Pioneers’ Billups gets Boulder “homecoming”

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Central Division

WBOULDER» A year ago, when he left Colorado to return for his alma mater for his first head coaching job, Rodney Billups said his Denver Pioneers weren’t ready for a showdown against the Buffaloes and his mentor, CU coach Tad Boyle.

Even after a first year with the Pioneers that went better than expected, Billups still isn’t certain his club is ready for the challenge of playing a Pac-12 team on the road.

However, inspired by a 16-14 record in Billups’ first year, his players approached him expressing a desire for bigger challenges during the nonconference schedule.

That wish resulted in Tuesday night’s matchup, as Billups returns to the Coors Events Center for the first time since ending his six-season run as a member of Boyle’s staff in Boulder. It also will be a homecoming of sorts for DU assistant Ricardo Patton, who led the CU program for 11 full seasons and part of another through the 2006-07 season.

“I’m not exactly sure if we’re ready, but my guys in the spring came to me and said they wanted to play tougher opponents just to test our team early,” said Billups, who was a standout point guard for the Pioneers more than a decade ago. “For me, to be in that building again and continue to learn from Tad — because I’ll learn from the experience — and see and compete against some athletes that I helped recruit, it’s all going to be a surreal feeling.”

While CU opened the season with a solid 15-point win against Northern Colorado, the Pioneers struggled in their opener Sunday, shooting just .333 in an 83-69 loss against UC Irvine. Billups admitted his team may have been caught looking ahead.

“The thing I like about playing a guy like Rodney is after the game, whether it’s a day or two after, we’ll be able to give some feedback on each other, because we do have that relationship, we do have that friendship,” Boyle said. “He can really be honest with me about our team and I can do the same for him. We can help each other that way.

“I’m proud of him. I’m happy for him and the opportunity he has. I’m pulling for him because he’s not only a very good coach, but he’s a great human being and a very good friend.”

The Boyle-Billups relationship has led to the first meeting between the state rivals in 10 years.

Not only will it give Billups a chance to lead his own team in a venue that features his older brother, Chauncey Billups, immortalized on the arena wall, but he hopes it also proves to be a positive night for Patton, whose largely successful decade-plus run leading the program often is remembered less than the acrimonious end of his tenure. Patton directed CU to two NCAA Tournaments.

“I’m hoping that the city and the fans give their appreciation for what he did for Colorado,” Rodney Billups said.