BuffZone writer Pat Rooney takes a look at three topics surrounding CU Buffs athletics as the 2024-25 competition calendar starts winding to a close.

Helping hands

A spot, or even spots, still have to be filled for the Colorado men’s basketball team.

Regardless of how the remainder of the spring shopping goes, the Buffaloes likely will lean heavily on untested quantities to address some of the biggest shortcomings from this past season.

No doubt, the addition of former UC Riverside guard Barrington Hargress filled the biggest personnel need for the Buffs as an experienced guard capable of creating his own shot and facilitating the offense. But two other glaring needs — long-range shooters and rebounders — have yet to be addressed.

CU shot just .321 on 3-pointers during its 14-21 campaign, the second-lowest mark in 15 seasons under head coach Tad Boyle. The Buffs are losing their only dependable 3-point shooters in Julian Hammond III (.375) and RJ Smith (.386). CU also was a decidedly average rebounding team but are losing three of their most energetic rebounders in Andrej Jakimovski, Trevor Baskin and Assane Diop.

Hargress fills plenty of needs, but he shot just .323 on 3-pointers over the past two seasons. And unlike another former 6-foot former CU guard who did most of his scoring damage inside the 3-point arc, McKinley Wright IV, Hargress isn’t an above-par rebounder, averaging just 2.7 in 68 games at UC Riverside.

Last week, Boyle hinted he may actually go above his previously stated plan of maintaining 13 scholarships as rosters likely expand to a limit of 15. But unless he and his staff uncover a hidden gem who can be counted on for five rebounds a night while shooting 35% from long range, the Buffs’ prowess from the arc and on the glass will depend heavily on either returnees making dramatic jumps, or newcomers who can produce immediately.

The long road

CU’s other recent addition through the transfer portal, former Denver player Jon Mani, also didn’t distinguish himself on the glass or as a long-range shooter during his lone season with the Pioneers. But Boyle alluded to Mani’s three years of eligibility remaining as an intriguing factor during the courtship, as CU’s leader maintains his preference for developing talent over multiple seasons.

“I like having guys that can grow into being really good players at Colorado,” Boyle said. “I’ve talked about Derrick White a lot, and even if you go back to Carlon Brown, those guys only played one year but they were with us for two. They were practicing and in the system, and there’s something to be said for that.”

Falling short

It took only four seasons for the Colorado women’s lacrosse team to grow from a completely new program to one capable of competing against the best in the nation. Getting there has proven to be a less difficult challenge for the Buffaloes than staying there.

As expected, CU’s season officially came to a close on Sunday night, when the Buffs were left out of the 29-team NCAA Tournament field. Given the number of hugs and tears following Thursday night’s home loss against Arizona State in the Big 12 semifinals, the Buffs probably weren’t crossing their fingers for a miracle invitation.

In 2017, in the program’s fourth year of existence, the Buffs began a run of three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. There was no tournament when the COVID pandemic struck in 2020, but the Buffs still haven’t been back to college lacrosse’s Big Dance since that three-year tourney run ended in 2019.

CU has been a bubble team in just about every season since, and this year simply didn’t pick up enough quality victories, finishing 2-5 against NCAA Tournament teams and 3-8 against top-40 teams in the RPI. Ann Elliott Whidden, CU’s coach since the program’s inception, never once used injuries as an excuse. Yet injuries very much impacted the 2025 Buffs.

Morgan Pence returned for a fifth season after an injury limited her to two games last year, but another injury ended Pence’s year this season after just eight games. It speaks to the impact Pence may have made that she is tied for ninth in program history with 37 career assists despite playing just 10 games over the past two seasons. Additionally, sophomore Emily Dodd was poised to build on a 27-point freshman season (15 goals, 12 assists), but after collecting five points in the first four games Dodd was lost for the season due to an injury.