A roster loaded with experience has allowed the Colorado women’s basketball team to become one of the elite programs in the country.
With eight rotational players back from last year and two veteran transfers joining the mix, however, the Buffaloes have had to figure out a way to manage a large group of freshmen, as well.
That piece of the puzzle has been mostly figured out, though, as the No. 8-ranked Buffaloes (9-1) look ahead to the start of Pac-12 play at the end of the month.
Guards Jadyn Atchison and Mikayla Johnson have earned some spot time off the bench, while three others – guards Kennedy Sanders and Lele Tanuvasa and forward Ruthie Loomis-Goltl – will redshirt.
“We allowed it to be their decision,” CU head coach JR Payne said. “We talked about just where they are on the depth chart, and who’s ahead of them and what it would take to beat (the veterans) out. And … they’re very academic kids, so having an opportunity to be here for five years where you can earn a master’s degree (was important). And then just development. Year one vs. year five looks very different for everyone.”
This is the first time since the 2009-10 season that CU has had five scholarship freshmen on the roster. That bodes well for CU’s future, but veterans are dominating the playing time this season. That includes two of the top players on the team, Quay Miller and Jaylyn Sherrod, who opted to return for a bonus season awarded by the NCAA to all players from the 2020-21 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For Sanders, the decision was easy, Payne said. She’s not only behind three veteran point guards, including Sherrod, but Sanders was out for much of the offseason with a broken foot.
“For her it was really like an injury thing,” Payne said. “She really didn’t have any training this summer and then Jaylyn’s decision to come back for a fifth year obviously was part of it. But for her truly, it was an injury thing.”
Sanders, rated the country’s No. 75 prospect by ESPN’s HoopGurlz, has been practicing with the team and flashing her talent. That’s another reason why Payne likes Sanders redshirting.
“I think being able to save a year and preserve it is really the smart thing to do,” she said.
Tanuvasa is another guard who probably wouldn’t have had much playing time anyway, with Sherrod, Kindyll Wetta, Tameiya Sadler, Frida Formann and Maddie Nolan in the backcourt.
Loomis-Goltl was rated the No. 78 prospect by HoopGurlz. She’s got exceptional potential, but the Buffs have Miller and Aaronette Vonleh in the post, along with key reserve Charlotte Whittaker.
Johnson, meanwhile, arrived from Anchorage, Alaska, in January, so she’s already redshirted. A 6-foot-1 guard, she’s appeared in six games, playing 37 minutes while compiling 15 points, five rebounds and four steals.
Atchison is a 6-1 guard who has played 37 minutes in seven games, with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
“For them, they need to dial it up,” Payne said. “They can do some things that we actually need on the floor. They can score, they can shoot. Jadyn, we would love to have her length defensively right now. They’ve come a long way since they got here, but they need to get with it, so to speak. We’re playing faster than you are; you need to catch up. We’re moving quicker, we’re talking more, we’re dialed in more than you are and if you’re gonna play, you’ve got to fix those things.”
CU has one more non-conference game (Dec. 21 against Northern Colorado) before the Dec. 30 conference opener against Utah. Often, coaches will shorten the bench in conference play, but Payne said she wants to expand it, allowing Atchison and Johnson to develop and play more.
“I think those two need to play,” she said. “But I also think they’ve got to get it get on our level, as far as just intensity and focus and pace and things like that. But I think those kids can play.”
