Colorado's basketball future seems bright with JR Payne's squad looking to advance

Both programs need luck and some NIL dollars to keep it moving in the right direction

One out of two ain’t bad if you’re a baseball slugger or playing the slots in Vegas. It’s just not the way CU Buffs’ basketball fans wanted to see the first weekend of NCAA tournament action conclude.

JR Payne’s team advanced to the Sweet 16. Tad Boyle’s band of Buffs fell just short in a gutty performance against Marquette, the South Region’s #2 seed. A victory would have meant, for the first time in Colorado basketball history, the women’s and men’s teams advanced to the Sweet 16 in the same season.

Coach Prime and the football team get the majority of publicity surrounding CU athletics. Hoops fans? What’s the future look like? Just one man’s opinion but your scribe believes it’s bright.  Why? Each program has a veteran coach, talent aplenty and heads back to the Big 12 conference with expectations of success in what many around the country consider college basketball’s most challenging conference.

The women’s squad has the talent, leadership and experience to play with anybody in the country, except maybe undefeated and season-long #1 South Carolina. An opening-season win over defending national champion LSU tipped off a crazy campaign with more twists and turns than a super-charged roller coaster. What will happen in a Sweet 16 rematch against Iowa and Caitlin Clark? Who knows. This much I do know, it will be must see television Saturday when the Buffs and Hawkeyes square off in Albany, New York.

The women’s program under former coach Ceal Barry made it to the Elite Eight in 1995 only to lose in heart-breaking fashion to Georgia. Back then your scribe was the host of Barry’s television show on KCNC-TV, now CBS News Colorado. I can remember sitting in the arena on the campus of Drake University, site of the Midwest Region that year, and watching Colorado’s second-half lead evaporate against an Uber-talented band of Bulldogs. Heartbreaking defeat.

Payne’s program has a chance to eradicate any lingering ghosts. The 1995 team and the current one? Similar in many ways. The potential to advance to the school’s first-ever Final Four on the women’s side is real. What an accomplishment it would be if the Jaylyn Sherrod-led team makes history and advances.

The men’s squad struggled with inconsistency and injuries for a good portion of the season but dug deep to overcome USC in a double-overtime thriller late in the regular season in Los Angeles. That incredible victory sparked an impressive run with the Buffs winning 10 of its last 12 games before too many turnovers and too little defense allowed Marquette to build a big halftime lead. The Buffs were able to stampede back to take a brief lead late but the Golden Eagles prevailed in crunch time down the stretch.

Now the big questions surround All-American guard KJ Simpson and freshmen wonder Cody Williams. Will they return next season? If so, Boyle has two elite players to rebuild around. Many project Williams to be an NBA lottery pick. Your scribe’s not so sure. At least not at this point. The Arizona native has the talent but missed several games with injuries and needs to get stronger. The Buffs played a record 37 games this season. Williams sat out 13 with an assortment of ailments and rarely seemed to hit his stride. 

In this day and age of name, image and likeness? Can CU and its boosters make it attractive for Simpson and Williams to return? I think of Coach Prime’s call about, “It takes money to keep these players.” College athletics are a crazy world right now. The players deserve compensation. Can Colorado come up with the cash to keep its future professionals content to stay in college and lead the Buffs? Especially with Eddie Lampkin, Jr., J’Vonne Hadley, and Luke O’Brien all hitting the transfer portal in search of NIL dollars. 

The women are alive, the men fought to the finish. CU hoops fans? The future looks so bright you might want to grab a pair of Coach Prime’s Blender shades. The forecast is sunny indeed.