Spotlight on? The unexpected and usually attention-shy CSU Rams

In science, the observer effect speaks to change – how the way we observe some things at a microscopic level changes how that something behaves, just by what we needed to do to “see” it. A single particle, for example.

The way we apply that idea to the world of us doesn’t actually end up being all that different. Watching someone do something makes them do it differently. Pro athletes seize up in championship games, and you don’t sing the same way at karaoke you do in the car. Even if you learn to adjust and live a life in the glare of attention, turning up the wattage of that spotlight can make the number of eyeballs on you uncomfortable.

It’s how the joke has always gone with the sports programs at Colorado State University. One of the worst things that could happen to any one of the teams was to crack a Top-25 ranking, as the attention was sure to bump the Rams right back off the list. As a long-time fan and occasional student, the litany of football, basketball, baseball, volleyball… hell, even golf teams that found their way to a moment of national attention and quickly withered in that glow were numerous enough to beget the inside joke in the first place. Eventually it happened often enough, the joke wasn’t even so “inside” any more.

But, while the few programs over the years who have made their mark on season-long campaigns were few, it wasn’t as if they were non-existent. They just also happened to have names like Durham, Hammon, Van Dyken, Van Pelt, Myers, etc associated. People who set new levels and expectations for the programs they were competing for. While this year’s CSU Men’s Basketball team does have a name on it that will eventually sit amongst the rest of those in the pantheon, they also have a depth and breadth of talent that rivals even the most cohesive teams that surrounded any of the star-studded list above.

It’s actually been a fair bit of time now since this year’s basketball team crossed the “longest ever ranked in the Top-25” marker, and they show no signs of wilting under the heat. After a single stumble in their first 14 games, they appear to be on the precipice of a very special season, and one in which they seem to thrive under the steadily increasing spotlight and viewership. In their last two games, they handed an outmanned opponent exactly the sort of thumping they should have, and then went up against a Mountain West powerhouse earlier this week in Fort Collins. New Mexico also entered the contest 12-1, but the Rams simply throttled and contained the Lobos throughout the night, winning both halves of the game. That is only the first dragon CSU will have to slay this season, with a trip to 13-1 Utah State up next, then travel to 9-4 Boise State to follow, and at 13-1 Nevada and home to 11-2 San Diego State by the end of the month, with other tough games scattered along the way. Not a single team left on the Rams schedule this season currently has a losing record. The gauntlet left to run is a tough one.

Guard Isaiah Stevens is the name that will sit amongst the stars of the CSU pantheon, scoring his 2,000th point as a Ram during the New Mexico game, a Men’s Basketball record he keeps resetting with every point he scores. Only the remarkable Becky Hammon had surpassed 2,000 points at Colorado State before this (2,740). Even more incredible, Stevens scoring output does not impact his assists as a guard, with Isaiah now over 720 assists in his CSU career. If he is able to slightly outpace last year’s career high of 175, he might just top 800 before his Rams career is done.

One of the reasons this Rams Men’s program has often toppled from their brief dalliances with the Top-25 so quickly is if there is a name to be mentioned as breathlessly as Stevens, the list of impactful names behind him is short. This year’s team is not only deep and remarkable amongst the starting five, but head coach Niko Medved has proclaimed more than once that his he would give meaningful minutes to every player on his roster. That depth has allowed the Rams to already survive a few injuries that would have knocked them off course in years past. If you follow along, you’ll want to learn more about names like Clifford, Palmer, Lake, Scott, Strong, Cartier, Evans, Jackson, and more.

It’s time to check them out. f you’re one of those magical thinkers who is a CSU sports fan, and has simply been afraid to turn your eye toward this Men’s Basketball team for fear of ruining it all, it’s safe. No, really. And if you’re amongst the much larger group of folks never paid attention to the Colorado State Men’s Basketball team before this? Well, who could blame you? They’ve never made it this far, at least at this point in a season. But if great basketball being played by a great team with high stakes and dramatic circumstances is a hook for you – and it seems to have played well for a lot of folks here recently in Colorado – you might want to pick up this story while it just keeps getting hotter.

Saturday night, the Rams take their act to Utah State to show just how real this whole thing is. 13-1 CSU is 1st in the Mountain West and 13th-ranked in the country. 13-1 USU is 2nd in the Mountain West, and wants a shot at the top. If you’re a Rams fan, or just a basketball fan, this one isn’t to be missed.