Masked marksman
Hadley, along with Williams, look to bounce back for Buffs
Every college basketball player is going to have a low point, that one game in which little seems to go right. Through the course of 31 regular season games, at least one dud is almost inevitable.
Unfortunately for the Colorado men’s basketball team, J’vonne Hadley and Cody Williams hit that speed bump at the same time.
Both players are coming off what arguably were their most frustrating games of the season during last week’s loss at Washington State. Getting a return to form by one, or better yet both, will be a big key in the Buffaloes’ quest for a road win on Saturday afternoon at Utah (3 p.m., Pac-12 Network).
In Hadley’s case, a fractured cheekbone suffered during a CU career-best 24-point performance during a win at Washington forced him to hit the floor at WSU in a protective facemask that was standard issue, as opposed to a mask molded to fit his face. Hadley ditched the mask at halftime against the Cougars but it didn’t alter his fate, as he finished with a season-low two points while matching a season-low with one field goal. The WSU loss also marked just the fourth time in 21 games Hadley has gone without a free throw attempt.
This week, Hadley has practiced in protective gear fitted to his face that he expects to wear on Saturday.
“It’s not the best thing to play with, just not being able to see,” Hadley said. “It was definitely a challenge. You can’t really see out of your peripherals. It is what it is at this point. It’s either sit out or play. It’s kind of hard to deal with a lot of different things with that. There is a lot of pain with it. I’ve just got to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.
“Just toughness and focus (against Utah). A little bit like Washington State. They’re a big team. They rebound. But they don’t really box out well. That’s what we do pretty good is crash the boards, get offensive rebounds and stuff like that. It’s definitely going to be another toughness game. We let one slip through our hands at Washington State. We’ve just got to come in with the right mentality and toughness.”
Despite dealing with injuries that robbed him of eight games earlier this year, Williams hit his toughest run of on-court adversity this season at WSU, going without a field goal for the first time in his 13 games. The freshman wing did go 6-for-7 at the free throw line and matched a season-high with six rebounds, but he didn’t attempt a 3-pointer for just the second time this season. The Buffs likely will need more scoring punch from the dynamic rookie if they hope to knock off a Utah squad that is 11-0 at home.
“This week is all about getting our bodies right, getting our minds right, getting our spirits right as we head down the stretch run,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “This week comes at a perfect time for us. We’re midway through our conference season. Ten games in our rearview mirror, 10 games ahead of us. This week’s about getting better individually as a player. And that might be resting your body. It might be recovering from some nicks and things that are bothering you. And it’s getting your mind right.
“If we get better individually this week, we get better as a team this week, we’ll put ourselves in position to win a game on Saturday. That’s the goal.”