Why This CU Basketball Roster is Better than You Think — Inside Tad Boyle’s Makeover of CU basketball

I’m much, much more optimistic about the men’s basketball team at CU than I thought I’d be in January.  Why?  3 primary reasons.  

First, CU has seen surprising growth by Sebastien Rancik, who is now up to 6’11”.  Rancik is now good enough to be labeled the “next” NBA player out of Boulder.  He’s now taller than Tristan de Silva, and I think he has a chance to be more productive than da Silva (who was drafted 18^th overall by the Orlando Magic in the 2024 NBA Draft).  

Second, Barrington Hargress has been fantastic in early practices.  Tad Boyle said that his assist-to-turnover rate in early practices has been 7:1, which would be the highest ratio in CU history for a high usage guard.  Now, we don’t expect that to continue during the season.  However, CU was abysmal handling the ball last season and Hargress should fix that problem immediately.  

Third, true freshmen Isaiah Johnson and Alon Michaeli are much, much further along than team insiders expected when they were initially recruited.  One source told me that Johnson reminds them so much of McKinley Wright that it’s “scary.”  That same source told me Michaeli may be the most well-rounded frontcourt player on CU’s roster.  CU coaches knew that Michaeli would bring toughness and grit – they didn’t know he was a high caliber athlete as well.  In the Black and Gold Scrimmage this past Saturday, Michaeli was one of the best players on the court.  

While CU’s incoming recruiting class was “only” ranked 38^th nationally, all the freshmen have looked good in early practices.  This is the kind of class that, if it stays together, could make CU very competitive in the Big 12 over the next 3-4 years.  

Minute Projections

This is our rough projection of playing time. In CU’s system, however, many traditional positions are interchangeable.  In many ways, the minute totals is probably more revealing that the projected positions that players are playing. 

Position	Projected Minutes (Primary/Secondary)
C	Post Malone 24, Bangot Dak 8, Tacko Fawaz 8
PF	Bangot Dak 16, Sebastien Rancik 14, Alon Michaeli 10
SF	Sebastien Rancik 14, Alon Michaeli 14, Josiah Sanders 12
SG	Felix Kossaras 16, Isaiah Johnson 12, Josiah Sanders 6, Ian Inman 6
PG	Barrington Hargress 28, Isaiah Johnson 12

Total Projected Minutes:
Barrington Hargress 28 minutes

Sebastien Rancik 28 minutes

Bangot Dak 24 minutes

Post Malone 24 minutes

Isaiah Johnson 24 minutes

Alon Michaeli 24 minutes

Josiah Sanders 18 minutes

Felix Kossaras 16 minutes

Tacko Fawaz 8 minutes

Ian Inman 6 minutes

This would mean, essentially, an 8-man rotation, with Tacko Fawaz and Ian Inman getting minutes primarily when matchups/needs dictate (Fawaz is an aggressive rim runner while Inman is a great 3-point shooter).  Jalin Howard and Andrew Crawford aren’t listed above but have also looked good this fall – if they play, it’s likely at the off-guard position and they may take some of Felix Kossaras’ minutes.  

Let’s dive further into each of the players on the roster and what to expect from them this season.

Player Projections

–Returning Players

Bangot Dak: BD missed most of the summer due to a knee injury.  However, he is now healthy and the Buffs will need his length and athleticism in the front court.  Dak has grown a half inch since last season and put on 18 pounds – he’s now 6’11.5” and 203 pounds.  BD is a force on the defensive end of the court, ranking 3^rd in the Big 12 with a block rate of 8.8%.  Dak is also a surprisingly good rebounder given his slight frame.  He needs to continue to work on his outside shooting – he only shot about 27% from 3.  BD has the talent to look like Kevin Garnett on some nights but the inconsistency to look like Ben Mills on other nights.  I expect to see more of the Big Ticket-style BD in the 2025/26 season.  

Season Projection:  9 ppg, 6 rpg, 1 apg.

Sebastien Rancik:  Rancik will arguably be Colorado’s best player this season.  Rancik has grown 2 inches and put on 10 pounds since last season.  Associate Head Coach Mike Rohn said on media day this week that Rancik has progressed and developed more this offseason than CU coaches expected, and that he’s become proficient at finishing through contact.  Rancik is now 6’11” 220 pounds.  Rancik was a 4-star recruit from the 2023-24 recruiting class and averaged 6 points and 3 rebounds this past season but his numbers, and play, improved materially down the stretch of the season.  Rancik’s turnover percentage is too high – his turnover rate ranked 10^th in the Big 12 last season — but you can tell that his skills are there.  CU needs him to take another step into becoming Tristan DeSilva 2.0.  

