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PACIFIC-12 CONFERENCE MEDIA DAYOctober 28, 2011Tad BoyleAustin DufaultLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA DAVE HIRSCH: We have Colorado coach Tad Boyle, and senior forward Austin Dufault. Coach, an opening statement? COACH BOYLE: It's good to be here today. Obviously, we're obviously excited at the University of Colorado to be in this great league. I don't know quite what to expect as we move forward, but we're going to figure it out as we go. On a personal note, I know I got my start as an assistant coach at the college level in this league 17 years ago at the University of Oregon, so it's interesting 17 years later to be here at the inaugural season of the Pac-12 as the head coach at Colorado, the state I grew up in. I'm blessed and humbled and honored to be here. It's interesting. I was walking through and I heard Larry mention that Colorado has a bigger core group than they did, and I don't know their personnel. I do know that we lost 75% of our scoring off last year's team, and that's quite a bit to replace. With that being said, I like the team we have this year as we move forward in this conference. There are a lot of unknowns, but I like the team that we've put together. It's going to be kind of a mix and match thing. We've got four seniors, one of which is sitting to my left here, Austin Dufault who has had a great preseason, a great off-season. He had a chance to play internationally this summer with Athletes in Action, but our players worked extremely hard in the off-season. So the four seniors we're going to rely on a lot this year. We've got a couple of transfers sitting out that we'll talk about, and also some freshmen coming in that are going to have a chance to play right away. So a lot of unknowns right now. An unknown league, a lot of unknowns with our basketball program, but, again, I like our team right now. I like the make-up of our team. I like the toughness, and the unselfishness of our team. I think we're going to surprise some people this year. So with that, we'll open it up for questions. Q. Coach, I know you can't speak to specific recruits, but according to a lot of prep rankings, we're working on the best recruiting class in CU history. Can you talk about some of the things that have gone into that and what it will mean to the program? COACH BOYLE: Number one, I think it starts with your coaching staff. I think it starts with your players. The enthusiasm they show when you do have recruits on your campus, and in selling your program. There are a lot of things that are coming together right now with Colorado basketball that are very exciting. Number one, we're coming off a season where we had a school record in wins in 24 wins last year. We went to the Final Four in the NIT, so there is a lot of excitement with that. We opened up a new practice facility in August that I think brings -- I don't know the rest of the league, again I can't speak to it because I haven't been to these arenas in 15 years -- but we have everything we need facility-wise to sell the kids. We're going into a new league. That is exciting for our program. We've known that now for some time, so all those factors coming together have created a lot of buzz around our program. So when we bring kids to campus, there is a lot of excitement. There is a lot of excitement from our community and our fan base, and all those things go into recruiting. We've been able to sell that. Our staff has worked very, very hard, and I like where we're at; and November 9th, hopefully, will be a great day for Colorado basketball. I can't say enough about our current players and the jobs they've done of putting this program in this position to be able to sell it. Q. Being in a new Pac-12 league, also you guys have an opportunity to play an SEC team with Georgia. Can you talk a little about that and what that means not only for your program but for the Pac-12 itself? COACH BOYLE: Yeah, I think non-conference scheduling, that is one of our marquis games. We went to Georgia last year and lost a tough game by I think three or five points. It was a one or two-possession game coming down the stretch. So now we have a chance for them to come back to our place. But I think in any league that you're in, and it was true in the Big 12 last year, it's true in the Pac-12 this year, I think it's on all of us to hopefully have great pre-season games and win some of those games. I think that's how your league is judged as you go into the season is how the teams in your league did against other marquis programs from other leagues like the SEC. So we're always going to look to add one or two, and through tournaments maybe even three or four, marquis non-league games that can prove what the Pac-12 is about. If every team does that and we're all successful in the preseason, it does nothing but help our league as a whole. So I think it's critical. That Georgia game is an important game on our schedule. They all are. And that's one thing that we learned from last year. Every game in November and early December is important. Q. Last year Levi had a breakout season which was huge in the success of the season. Do you see any other seniors having a year like that that at least, from our perspective, came out of nowhere? COACH BOYLE: I don't think he's coming out of nowhere, but there is a reason Austin's here with us today. He's a senior. He's had a very good career at Colorado. He's been a model student-athlete. He's everything that we want our program to represent. Like Levi, Austin went on an international trip that he can speak to maybe this summer, and gained a lot of confidence. He's shooting the ball extremely well. This guy's led our team in both two point and three-point shooting, so Austin has the ability to play inside and out. I think he can have a breakout season much like Levi did for us last year as a senior. The other senior we have, Nate Tomlinson, sometimes one of the more underappreciated players on our team. He gets lost in the shuffle a little bit. But we've asked Nate to be more aggressive offensively this year with us losing Levi, and Cory and Marcus and Alec, I think Austin and Nate as well as Carlon Brown our transfer from the University of Utah, those three kids can help step up the scoring and the bunch that we're going to need to replace. Q. When the whole conference realignment unfolded, basketball kind of has been taking a second place. It's clearly football driven. But when you were watching it happen, do you get consulted? Did you think -- what did you think about it all? COACH BOYLE: I don't get insulted. The marketplace is the marketplace. The only thing can you do about that as a basketball coach to try to make your program as good and as relevant as it can be. We're trying to do that at Colorado and trying to do it on a consistent basis. I don't do that at all. We all