Colorado Basketball Recruiting: Who are the Remaining Targets?

Colorado has had a killer opening to their 2021 class, gaining commitments from top 60 players Lawson Lovering and Quincy Allen. Lovering is a dominating post player and Allen is a deadly shooting threat from the wing. With three scholarships left in the 2021 class, Tad Boyle has quite a bit of options to fill up those scholarships. Here are a couple options to keep an eye on:

Javon Ruffin

Look, before you read any more, this is really all you need to know:

Tad, for better or worse, has a type. With point guards, that type usually wins a lot of games and gets drafted with surprising regularity. He loves long guards that can defend, shoot well enough to be a threat from outside, and have a knack for getting to the rim. Javon Ruffin fits the bill nicely. The 6’5 lead guard from New Orleans recently picked up an offer from CU after being lightly recruited. Part of the reason for that light recruitment is that he’s a late bloomer, another Tad hallmark. The other part is that he has moved around a lot — his dad, a former NBA player himself, works as a scout for the New Orleans Pelicans.

An article from our friend Adam Munsterteiger back in May lists interest from CU, North Carolina, and Stanford. Currently, only the Buffs have stepped up with an offer. He’s not going to blow by anyone, but his huge frame and constant threat of an outside shot lets him get to the rim with ease. Similar to guards that Tad has had success with before (Spencer Dinwiddie and Derrick White come to mind), he is always in control going to the basket and uses his length to shield the ball and finish through contact. It’s hard to tell his skill level defensively, but if it’s a Tad guard, it’s a good bet that he’s at least competent on that end.

Tamar Bates

This is my dream add to this class, but it’s a longshot. A player that’s originally from Kansas, it has be hard to turn down an offer from the Kansas Jayhawks (that he supposedly holds). Now spending his senior year down at IMG Academy in Florida, Bates is everything you want to see in a Tad Boyle player. Long, aggressive defensively, and a lefty, Tamar Bates would send this class over the top (on paper). He’s long, shoots well for his size, and is a terror defensively. He also plays for the same AAU team that produced Dom Collier and Tory Miller-Stewart for the Buffs, once upon a time. Bates would be a lethal combo guard to add to a super post presence in Lovering and a wing scorer in Quincy Allen. Along with Kansas, he hold offers from Creighton, Wichita State, and Saint Louis, which are tough regional programs to recruit against.

Drew Carter?

This one is a whacky one. Drew Carter also happens to be a top target for Karl Dorrell and the Colorado Buffaloes on the football side. However, Tad Boyle just gave him an offer last night as a point guard:

Being a P5 quarterback does not allow anyone to be anything else, so I doubt that he can actually play both sports. It’s possible that he chooses to focus on basketball and still comes to CU. He is a really good shooter on the court (probably a good sign for his football accuracy) and plays out in Oregon. At 6’3, he has pretty good height for a point guard, and while he’s not a plus vertical athlete, he has plenty of athleticism to thrive at the college level. This is one to keep an eye on.

A transfer to reveal themselves later

Tad Boyle has gotten more aggressive on the transfer market in recent years. The 2021 class figures to be one of the most active transfer markets yet. Depending on how they handle the 2020 class scholarships if the season is delayed or cancelled, expect a lot of high-level players out in the open market. This Buffs team also has no current sophomores on the roster, which would be an obvious hole to fill. I have no names here, but I expect Colorado to bank at least of their five open slots for the late signing period to see if they can get an instant contributor here.

Expect Tad to do what he can to add a Colorado player to this class as well, you know he loves to stay in-state. It’s a great class so far. I expect Tad to try to make it the best class in program history before it’s all done.