Guard won’t talk about possible candidates.
Colorado guard Richard Roby doesn’t always read the sports section to see what writers are saying about his 6-19 basketball team.
But he admitted the situation at Colorado has sparked interest, specifically regarding the future of the team.
With coach Ricardo Patton in his 12th and final season at Colorado, the Buffaloes will have an opening to fill before next season. And Roby, a junior, is curious to find out who will be coaching him next season.
“I’ll definitely follow it after the season,” Roby said. “We know who some of the candidates are.”
For now, however, Roby said he is trying to concentrate on this season. But just by the way he answers questions about the situation, it’s easy to tell it has affected him. When asked about the forthcoming coach opening, Roby neither hesitates to give an answer nor gets irritated by it. But at the same time, it’s clear it isn’t a question he needs to spend a lot of time thinking about.
Roby tries to show that he’s not tired of giving an answer to something
he has been asked hundreds of times. But his first reaction to the question was to put his head down while standing behind the microphone sitting on the wooden podium. The answer he gave made it seem as if he was looking down to read from a script, one that he has read at every arena he has played in this season.
“We try not to worry about it,” Roby said. “We try to worry about what’s going on this season. And then after the season, we’ll worry about that. But it’s out of our hands. We have no control over who’s going to coach us. We worry about the things we can control.”
Roby refused to elaborate on who he has heard are potential candidates for the job, and he added that he doesn’t have any preferences. But Colorado’s choice will not only be an important one for the future of the Buffaloes’ basketball program, it could also affect what Roby decides to do next season.
After his sophomore year, Roby had the opportunity to enter the NBA draft and skip his final two seasons at Colorado.
Many projected him as a late first-round pick. Instead, he chose to stay in college.
At the end of this season, Roby will have the same decision in front of him, a decision he said he hasn’t put much thought into at this point.
“I want to finish this year out strong first,” Roby said. “I’ll think about all that stuff after the season’s over.”
Some Missouri players had the same decision to make last season after the departure of coach Quin Snyder. The players were uncertain of who their next coach would be, and that led to uncertainty in where they would be playing.
For Missouri junior Jason Horton, the experience was so unpleasant that he said he refrains from thinking about it. .“That’s behind me. I really try not to think about that,” Horton said before quickly changing the subject. “You have to just look forward to the future and hopefully some great things for Tiger basketball.”
BUTTERFIELD INJURED: Junior forward Darryl Butterfield fell hard onto the floor and landed on his back during the first half of Missouri’s win. Butterfield attacked the basket and made a layup while drawing a foul. He completed the three-point play before leaving the game with a bruised back.
“He probably could have went (kept playing),” Missouri coach Mike Anderson said. “But he’s one of those guys that if he can’t go 100 percent, he feels like he’s hurting the basketball team.”