New basketball coach works on finalizing staff, laying initial groundwork
For the first time since his hiring, Jeff Bzdelik was able to get back into his comfort zone on Friday. After 72 hours of meetings, dinners and non-stop touring around the metro Denver area, Bzdelik got back to what he likes doing best: coaching.
The Buffs’ basketball team held two workouts on Friday, one morning and one afternoon session, as part of a once-a-week practice plan that is permitted by the NCAA until the end of the spring semester.
“To me, this is the best part of the job. The other stuff just comes along with it,” Bzdelik said.
The practice was broken up into two 2-hour sections to accommodate players’ schedules on a school day. Friday was the first time the team hit the court as a group since its season ended in the Big 12 Tournament back on March 8. Buff senior-to-be Richard Roby said the team’s new coach didn’t waste any time in getting everyone to work.
“(The practice) was tough. We haven’t seen anything that intense since the middle of the season,” Roby said. “(Coach Bzdelik) made it clear that he wants things done right. It’s not only tough physically but it’s tough mentally to make sure you’re in the right spot and make sure it’s perfect.”
Roby said he and the players just went through a few basic sets in their coach’s system. That system being the Princeton-style offense, which Bzdelik made very successful during his two-year tenure at the Air Force Academy. Although Roby said he felt like his group went through it “pretty well,” CU’s swingman understands it’s going to take time.
“Yeah, it probably will take a while (to get the offense down) because there is a lot of different things you can do with it,” Roby said.
As for the amount of learning that the players feel they did, rising sophomore Kal Bay spoke the strongest.
“We’ve been smiling all day because we learned so much in this first practice already,” Bay said. “This is probably the most I’ve learned in today’s practice (since I’ve been here) and it was wonderful. It’s a wonderful change and I can’t wait for the season to be the same way.”
Bay and Roby both said that the attention to detail and emphasis on doing things full-speed all the time. The players also said that Bzdelik mentioned to them what he saw when seeing a few of their games from this past season.
“(Bzdelik) said that the main thing that stood out was he felt we didn’t play as hard as we possibly could play every game and he said, ‘That’s not going to be acceptable,'” Roby said.
While the players have an adjustment to make to their new head coach and his system, Bzdelik is trying to learn more about what he has in front of him. The 54-year-old coach, who was an advance scout in the NBA for many years, is no stranger to recognizing talent. In an effort to make an early assessment of where his team stood, Bzdelik put his players through multiple drills that included passing, shooting and closing out on defenders.
Bzdelik said all of the drills have a purpose and that he wanted to establish a mindset with his the first set of team workouts.
“You get an idea of certain guys and there’s some really good upside,” Bzdelik said.
Bzdelik added that the practice gave him a “good idea of the strengths and weaknesses we have.”
Bzdelik implied that the early evaluation period will also allow his staff to ascertain, based on the players in front of them, what needs the team may have in terms of recruiting. Bzdelik said he is aware that the team’s roster is currently at its scholarship limit of 13, but that he’s learned to never close the door on the possibility of one opening up down the road.
“You’re always recruiting because you never know. There might be players that for whatever reason see from their own standpoint, that it’s not a fit,” Bzdelik said. “At the same time we want to really start zeroing in on the top juniors.”
As of right now, Bzdelik still does not know who all the men will be that will help him in his recruiting efforts. The coach currently has a couple of his assistant positions filled out and said he could be done finalizing his staff as early as next week. While he still works on constructing his staff, Bzdelik said he still has time to lay the groundwork with his players.
“We tried to teach a variety of things individually and collectively but not too much so to where (the players) forgot what was expected,” Bzdelik said.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Stirling Wade at stirling.wade@thecampuspress.com.
