The Town Crier

[PointGuard]

2025-2026 Season Kicks Off!

It’s mid-November and we’re ready for our season opener. Here’s a little about each of our players:

Chris Smith, 6-1 Senior from Palmyra, NE—Chris has started 72 of the 85 games he’s played for us in his first 3 years. He’s really improved his court generalship and is an excellent passer. Even though his mpg were cut down last season since he and Matt Conley were sharing the PG duties, his apg increased significantly. He’s a pretty good 3-point shooter and an excellent free throw shooter and he scores well, although he’s not a consistent good scorer. He’s a good defender with excellent stealing and blocking skills. Chris has a good personality and on-the-court discipline and intelligence that make him a cornerstone of the team.
Matt Conley, 6-2 Junior from Belcourt, ND—Matt played his freshman year for Oklahoma and then transferred here. Last season he split the PG time with Chris Smith. He’s a good scorer who shoots very well from inside the arc. He has strong passing skills. Like Smith he’s a very good ball hawk and also a good shot blocker. He and Smith are pretty much interchangeable so that allows us to keep fresh legs on the court at the 1 position. Matt has also played a little at the 2 position, particularly after Kenton Dunn was injured last season. Matt is extremely durable which means we can rely on his being both willing and able to be there when we need him.
Justin Wilson, 6-5 Sophomore from Hammond, IN—Justin transferred to us at the end of last season after playing for starting for Notre Dame as a freshman, so he has to sit out this season. But he shot very well from the field and did a good job of dishing the ball to his teammates since he has accurate passing skills. He’s a good defender and ball hawk. I think he will be a big asset for us next season. Justin is solid across the board so I believe he will become the team leader, particularly as he matures and his many skills become fine-tuned.
Kenton Dunn, 6-6 Sophomore from Cheyenne, WY—Kenton came to us in his freshman last year as a SF and while he played a little at the 3, he was our primary starter at SG, until he broke his hand in late January. Kenton was our top scorer who shot well from most everywhere on the floor and particularly from 3-point range. He’s very strong defensively and gets a lot of steals and blocks. Due to his height, he gets a lot of rebounds while playing SG. He has great endurance and after losing time last year due to an injury is chomping at the bit to contribute again.
Steve Jackson, 6-1 Junior from Mililani, HI—Steve played for Prairie View as a freshman and was the SWAC Freshman of the Year. He didn’t get as much playing time as he wanted for us last season, but when he was in the game he scored well and gives us a big boost coming in off the bench with his scoring mentality. He’s a very good shooter from all over the court, including from 3 point range and an excellent free throw shooter. While Kenton Dunn has slightly better overall skills, Steve will get a lot more playing time this year as our 6th player. His interpersonal skills are lacking so I am going to have to work closely with him to make him a better team player.
Camah Griffin, 6-0 Junior from Inglewood, CA—After playing his freshman year at Loyola Marymount where he was WCC Freshman of the Year, Camah transferred to us and came off the bench to play both SG and PG last season. He had some good scoring games, but was sporadic. He is good at driving to the basket. He’s a strong rebounder and an excellent ball hawk with great speed and aggression. He again will fill in at both guard positions this season and likely will get more playing time. Camah has good overall skills but at times can be too intense so that he’s rubbed some of his teammates wrong.
Rick Coffey, 6-7 Sophomore from Mt. Vernon, SD. Rick was our second best scorer last season and played much better as a freshman that we anticipated. He took over as our starting SF early in the season and never relinquished the role. He’s an excellent free throw shooter and I believe his FG accuracy will improve this season as he finds ways to get free for more shots. He’s a great passer, a solid defender with quick hands that get him a lot of steals. Overall, Rick’s skills are excellent and he’s been a player I’ve counted on more and more as time has progressed.
Charles Maors, 6-8 Junior from Dexter, NM—As a freshman Charles played for Washington. Although his shooting percentage was down a little this past season, he has the skills to improve significantly. Late last season we put him in at PF as well as SF and he did a good job at both positions. He’s a very strong rebounder and a good defender. This season he will continue to play both the 3 and 4 positions. Charles is a very hard worker. That’s contributed to his ability to successfully take on PF as well as his original SF functions.
Vefa Kurtbek, 6-6 Senior from Turkey—After playing a very limited role as a freshman, Vefa has been our primary starter at PF the past two seasons. His skills across the board continue to improve each season. He’s a good player inside both offensively and defensively and is a solid rebounder. This past season he filled in a little at C and this season is likely to again play primarily at PF but also backfill at C. Vefa wants more playing time, but, while his abilities are good, they aren’t outstanding enough to all for that.
Mat Hunter, 6-6 Senior from Dryden, MI—Mat played for Oakland as a freshman. In his two years for us, he’s been a solid player coming in off the bench at both PF and SF. He’s shot very well from all over the court, including from 3 point range. Mat is a good rebounder and good at stealing the ball. Mat will continue to provide us with offense off the bench at SF and PF this season. Mat’s has an abrasive personality that puts him at odds with his teammates. I expect to have to continue to counsel and work with him to try to meld him into the team as well as possible.
Primoz Pohek, 6-7 Junior from Slovenia—After a good freshman season, Primoz had a down year as a sophomore. But I’m seeing a good progression in his skills so he should get more playing time this season which is what he wants. He’s a very good rebounder and if he gets his shooting eye back up the high level his showed as a freshman and gets back to getting open better for shots, he’ll be a good asset for us coming in at PF. Primoz has the potential to be a very good player for us, so hopefully his skills will develop quickly this season.
Ryan Erickson, 6-7 Senior from Canada—Ryan was a starter at PF for Colgate in his freshman year. After transferring to us, he’s been our starter at C the past two seasons. He’s a solid scorer and rebounder as he makes up for his height with good positioning. Even though he has to go up against much bigger players, he blocks a high number of shots. He also has quick hands so gets a lot of steals. He will continue to be our starter at C this season. Ryan’s work ethic isn’t strong. If it were, I think he could star for us.
Jacob Anderson, 6-11 Senior from Sturgis, SD—Jacob came in as a PF but played both PF and C this past season. Each season he has improved his skills. He’s not a big scorer but gets his share of rebounds. He’s a good defender and also good at drawing fouls. He’s a good free throw shooter. Jacob will continue to come off the bench at both inside positions. Jacob has bee working hard to be able to fill either of our interior positions.
Nathan Hampton, 6-10 Senior from Aurora, CO—Nathan was a walk on last season as a junior and helped out at the C position. He’s a pretty good scorer and a very good rebounder. He’s also good at drawing fouls. While inconsistent, Nathan had some good performances in a few games for us last season.
R.J. Reis, 6-10 Senior from Longmont, CO—RJ has been a walk-on for 3 seasons and played a big back up role at C as a sophomore when we had few players on our bench. He’s a very strong rebounder but doesn’t score much even though he shoots well from inside. While RJ doesn’t have an impressive array of skills, he is a hard worker in each and every practice session who is well liked by his teammates.

