Ivy League graduate transfers trying to step up for the Buffs
One of the questions surrounding the Colorado men’s basketball team at the outset of the season was just how big an impact would be made by the Buffaloes’ two Ivy League graduate transfers, Jalen Gabbidon and Ethan Wright.
Those contributions have been sporadic.
In Gabbidon’s case, a knee injury that kept him out of six Pac-12 Conference games put a midseason damper on his momentum. Wright, meanwhile, was huge during the Buffs’ two biggest wins of the nonconference schedule but has otherwise struggled during conference play.
That could be changing. With J’vonne Hadley sidelined for the remainder of the regular season due to a finger injury, Gabbidon is likely to remain in the starting lineup as Hadley’s replacement. And Wright is coming off his best twoweek stretch since November as the Buffs look ahead to a Saturday night road game at Utah (8 p.m. MT, FS1).
Continued production from the two veterans could prove critical if the Buffs (14-11, 6- 8 Pac-12) hope to make a postseason push over the final six games of the regular season.
“Ethan Wright, he and I had a meeting ( last week). He’d been struggling a little bit. I think more kind of more between the ears,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “He’s just kind of said, ‘ You know what, I’m just going to go out and play and be aggressive.’ We know Ethan is a good finisher. He’s a
good finisher in transition. He didn’t make his threes (against Stanford) but he finished at the rim. He’s a sneaky- good offensive player. I’ve got confidence in him defensively. Ethan is huge.
“And then Jalen obviously, his defensive presence and his ability to drive the ball, they just have to understand what the scouting reports are against them and play to their strengths and stay away from their weaknesses. If Ethan is the best version of himself and Jalen is the best version of himself, they can really help this team.”
Gabbidon endured a slow start during his return from
the knee injury but has responded in the past two games, scoring a combined 14 points with three steals and a blocked shot during the Buffs’ home wins this past weekend against California and Stanford. Gabbidon also has turned it around at the free throw line. An 81% shooter from the line last season at Yale, Gabbidon struggled to a .583 mark (14-for-24) through the first five games of the season but has shot 15-for-17 (.882) since.
Af ter going a combined 7-for-10 on 3-pointers during the Buffs’ November wins against nationally-ranked Tennessee and Texas A& M, Wright
went 4-for-22 (.182) from long range over the next 16 games leading into CU’S trip to Oregon two weeks ago. In the two road losses against the Ducks and OSU, Wright went 3- for- 3 on 3-pointers, and the former Princeton guard is coming off his best game of the Pac-12 schedule after going 3-for- 5 overall with seven points during Sunday’s win against Stanford.
“This is a critical juncture in the season to build momentum going into the last stretch,” Gabbidon said. “It hurts to see (Hadley) go down, but at the same time we have to keep going. The attitude hasn’t changed at all. We’re ready to go.”