’s the biggest difference coming from high school is definitely the physicality and the speed of the game. But I feel like I’m adjusting pretty well. I feel like each day is better and better. As a freshman, you’ve got to expect to have good days and bad days. Not get too high, not get too low and just keep plugging along, being coachable. I feel like if I’m patient, everything will fit in.”