It is unclear exactly when RJ Smith might return to the Colorado rotation. But chances are, it won’t be in the near future.
After two days off following Sunday’s home rout of Pepperdine, the CU men’s basketball team got back to work on Wednesday without Smith, who is sidelined indefinitely due to a lower leg issue.
Already on the back end of the backcourt rotation, it isn’t a ton of minutes the Buffaloes will have to fill without Smith, who averaged 11.8 minutes off the bench through the first seven games. Still, someone will have to play those minutes, and as the Buffs set their sights on a Sunday date in Brooklyn, N.Y., against No. 15 Miami (noon MT, ESPN2), head coach Tad Boyle said the likely answer will be additional minutes for guard Julian Hammond III, as well as a cast of youngsters that includes redshirt freshman walk-on Harrison Carrington.
“Every man just kind of moves up a rotation,” Boyle said. “Assane (Diop) and BD (Bangot Dak), even though they’re the same position, that’s again the five-out offense we run, it’s interchangeable. I think what it does is it moves Harrison Carrington into the 10-man rotation. I don’t like playing kids in the second half that didn’t play in the first half. Get them a little bit of a run, a little bit of a burn in the first half, and then in the second half, if need be, we shorten the rotation. That will continue to happen.
“Assane, BD and Harrison, and Julian obviously being another guard off the bench, his minutes will probably go up as well.”
Through the first seven games, Boyle utilized a rotation consisting of a solid first seven (KJ Simpson, Cody Williams, Tristan da Silva, Eddie Lampkin Jr., J’Vonne Hadley, Luke O’Brien and Hammond) with spot first-half minutes off the bench for Smith, Diop and, to a lesser extent, Dak.
With Smith sidelined against Pepperdine, Dak (11 minutes, 50 seconds), Hammond (24:39) and Carrington (9:12) hit new season-highs for playing time, although Hammond’s mark was just few seconds more than his previous high (24:35 against Iona).
Carrington is a 6-foot-7 walk-on out of Menlo Park, Calif., who is in his second year with the program. Carrington redshirted last year, but Boyle has consistently lauded his ability and has shown a willingness to give Carrington meaningful minutes. He has appeared in five games, recording the first field goal of his career against Iona.
“I’ve got confidence in Harrison,” Boyle said. “He’s a terrific player and has really grown. He’s gained a lot of confidence on the scout team. And the players know how good he is.”
The game against Miami is shaping up to the second without Smith for the Buffs (6-2), who are running out of opportunities to add an impressive nonconference win to a resume they hope will be worthy of an NCAA Tournament bid in March.
“Obviously we’re focused on them, they’re the next opponent, but we realize the opportunity that’s at stake,” Simpson said. “Also, what we haven’t been able to do is win on the road. We won against Richmond, but we haven’t won a true road game. We play well at home, we just have to find a way to carry that over on an opposing court.”
