GABBIDON, WRIGHT IN FINALE SPOTLIGHT
Buffs senior day festivities highlight Utah game
Last year a unique senior day unfolded for the Colorado men’s basketball team, as the program said farewell to a beloved, muchdecorated five-year player in Evan Battey.
The senior day festivities on deck for Saturday will be unique for much different reasons.
As the Buffs attempt to end a disappointing year on a winning note in the regular season finale against Utah, Colorado will honor two seniors who transferred into the program for just one season in Jalen Gabbidon and Ethan Wright. The Buffs will honor the two Ivy League transfers, along with walk-on Cody Mains, while trying to gain some elusive momentum heading into the Pac-12 Conference tournament next week in Las Vegas.
Gabbidon is expected to be available after missing the past two games due to a concussion, while leading scorer Tristan da Silva is expected to be a gametime decision following an ankle injury he suffered late in Sunday’s loss against No. 4 UCLA.
“We’re playing for our three seniors. We’re playing for Cody, we’re playing for Ethan, we’re playing for Jalen,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “We want to send those guys out the way they deserve to be sent out. Which is with a win. It’s not going to be easy. But we’ve just got to figure out a way.”
Unlike the honorees at most senior day ceremonies, CU fans haven’t had much time to get to know Gabbidon and Wright.
Gabbidon appeared in 78 games over three seasons at Yale, twice playing in the NCAA Tournament and winning the league’s defensive player of the year honor in 2020. He scored a combined 23 points in the first two games of this season but
hasn’t reached double-figures since, in part due to injuries that have kept Gabbidon out of eight games (including six in late December/january due to a knee injury).
Many of the emotional senior day ceremonies for players like Battey are farewells for players everyone in the arena knows still will be competing professionally somewhere. That’s not necessarily the case with Gabbidon and Wright (and Mains), who could be facing their final competitive games of high-level basketball.
“I don’t think it is until it is. But it is my last collegiate home game,” Gabbidon said. “I’m going to look back fondly at a lot of memories I have playing college basketball. You have a limited amount of time here. Fortunately I’ve taken advantage of a lot of opportunities I’ve had. I don’t have any regrets or anything I look back on that I’d do differently.”
Wright has struggled to reproduce the .395 3-point percentage he posted last year at Princeton, but he has given the Buffs more productive minutes in recent weeks. (One example was his season-high-tying three assists against UCLA, including one of the best feeds of the season for a Lawson Lovering dunk.)
Wright was one of the stars of CU’S upset of thenno. 24 Texas A&M, going 5-for-6 from the arc with a season-high 15 points.
“Definitely bittersweet,” Wright said. “I’ve been here a little less time, but it’s not any less meaningful. I’ve gotten really close to all the guys here. I’m excited. It’s been a long year. We’ve worked really hard and we’re ready to celebrate that.
“I’ve just been trying to be aggressive. Not really thinking, just playing. Against UCLA I don’t think I scored, but I felt like I had a good game moving the ball and making some passes. So I’m just kind of focused on contributing and not the negative stuff. Just staying as positive as possible.”