Starters initially this season will be:

PG-Chris Smith
SG-Kenton Dunn
SF-Rick Coffey
PF-Vefa Kurtbek
C-Ryan Erickson

[PointGuard]

More from Steve Porter:

Steve came to me to let me know that a student volunteer in the athletic department told him that Justin Wilson, who transferred to Colorado this summer from Notre Dame, had mentioned how happy he was to find out I wasn’t the lax coach that he’d heard I was.

Steve got another student who has classes with Wilson to check into this further. According to this student, Wilson said that he’d heard a rumor about me lacking discipline and that almost kept him from coming here. But Wilson said he’s seen how I handle the team and was pleased when I took rapid action to temporarily suspend the two players who got into a fight rather than just let things fester and get worse. The student said Wilson didn’t reveal how he heard about the rumor or from whom he heard it.

[PointGuard]

Game #1: Youngstown State Penguins (0-0) @ Colorado Buffaloes (0-0)

I was happy we were able to get Youngstown State to play us this season. There are only 3 players on the team who played while I was coaching there. SG Doylan Anderson was their top scorer last season and PF Donnie Williams probably is the overall most talented player on the team. Backup SG Mike Lofton is a solid player.

SG Kenton Dunn came out firing scoring 5 points in the first minute of play and 10 points in the first 6 minutes as we jumped out to a 16-7 lead. 10 minutes into the game we were on top 25-10. When the half ended our offensive onslaught had produced a 55-20 lead for us. We outshot the Penguins 62% to 20%, controlled the boards 25-15, and held an 8-1 turnover advantage. SG Kenton Dunn and SF Rick Coffey both had 12 points and SF/PF Charles Maors hit for 10.

As we had in the first half, we substituted liberally playing our entire bench. Our shooting cooled and Youngstown State’s shooting caught fire. While they narrowed the deficit, we were never threatened and finished with an 88-69 victory over the Penguins. For the entire game we hit 49% of our FG attempts compared to 40% by YSU, held a 47-33 rebounding advantage, and made just 3 turnovers compared to 11 by the Penguins.

