For the first time since Pac-12 play began on the road against Utah earlier this year, Colorado had the superior guard play against a conference opponent. It should come as a shock to no one that such a truth led to the Buffaloes’ first win since Dec. 22 against Eastern Washington, as they held off Oregon State 85-78 and snapped a seven-game losing streak.
Tad Boyle can thank the duo of Bryce Peters and Dominique Collier for that.
Collier, coming off the bench, might have logged the most influential 14 minutes of his collegiate career on Thursday night, scoring 10 points in addition to collecting three steals and two assists. His energy and poise were what turned a seesaw game into one where the Buffs were in control down the stretch, however tense the finish was. He was exactly what his team needed, exactly when it was needed.
But the real story was Peters, who got the start on a night where Boyle seemed to be sending a message to his team, benching the normal starting unit. The gamble, however you feel about it, paid off. No one, perhaps all season, played with the sense of urgency that Peters did and it should earn him a more prominent role moving forward.
From the beginning of the game, he was in attack mode. Probing the defense for opportunities and taking them when they arose. In transition, he displayed his open court ability and even in the half court, his first step continues to impress. He’s not always going to knock down shots like he did last night, his willingness to take them at all is a sign of his progression. He may never be a guy that goes out and gets you 20 points each night, but an aggressive Peters, especially offensively, couldn’t be a better sign for the future and Boyle.
Defensively, while he takes unnecessary gambles and has shown a tendency to get stood up, he showed why I’ve been tabbing him as a potential lock-down defender later in his career. There isn’t a player in the Boyle era, not named Andre Roberson, that possessed the kind of recovery ability that Peters has. Sure, he’s explosive vertically, but his athleticism is as functional as you’ll see at the college level, with the ability to beat opponents to their desired spot even when initially out of position. Tasked with guarding one of the better guards in the league, Peters showed admirably, certainly much better than his senior teammate, Derrick White.
Now the question becomes not whether or not Peters is any good, anyone watching should have been able to recognize his raw talent early on, but how to put him in a position to be that aggressive and confident every night. Is it just playing time? That seems dubious, as he’s still only averaging 6.2 points per game when he plays over 15 minutes, though this was just the second time he played more than 20 minutes since the team’s trip to BYU. More than anything, I think it’s confidence.
For young basketball players, confidence often comes down to one thing: starting.
“I was happy that I was starting because I wanted to prove that not only could I bring energy off the bench from jump but and a lot of the younger guys, me and Tommy [Akyazili] and Deleon [Brown] have a lot of energy built up,” Peters said Thursday night. “We’re all jittery and wired and ready to make plays. I think that’s how we came out with the win tonight.”
Some of you might remember Xavier Johnson’s first season in Boulder as a confident, boisterous, and talented freshman who had just been named the LA Player of the Year his final high school season. In front of him on the depth chart was Sabatino Chen, the ultimate college basketball glue-guy that tied together the starting five. Once Johnson was given a shot at starting, he exploded. Quickly, he was seen as one of the best freshmen in the conference. Going forward, Peters deserves the same kind of opportunity.
The shooting guard spot has been one of constant frustration for the Buffs this season, thanks to the struggles of Josh Fortune, the inability for Collier to stay healthy, and the lack of assertiveness from Peters and Deleon Brown. If Boyle is going to continue pushing different buttons to see which one sparks this team, why not start Peters alongside White moving forward? College basketball no longer requires definitive position stereotypes and having two guards that can push the break, create for themselves, and also set you up in an offense is the key to success. At the very least, you’re preparing Peters for what will be a huge increase in responsibilities next season.
Guard play has been a constant struggle for Colorado since losing Spencer Dinwiddie to the NBA. It’s time to truly figure out what you have in Peters going into next season by putting him in a position to be successful. For him, it seems like success might be directly related to confidence, which is fostered through opportunity.