understand what's driving the bus. All I know is I'm so thankful that you're administration and the Pac-12 were able to reach an agreement for us to move into this league, because I think the ability it has, the institutions that are in it, that we're going to be able to compete against and associate with does nothing but help the University of Colorado. As excited as we are to come to the Pac-12 and come to the west coast and all the different marketplaces that we're going to compete in, we're excited to show the Pac-12 what Boulder, Colorado is all about, because Boulder, Colorado is one of the most beautiful places in the country. I've had the opportunity to coach a lot of different areas in this country, a lot of nice places, but you can't beat Boulder, Colorado when it comes to that. So we're excited to showcase that as a basketball program, as a football program, and as an institution. Q. The travel partners in this league have always been traditional rivals. Is it possible to develop that with Utah, do you think? Does that have to come naturally over the years? COACH BOYLE: I don't know if you pick a rival. I think it does come naturally. It comes through recruiting maybe or maybe a crazy situation on the court that might happen or personalities. But I know everybody's trying to make Utah our rival, and maybe that's what it will end up being. But all I know is we come into this league, and there are 11 programs -- other programs that we have to compete with, and Utah's one of them. I'm more of the opinion that rivalries emerge and develop as kind of leaders on your team. I can designate a captain, but I can't designate a leader. A leader emerges, and I think rivalries emerge as well. Q. You coached in a lot of different conferences. Is there anything that's distinct about the Pac-10 or the Pac-12 now? COACH BOYLE: I don't know. It's been so long since I've been in the league. I'll be better able to answer that a year from now. I don't buy into styles of play. I think in any league you have differing styles of play. We came from the Big 12, and there were teams in the Big 12 that were physical, and half court oriented and defensive oriented. There were teams that ran up and down the floor and were finesse. So you get different styles within a league. I don't know if a league itself has a style. At least that's my opinion right now, and that might be different a year from now, I don't know. But I do know that the Pac-12 and the other programs in this league, and the other coaches in this league are very well respected nationally. So we're honored to be associated with them, and we're looking forward to competing with them too. Q. Coach, have you seen recruiting to be easier now that your team is a member of the Pac-12? COACH BOYLE: I don't know if it's been easier. I think recruiting is hard wherever you are. And, again, we're fortunate to have a campus and a community that is easy to sell. But I think the biggest thing with recruiting is it has changed our focus to more maybe west coast oriented, because those are teams we're competing against. I always said when we're in the Big 12, if you looked at our recruiting list outside the State of Colorado, you would probably see roughly 20 kids from the State of Texas, and maybe five from California. Now that we're in the Pac-12 conference, you look at that same recruiting list, and we've probably got 20 from the State of California, and maybe five from Texas. Now I'm not saying those are the only places we recruit. We recruit nationally. But generally speaking, California, Texas are area that's we're going to go to as a program that we've been successful in the past and we'll continue. The Pac-12 I wouldn't say has made it easier, because now we're still battling. We're all recruiting the same guys. But what it does is change our focus to more west coast oriented. Q. Wondering what your reaction to joining the Pac-12 was from a competitive and competition standpoint -- I'm sorry, from a travel and competition standpoint? AUSTIN DUFAULT: I was definitely excited to become part of this league. There is a lot of history in it. Everybody knows that, just a lot of excitement. I got to play for three years in the Big 12, and now I get to experience a year in the Pac-12. So just having both of those experiences under my belt will be really something to look back upon and be proud that I've played in both conferences and I'm excited to be part of the first team to play in the Pac-12 out of Colorado. Q. Going to miss any of those Big 12 trips or looking forward to the Pac-12 trips? AUSTIN DUFAULT: I probably won't miss too many of the Big 12 trips, but I'm definitely looking forward to coming back out to L.A. for this trip, Arizona, heading up to Seattle, some of the bigger cities. Those will be a lot of fun to visit. Great programs in all those cities, so they'll be a lot of fun. Q. Coach, how important is it for schools like you and Utah to do well the first year in the Pac-12? Obviously, we've seen Colorado's football team struggle in that regard, but how important is that for you guys in recruiting? COACH BOYLE: I think it's important. We have a lot of momentum around our program right now. We want to keep that momentum going. That doesn't mean if we get off to a slow start, it's the end of the world. This is a long-term relationship that we're in right now. But I know again with the team we have, I think we can surprise some people. I'm looking forward to that opportunity. But I think it's important that we have a good showing this first year. The one thing you'll find out about our guys is we're going to compete. Sometimes doing well -- sometimes it doesn't show up in wins and losses. Everything is relative. So until we get through this league and know what we're up against -- there are a lot of unknowns right now. I think it's important that we have a good first year, but it's not the end of the world if we don't. If everybody sees in front of them where they picked us, and that's why I like playing the games, because I don't think that's where we're going to finish, but we'll find out. Win, lose or draw, we're going to keep fighting and keep coming back, and keep getting better, I can promise you that. Q. Austin, you've played in a lot of games over the last three years. Why this year going into the season is your confidence higher and your game at a higher level than it's been? AUSTIN DUFAULT: I think I've just prepared for the season more than any other season I have in the past. I think that's just come with maturity, knowing what to expect. This year I have a lot more expected of me from my teammates and the coaching staff. So just preparing for the season has given me a lot more confidence, and hopefully that will carry out on to the floor when we start playing the games. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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