SG Kenton Dunn scored 18, SF/PF Charles Maors chipped in 17 points (knocking down 6 of 7 FG’s including 3 for 3 from beyond the arc), and SF Rick Coffey hit for 14 points while pulling down 9 boards. PG Chris Smith dished out 8 assists. For Youngstown State, freshman SF Rolan LeBarrie sizzled in the second half and finished with 21 points in his first collegiate game.

In other Pac-12 games today, #5 ranked UCLA travelled to Maryland and lost to the #4 ranked Terrapins 8-73, #7 ranked Oregon buried lowly Monmouth 83-42, #11 ranked California travelled to Charlotte and lost to #6 ranked North Carolina 94-74, #3 ranked Arizona, playing at home, escaped with a 79-71 win over Pepperdine, and Washington visited Notre Dame where they upset the #20 ranked Fighting Irish 80-66. UCLA’s C Jamal Magloire scored 21 while hauling in 10 rebounds and their freshman phenom SG Kyle Taylor poured in 24 points, Arizona’s freshman C Antwan Minor gave notice he’s to be reckoned with by scoring 22 and grabbing 18 rebounds, and Oregon’s C Antawn Harper came off the bench to toss in 22 points while picking off 10 boards.

[PointGuard]

Game #2: Mississippi Rebels (0-0) at Colorado Buffaloes (1-0)

After how well Charles Maors did in our previous game, he will start tonight at PF in place of Vefa Kurtbek.

We led throughout the first half and opened a 15 point lead but then let Mississippi get back into the game. At the break our lead was 42-35. SG Kenton Dunn led our scoring with 11 points.

Ole Miss scored the first 4 points in the 2nd half, but then our offense clicked and we steadily pulled away to stomp the Rebels 83-59. We outshot Mississippi 50% to 41%, dominated the boards 35-28, and held a 18-15 turnover advantage.

Leading our scoring was SG Kenton Dunn with 17 points followed by C Ryan Erickson’s 16 points, and SG Steve Jackson hitting for 14 points in 9 minutes of play.

In the Pre-Season NIT Tournament this past week, #7 ranked Oregon, last season’s national champs, followed their opening round win over Monmouth by a narrow 78-71 victory over Rice, a 64-55 win over #9 ranked Georgia Tech, and a hard-fought 75-72 win over #5 ranked Indiana to win the tournament and move up in the rankings to #4.

[PointGuard]

Game #3: DePaul Blue Demons (2-1) @ Colorado Buffaloes (2-0)

We hit 66% of our shots and out-rebounded the Blue Demons 19-7 in the first half and ran away to a 52-30 halftime lead. C Ryan Erickson scored 13, SF Rick Coffey hit for 12 points plus had 3 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks, and SG Kenton Dunn tossed in 11 points.

The second half was much like the first. We crushed the Blue Demons 80-59 as we outshot DePaul 48% to 40% an controlled the boards 39-24.

SG Kenton Dunn topped our scoring with 19 points. C Ryan Erickson had 15 points and 8 rebounds. SF Rick Coffey finished with 12 points.

In other games for Pac-12 teams, Arizona which has dropped to #18 in the polls, had another close call, edging Toledo 70-68 in round 1 of the Heroes Memorial Tournament, Stanford which is now #15 in the polls dropped San Jose 79-64, Utah which is ranked #23 topped Colgate 77-64, and #4 ranked Oregon annihilated Chattanooga 84-41. On the following two nights, Arizona topped Florida State 75-67 and Georgia 74-58 to win the tournament. A day later, #4 ranked Oregon stomped #2 ranked North Carolina 88-56.

[PointGuard]

More team discord:

One of my assistant coaches mentioned how Matt Hunter and Camah Griffin were arguing before practice. Their argument wasn’t extensive and both seemed to put things aside once practice started. Man, the team is doing well and these two yayhoos gotta keep sniping at each other. Rather than hollering at them or suspending them again, I decided to take no action about this at this time since the argument appeared not to be to severe and didn’t extend beyond the short period when they were arguing. But I intend to keep track of how they behave toward each other and their teammates and if they can’t get their act together, I’m ready to take whatever action is necessary.

[PointGuard]

Game #4 (round 1 of Alaskan Classic Tournament): 6th seed Colorado Buffaloes (3-0) vs 3rd seed Memphis Tigers (3-0)

Memphis runs a slow-paced offense and has held opponents to the 3rd lowest scoring average in Division I basketball this season.

