Buffs’ Battey shaking off rare 0-for in preseason finale
BOULDER» It arguably was the most frustrating game of Evan Battey’s Colorado basketball career.
Fortunately for all involved, it didn’t count.
The Buffaloes’ 6-foot-8, senior forward capped the preseason schedule in forgettable fashion last weekend at Nebraska, going 0-for-10 from the field during CU’S 82-67 exhibition defeat.
Ahead of Tuesday’s regular season opener at home against Montana State, Buffs head coach Tad Boyle said he isn’t concerned about his fifth-year senior, and one of CU’S only proven commodities, possibly trying to do too much in his quest to lead a much younger rotation.
“Evan is trying to be a coach on the floor, which is what we need,” Boyle said. “Nobody knows this program as a player better than Evan Battey does. This is his fifth year. He knows what the coaches want. He knows what the messaging is. I’ve got complete and utter confidence in Evan.
“Obviously he has to do his job and do what he’s supposed to do on the floor. But he knows what that is. Evan is a very self-aware guy and when he makes a mistake, he’s the first one to recognize and admit it. I don’t have any issues with him trying to do too much.”
Although the result wasn’t official, the 0-for Battey posted was a rarity.
In 100 career games with the Buffs, Battey has gone without a field goal just five times in games in which he has taken at least three shot attempts. Four occurred during his first live season in 2018-19, going 0-for-3 in his second collegiate game against Omaha, 0-for-3 against Oregon, 0-for-4 against UCLA, and 0-for-5 at Texas in the NIT quarterfinals. Battey also had an 0-for-5 game last year at Oregon.
Battey did share the team lead with eight rebounds at Nebraska, and in two preseason games committed just one turnover in 38 minutes.
Other coach K. Boyle recently sought out an old adversary for a fresh perspective.
Earlier this week, former Utah had coach Larry Krystkowiak attended a pair of Buffs practices. Boyle has long professed his respect for Krystkowiak, who spent 10 seasons as the Utes head coach before being let go following the 2020-21 season. Boyle and Krystkowiak also share a similar coaching background in that their first collegiate head coaching jobs arrived in the Big Sky Conference — Krystkowiak at Montana, Boyle at
Northern Colorado.
“I’ve got great respect for him and what he did at Utah. We had battles against each other,” Boyle said. “But he’s also a friend. A guy I consider a friend. I’ve been doing this the last four or five years. I bring two guys in that are out of coaching and might be taking a little bit of a break, like (Krystkowiak) is, and just get their perspective.
“He knows the league, he knows our team, he knows our program. It’s a fresh set of eyes. And I do it so our players maybe have someone to talk to. He coached in the NBA, played in the NBA. He’s a resource for our players as well, and our coaching staff.”
Footnotes. CU’S first three games, all at home — Tuesday against Montana State, Nov. 13 against New Mexico, and Nov. 15 against Maine — will air on Pac-12 Mountain and will be unavailable on the Pac-12 national network…in his unofficial return to Tulsa on Wednesday, former CU forward Jeriah Horne started and scored 15 points for the Golden Hurricanes in an exhibition win against Northeastern State. Former CU 7-footer Dallas Walton was set to play in an exhibition game for Wake Forest on Friday night against Winston-salem State. George Mason, now the home of Colorado Springs native and former CU forward D’shawn Schwartz, is not playing a traditional preseason game and opens the regular season on Tuesday against Stony Brook.