Colorado adds Jalen Gabbidon to this season's roster

BOULDER — The herd grew on Monday.

Jalen Gabbidon announced on Instagram Tuesday that he’s committing to the University of Colorado. Gabbidon played the first five years of his career (including a redshirt year) at Yale before entering the transfer portal. He’ll have one year of eligibility remaining at CU.

Colorado now has 14 players on scholarship for the upcoming season if Jabari Walker opts to return to school instead of sticking with the NBA Draft process. He must decide if he’s returning to school by June 1. The addition of Gabbidon is probably bad news for those who hoped to see Walker return for his junior season.

Gabbidon a lanky guard at 6-foot-5 and 190 pounds who spent two seasons as Yale’s captain and has a penchant for defense. In other words, he’s exactly Tad Boyle’s type.

Gabbidon finished fifth in steals in the Ivy League in each of the last two seasons that the conference played. He was the conference defensive player of the year for the 2019-20 season.  Gabbidon can switch onto anybody who plays guard or small forward and may be able to defend bigger wings as well.

Offensively, Gabbidon isn’t as well-rounded but he’s a solid finisher around the rim and was a fairly-reliable threat from beyond the arc during the 2019-20 season before taking a step back last year.

Assuming Walker is gone, the CU rotation should look something like this:

PG: KJ Simpson, Julian Hammond, Javon Ruffin

SG: Nique Clifford, Ethan Wright, RJ Smith

SF: Jalen Gabbidon, J’Vonne Hadley, Quincy Allen

PF: Tristan da Silva, Luke O’Brien

C: Lawson Lovering, Joe Hurlburt

Colorado is a little shorthanded in the frontcourt, especially when you consider that Tristan da Silva started at small forward last season. If da Silva, Lovering and Hurlburt are all contributors throughout the season, the Buffs will be just fine. If not, CU could be short on options. Technically there’s still no guarantee that Walker won’t return—although CU would have to find a way to open up a scholarship—and he’d obviously be a massive boost in the post.

In the backcourt, though, CU has plenty of options. The blend of youth and experience is nearly ideal and at least half of the players list at PG, SG or SF can play multiple positions. The Buffs can put together a bunch of different combinations depending on whether they want to go with speed, length, shooting or defense.