The Tigers’ defense kept us off balance and prevented our players from taking good shots. With 9 minutes left if the first half we trailed 18-11 and had hit just 20% of our shots. Then PG Chris Smith shook us out of our doldrums offensively and our defense clamped down. We tied the game at 22-22 with 5-1/2 minutes remaining in the half. C Jacob Anderson was fouled as he tried to put back an offensive rebound and sunk both free throws with 5 minutes on the clock to give us a 24-22 lead. We then ground our way to a 37-26 halftime advantage. We held Memphis’ shooting to 36% while raising our shooting percentage to 42% and we forced the Tigers into 13 turnovers while making 8 ourselves. PG Chris Smith knocked down 5 of 7 FG’s including 3 of 5 from 3 point land and finished the half with 14 points.

SG Kenton Dunn who had been on the bench most of the first half due to foul trouble, took charge of our offense in the 2nd half. Our defense continued to stymie the Tigers and with 9:16 to play we had jumped out to a 58-37 lead. From there we held on to win convincingly 73-56. We did well by scoring more than 20 points than their previous opponents had been averaging and scoring 62 points in the last 30 minutes of the game.

SG Kenton Dunn topped our scoring with 16 points with PG Chris Smith adding 14.

[PointGuard]

Game #5 (Semifinals of Alaskan Classic Tournament): 6th seed Colorado Buffaloes (4-0) vs 2nd seed Texas Longhorns (3-0)

Texas edged Tennessee 76-69 in the opening round of this tournament. We’ll see how we do against their 1-3-1 zone defense. Since Rick Coffey has not been shooting well, I decide to start Kenton Dunn at the 3 and Steve Jackson at the 2 and start Charles Maors at the 4 hoping he will hit some shots from the corners.

We had 5 fouls called against us in the first 3 minutes of play. We trailed in the game until PG Chris Smith hit a 3 with 7 minutes remaining in the first half to put us on top 30-27. Defenses be damned the rest of the half! Both teams peppered the basket with Texas sporting a slim 48-46 lead at the break. Texas hit 59% of their shots and we put 52% of ours in the basket. SG Kenton Dunn scored 17 points in the half for us. Texas’ C Terrance Nesland scored 12 and their PG Adam Burton hit for 10.

Texas maintained a small lead until Kenton Dunn worked his way inside and put in a six foot jumper on which he was fouled. He converted the 3 point play to put us ahead 60-58 with 10:45 left in the game. The lead shifted back and forth over the next 7 minutes but was more in favor of Texas than us. With 3:39 remaining we tied the game at 77-77 when PG Chris Smith sunk 2 free throws. Trailing by 4 points, Rick Coffey chipped in a 3 from the left corner to make the score 82-81 in favor of Texas with 37 seconds to play. We tried forcing a turnover but had to foul with 12 seconds to go. Texas missed the first of a one-and-one and we rebounded. We brought it up court and called a time out. On the ensuing play Chris Smith cut around a screen and the key from where he put up a shot from 8 feet even though he was double teamed. His shot went off the front of the rim but he was fouled on the shot. With 3 seconds on the clock, Chris made the first to tie the game. Pandemonium reigned as he toed the line for his 2nd shot. Smith lofted the free throw and the ball seemed to hang in the air…before dropping cleaning through the net. We led by a single point. Texas called a time out and I put my best defenders on the court. We deployed a full court man-to-man press. The Longhorns still got just past half court and put up a 3 as the buzzer was about to sound. The shot was long, hitting the backboard but then bounding down toward the basket and hitting the front lip before bouncing back and away. We had escaped with an extremely hard-fought, come-from-behind 83-82 victory. During the game there were 17 lead changes and 8 ties.

SG Kenton Dunn scored 22 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. PF/SF Charles Maors put in 14 points and C Jacob Anderson came off the bench to add 11 points.

Our comebacks in the first and second halves and then in the final minute of this game showed that even when we go up against a team with highly talented players, we are hungry and scrappy enough to claw our way back and figure out ways to win.

After our win over Texas, we jump into the Top 25 in the polls…ranked #16 in the nation. This is rarefied ground for me since even though I had some good teams at Youngstown State, being n the Horizon League kept us from ever cracking into the Top 25.

[PointGuard]

Game #6 (Championship of the Alaskan Classic Tournament): 6th seed #16 ranked Colorado Buffaloes (5-0) vs 1st seed #10 ranked Virginia Cavaliers (5-0)

Virginia runs a fast-paced offense and is a high scoring team (11th highest scoring average nationally at 83.8 ppg) with beefy interior players who dominate the boards and get lots of blocks. Whereas we needed to speed up the tempo against Memphis in the first round of the tourney, we need to do the opposite in this game. The Cavaliers starting guards, Kevin Harrell and Johnnie Stokes, are averaging 22.0 and 15.2 ppg, respectively. Shutting down their outside game will be tough.

