What Dominique Collier and George King Bring To Colorado

Tad Boyle has made some recruiting news in the past weeks by completing the 2013 class with George King and starting the 2014 class with Dominique Collier. Collier is the better commitment for the Buffaloes; he is the 61st best player in the 2014 Rivals 150 and a four star prospect. He was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Colorado last year as well. King is not as notable of a player as Collier, but his addition to the 2013 class is critical. He's an explosive 6'6" wing that can rebound and shoot.

Here are three points about the newest commitments:

Tad Boyle has shown he can recruit the best players in Colorado

Players from Colorado haven't been key contributors yet in the Tad Boyle era aside from Josh Scott, but Boyle has now shown for two consecutive years that he can sign the best talent in his state. UCLA, Arizona, Gonzaga and other schools offered Collier, but the local product went with the Buffaloes. It speaks volumes that Boyle can not only recruit successfully in Southern California, (Booker, Dinwiddie, Xavier Johnson) and beat out other Pac-12 teams for products in their own states while also get the best talent in his own state. Being able to consistently recruit the best players in Colorado while recruiting well outside of the state is key to avoid rebuilding years and will be the way the Buffaloes continue to become a legitimate program in college basketball.

Collier is a potential replacement for Spencer Dinwiddie

It is almost a certainty that Spencer Dinwiddie will leave Colorado for the NBA after this upcoming season and similar to Dinwiddie, Collier has been labeled as a potential NBA prospect that can play both guard positions. He has received much more praise than Dinwiddie ever did in high school, but Collier lacks the size at 6'1" that Dinwiddie has, which has helped him become such a great player in the Pac-12. Furthermore, Collier could seemingly transition at Colorado just like The Mayor, improving each year adding muscle and leaving for the pros before all four of his years in Boulder.

Collier is a very fast player that can facilitate in the open court and finish around the rim. He is a good ball handler and a strong defender, but there are concerns about his slender frame as he only weighs 160 lbs. Collier still needs to improve his shot and needs more work to become a true point guard, but given his work ethic, it shouldn't be a problem. Looking at the potential back court when Collier comes to Colorado, the Buffaloes could have two successful combo guards to pair with him in Askia Booker and Jaron Hopkins.

George King is going to have an impact next year off of the bench

I didn't think the Buffs would get much with the scholarship that became available after Andre Roberson left, but I couldn't have been more wrong. After watching highlights of King, it is easy to see that he is an explosive athlete, a tremendous leaper, and can finish around the rim. King can score and rebound evident by his 17.1 point and 11.3 rebound per game averages in his senior year. Last year, the bench play wasn't particularly great for Colorado. Xavier Talton and Jeremy Adams certainly played much better as the year went on, but there weren't any reliable bench scorers. King might not provide that right away with the amount of depth on this team, but he will provide instant energy off of the bench, stretch the floor with his shot, score down low despite being smaller than most bigs, and bring the Coors Events Center to mayhem with his dunks.