Parquet, Wright star on defense
McKinley Wright IV has earned Pac-12 Conference All-Defensive Team accolades three times in three seasons at Colorado and likely is on his way to a fourth. Eli Parquet is coming off two spectacular defensive outings and is making a statement he should join Wright on this year’s all-defensive team.
Together, coach Tad Boyle believes his team features the best backcourt defensive tandem of his 11season tenure at CU. And yet there remains plenty of room for defensive improvement as the Buffs get set to open a critical fivegame homestand on Wednesday night against Washington State.
“They’re right up there,” Boyle said. “Yahosh Bonner and Devon Beitzel at UNC my last year (2009-10), they were pretty special too defensively. Gritty, tough guys that played well off of each other. In my time at CU I think McKinley and Eli, if you look at both guys’ and plusses and minuses, probably the best we’ve had defensively as a tandem. They’re terrific.
“I would say they’re the best in the league, but there’s a little asterisk on that because I think when Bryce Willis was healthy and Daejon Davis was healthy at Stanford, those two guys are awful, awful good as well. And they’ve got size and athleticism to boot. Again, I wouldn’t trade Eli and McKinley for anybody. I love coaching them and I love their mindset. That’s the biggest thing when it comes to defense. It’s more of a mindset thing than it is a physicality thing. If you have the mindset and the physicality and the ability to play, then you’re pretty effective.”
Wright as an honorable mention All-Defensive Team selection as a freshman and sophomore and was named to the first team last year. Last week at Washington, in a game that otherwise defensive struggle for the Buffs, Parquet posted career-highs of three blocked shots and four steals before having his minutes limited down the stretch after getting struck in the eye. Parquet was even better in Saturday’s comeback win at Washington State, recording four blocked shots.
Despite boasting two of the top backcourt defenders in the league, the Buffs will look to regain a defensive edge missing last week at Washington and during the first 10 minutes at Washington State. CU enters the WSU having fallen to sixth in league games in defensive field goal percentage and 10th in league games in defensive 3-point percentage (.360).
And the Buffs find themselves facing the Cougars for the second time in five days.
“It becomes a mental situation between the ears of finding your edge. And I hope our players can find their edge,” Boyle said. “I’m not sure I’ve seen it in practice the last two days, quite frankly. Now, leading up to the Washington game I thought we had our edge, and we didn’t come out and play with the edge. I haven’t sensed the edge the last two days at practice, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to play with it. If we don’t, we’re going to have issues. We’re going to have problems.”