Turnovers and fouls are our nemesis in the first half. 11 turnovers and sending the Cavaliers to the line 14 times where they converted 13 free throws resulted in Virginia holding a 38-30 halftime lead. Following his one game demotion from the starting lineup, SF Rick Coffey returned to lead our scoring with 10 points.

Virginia has a tough time scoring against our defense in the 2nd half, and even though our shooting isn’t all that great, we narrow the Cavaliers’ lead to 54-53 with 10-1/2 minutes to play. Virginia then goes on a run that opens an 11 point lead with 8 minutes left. But with 5-3/4 minutes on the clock we have come back to trail by only a 2 at 68-66. With 3:34 to go we’re still down by just 2, and the crowd is backing us as the underdog. Then with 2:17 on the clock, PG Matt Conley calmly sinks two free throws to tie it at 74-74. After falling behind by 2 again, we call a time out with a minute to go and set up a pick and roll on which Matt Dunn is able to score on a 12 foot jumper to again tie the game. Virginia misses and we rebound. Rick Coffey’s shot is blocked but Chris Smith recovers the ball and Kenton Dunn puts up a shot that rims out. Vefa Kurtbak pulls down a huge offensive rebound with 20 seconds remaining. I try to call a time out, but Kurtbak swings the ball out to Dunn who puts it right back up and it goes in off the backboard. With 14 seconds we’re on top 78-76 and Virginia calls a time out. The Cavaliers move the ball around trying to find an open shot and then kick it way out to their PG Johnnie Stokes who puts up a 30 foot shot as time expires. Agonizingly the ball floats up and then down through hoop with the buzzer sounding to send us to an agonizing 79-78 defeat . So we get a taste of what Texas experienced at our hands the previous night, and yes, it’s bitter.

We really cleaned up our act in the 2nd half, making just 2 turnovers. Even though it would have been great to be champions, overall we had a very successful tournament. I’m proud of how our guys did against some strong teams.

SF Rick Coffey and SG Kenton Dunn both scored 14 with Coffey grabbing 7 rebounds and getting 3 assists, a steal and a block and Dunn hauling down 5 boards and having a steal and 2 blocks. PF Vefa Kurtbek had 11 points and PF/SF Charles Maors added 10 points. PG Johnnie Stokes finished with 20 points for Virginia, but we held SG Kevin Harrell to just 6 points. The Cavaliers’ C Wu-han Dai scored 13 and had 12 rebounds.

In the Palmetto Shootout, 4th seed #20 ranked California bested Butler 77-51, knocked off 1st seed #9 ranked Florida 64-53, and took care of 2nd seed #14 ranked Pittsburgh 73-62 to be crowned champions.

[PointGuard]

Game #7: Bradley Braves (1-2) at #16 Colorado Buffaloes (5-1)

Bradley’s two losses have been on the road to Louisville and 5th ranked Indiana, so their record isn’t necessarily indicative of their capabilities and their 85.3 ppg that’s been averaged by opponents is skewed by the quality of the teams they’ve played. SG Jonte Lee, who has averaged 20.0 ppg, sustained a sprained wrist in the last game and is unlikely to play against us.

Our offense clicked and we pulled away to a 24-13 lead midway through the first half. We continue to build out lead by the end of the half we’re in control by a 42-22 score. We hit 50% of our shots, scored 16 points on fast breaks, and held a 14-5 turnover advantage. SG Kenton Dunn was on fire, scoring 12 points, pulling down 7 rebounds, and getting 2 assists and 3 steals. The Braves SG Calvin Frederick scored 10 points.

Our defense went to sleep in the 2nd half and we let Bradley get within 12 points but still won the game by a final score of 84-70.

SG Kenton Dunn finished with 24 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and a block. SF Rick Coffey put 16 points on the board, and PF/SF Charles Maors scored 11. For Bradley, C Marcus Hanavan scored 19 while also grabbing 7 rebounds.

Elsewhere within the Pac-12, #2 Oregon romped to an 81-57 stomping of Western Carolina, #17 Utah whipped Wisconsin 86-74, and #21 Stanford knocked off South Dakota 71-61. #6 ranked Arizona travelled to Gainesville and lost to #9 Florida 64-63 when the Gators scored the last 4 points of the game.

In our tune-up for Pac-12 play, our next 4 games include games against teams from the ACC, Southeastern Conference, Big 10, and Big Twelve teams. Those 4 teams have a combined 18-4 record thus far so should be good challenges for us.