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BIG 12 CONFERENCE MEDIA DAYS

October 21, 2010

Tad Boyle

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI

PETER IRWIN: And now we welcome the Colorado coach, Tad Boyle. Welcome to the Big 12, Coach.
COACH BOYLE: Thank you. It is great to be here. One of the rookie coaches here in the Big 12.
And I have always wanted to be a one and done guy and I think this year we are going to be. Anyway, it is a great opportunity to come into a league like the Big 12 and coach against the tremendous coaches and players that are in this league. It is a great honor for me professionally, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to hopefully go out with a bang this year.

Q. Since you brought it up, one and done, for a KU guy to get to coach in the Big 12 and then, boom, after one year you are one and done, are there mixed feelings?
COACH BOYLE: I thought I would bring it up before you guys did. Yeah, there are mixed feelings. Obviously the Big 12 is a great league and so there's some bittersweet feelings we have from leaving it, especially being one of the charter members of the Big 12 in Colorado, and I'm an old Big Eight guy. So there are some mixed feelings.
I do think though for our institution and the landscape where college basketball and college athletics are right now, I think it is a great move for our institution and certainly for our basketball program. So we are excited about that. But we are a little sad to be leaving such a great league like the Big 12.

Q. I'm disappointed you didn't bring out Burks here today. Can you talk about why he isn't here.
COACH BOYLE: Cory is the leader of our basketball team. He is a senior. And Alec has got some class issues he is taking care of. We practice in the morning and today is our day off. So we just brought Cory. Alec is getting plenty of attention and certainly he is a big part of our basketball team obviously this year. And we are expecting some great things from him.

Q. Can you talk about what you have seen in him, inheriting him? What do you see for him?
COACH BOYLE: The sky is the limit for Alec Burks. He is a guy who I think gets better every single day. I don't think Alec even realizes how good he can be. He is a treat to be around every day. He is very humble. He has handled the attention he has received very, very well. Alec is one of those guys that offensively, when he has got the ball in his hands, as a coach you feel like good things are going to happen. He is a guy that can create for himself and he can create for his teammates.
I think Alec is an underrated passer. He is a very unselfish player. The big challenge I have laid at his feet since I got there is as long as you are taking good shots, I'm going to let you do what you can do offensively, and you are playing unselfishly. But defensively, there's a lot of room for improvement in your game and certainly in our team defense as well. So Alec is going to be a big part of that because he has got tremendous basketball instincts both on the offensive end and the defensive end.

Q. Other than good luck in the Pac-10 next year, have you received any advice from your new peers about coaching in the Big 12?
COACH BOYLE: No, they haven't given a lot of advice other than be ready every night. I think the league speaks for itself. And I don't care what league you're in, I have had the fortune to coach in the Pac-10 when I started coaching and in the SEC and some other leagues along the way, the Missouri Valley. Any league you are in is a tough league. You recruit to your league.
We've got some players that are capable of having success in this league. But the one thing -- and it is the oldest cliche, you better bring it every night because if you don't, you get embarrassed pretty quick.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about what makes Cory such a good player and why you say he is the leader of your squad?
COACH BOYLE: Well, I think what makes Cory such a good player is, number one, work ethic. He works on his game every day. He's fundamentally sound. I think that's the biggest thing, is that he's -- there is not a lot of weaknesses in his game. He is a very, I think, underrated defender, although he has led -- or been at the top of the Big 12 in steals, I know.
And then offensively, he's just a very intelligent player. He has a great feel for the game. Again, he is a guy like Alec who can create for himself and for his teammates.
If I had to put one or two bullet points next to why Cory is such a special player, it would be his work ethic, his consistency, bringing it every day, and just his fundamentals that he's got whether it is his footwork on offense or his intelligence being a help-side defender on defense. I could go on and on.
He's a terrific player, and he's a guy, again, that has respect of all his teammates. The only way you get that respect is by bringing it every day, and Cory does that.

Q. You do get that one shot at Allen Fieldhouse this year. Can you talk about that experience and then also going opposite of Danny Manning on the other bench?
COACH BOYLE: I saw Danny on the recruiting trail about a month ago and we bumped into each other. It will be interesting. I haven't been back to Allen Fieldhouse since I played. I have been back for maybe one game as a spectator. It has been too long since I have been there.
Allen Fieldhouse is a great place to play college basketball and obviously I have been on one side of it, this will be my first time being on the other side of it. It will be a heck of a challenge and a great opportunity, I know one our players look forward to. Obviously for me having played there way back when in the '80s, it will be a special moment in my life.
Again, it will be another game. That's one of those games you don't have to get your guys too fired up to play because that kind of takes care of itself. It will be a fun night.

End of FastScripts

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