Senior forward Jeriah Horne grins from ear-to-ear in between plays. Feb. 6, 2021 (Casey Paul / CU Independent)
Over the course of the COVID-19 ridden season, both senior guard D’Shawn Schwartz and senior forward Jeriah Horne have demonstrated their ability to lead the team, as well as at Thursday night’s game against Stanford where they both contributed nine points to the teams total.
After Monday night’s home game against Oregon State, head coach Tad Boyle spoke a bit about Horne’s ability to perform and benefit the entire team.
“Jeriah is a very efficient player,” Boyle said. “He’s got the ability to make tough shots and bad shots and not everybody has that. We want him to be aggressive. He’s a guy you just can’t put a lot of hindrances on his game because he is so creative and crafty that you want him to play free and you want to play his game, but you also have to make sure the shot selection is key.”
As for being a team leader, Horne has heavily contributed to help underclassmen, including recent standout freshman forward Tristan da Silva. He is certainly not the only one to contribute to the freshman’s success, as da Silva listed multiple other team members of the team as contributors.
“I’ve learned a lot from those guys, especially in the front guard and the posts and stuff like that on defense,” da Silva said. “It’s not just Jeriah, but also (junior forward) Evan (Battey) and (senior forward) Dallas (Walton). Those guys really gave me tips and really helped me to improve my game. I appreciate that.”
With seven seniors on the team, including the star guard McKinley Wright IV, another fantastic mentor for the young players has been Schwartz. Boyle spoke further on Schwartz’s mental toughness after a tough first half that turned into a strong 15 point and 15 rebound performance against Utah on Jan. 15.
Senior guard D’Shawn Schwartz shoots a three during the second half of play at the CU Events Center. Jan. 14, 2021 (Nigel Amstock/Rivals.com)
“(I’m) really proud of him,” Boyle said. “He did not play very well in the first half. He missed some bunnies, his head was down, he was frustrated. He really picked it up in the second half. To finish with 15 and 15 is a testament to his mental toughness, which is great to see out of one of your seniors.”
Each of the seniors has contributed significantly to the success of the team over the course of the season, as well as their entire career at Colorado. Schwartz, who has played all four years of eligibility at CU, has shot a solid 41% in his college career. Horne, who transferred from Tulsa and is playing his first year in Boulder, has shot an impressive 45%.
A tough time to enter a program during a heavily modified season, the underclassmen are appreciative of the help they receive from their seniors, and Horne and Schwartz are certainly no exception. Although the youngsters may have only received a year or two of help and mentorship from the seniors, it should have a strong impact on the rest of their in seasons to come.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Logan Standard at lost6888@colorado.edu.