Season Projection: 14 ppg, 5 rpg, 1 apg.  

Post Malone:  The 6’10” 270-pound Post Malone is a beneficiary of the NCAA ruling in the Diego Pavia case that grants an extra year of eligibility to those that played in junior college or NAIA basketball.   Thus, he has a “bonus” year of eligibility at CU.  Malone struggled against athletic bigs but did improve down the stretch after learning to use his size better.  He shot 58% from the field on 2-point baskets, which is very strong, but he didn’t get the ball enough.  Malone averaged 7.6 points and 3 rebounds per game this season – I expect these numbers to improve next year.  

Season Projection: 9 ppg, 5 rpg, 1 apg.  

Andrew Crawford:  Crawford redshirted last season.  During that time, he grew 2 inches and put on 10 pounds and he is now 6’8” 190 pounds.  There have been concerns about his explosiveness and ability to create off the dribble.  However, Crawford’s added length should help him stay in front of players on the defensive end.  Crawford graduated from ThunderRidge High School in Colorado after averaging 14 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists his senior year of high school.  He was a 4-star recruit and was ranked the #85 player in the country on the ESPN100 rankings.  He played well in the scrimmage and may share some minutes at the off-guard spot with Kosarras and several of CU’s freshmen.  

Season Projection:  limited minutes. 

Felix Kossaras:  The 6’6” Montreal-native was a 4-star prospect in the 2023-24 recruiting class.  He got more minutes as last season progressed, shot 42% from the field, and averaged 2 points and 1 rebound per game.  Over the off-season he grew 1 inch.   At this point there are still questions his ability to be a lead guard — he he turned the ball over regularly last season and had the highest turnover percentage among backcourt players at CU.  Still, he does have some physical tools.  At media day, coaches were optimistic that Kossaras has turned a corner.  

Season Projection: 5 ppg, 1 rpg, 1 apg.  

–Incoming Transfers

Barrington Hargress:  Barrington Hargress will arguably be CU’s best player this season.  Hargress, a 6-foot, 195-pound point guard from UC Riverside, joins the Buffs after two highly productive seasons in the Big West. Last season, Hargress averaged 20.2 PPG, 4.0 APG, 2.3 RPG on 44.4% FG shooting and 33% from 3. More critically, his turnover rate of 10.8% last year was among the lowest nationally among high usage guards.  This is very good news for the Buffs given last season’s massive turnover issues.  On media day, Head Coach Tad Boyle said that Hargress’ assist-to-turnover ratio during early practices has been 7:1 (a common benchmark for a good team is to have a ratio of at least 2:1).  This is an unbelievable number.   Look for Hargress and Isaiah Johnson to do a much, much better job of handling the ball than last year’s backcourt.  

Season Projection: 15 ppg, 7 apg, 3 rpg.  

Jon Mani: Mani is a 6’6″ sophomore transfer guard from the University of Denver. Mani averaged 2.9 points per game, 1.6 rebounds per game, and 0.5 assists per game for a Denver Pioneer team that was awful, finishing 11-21 and in 7th place in the vaunted Summit League.  It’s tough to see a big role on the team this season for Mani — while he was recruited to Denver for his shooting acumen , he shot 33% from the field and 30% from 3 for the Pioneers. 

Season Projection:  limited minutes. 

–Incoming Freshmen

Jalin Howard: 6’4″ 4-star prospect and rated as the 130th best player in the country and 7th best player in Arizona by 247. He averaged 25.4 points per game as a junior at Los Lunas High School before joining Dream City Christian to play prep basketball his senior year. While at Dream City, he was a teammate of fellow CU commit Fawaz “Tacko” Iraola. Howard has looked good inearly practice but may not see the court much this season due to the emergence of Isaiah Johnson.

Season Projection: limited minutes.  

Fawaz “Tacko” Ifaola: A 6’11” 245 pound center from Lagos, Nigeria by way of Dream City Christian in Arizona, Ifaola is ranked a 3-star player. He does all the dirty work that a big man should do — he sets screens, blocks shots and hits the boards. While he’s going to be a work in progress on the offensive end of the court, he will play this season because he’s a plus-athlete.  

Season Projection:  2 ppg, 2 rpg.  

Ian Inman: Inman is a 6’5″ forward from The Woodlands, Texas. He is a 3-star player. Inman is a fantastic shooter – he shot 50% from 3 during his club season. He will step into the program and will immediately become one of the best shooters on the team. I initially expected him to redshirt this season, but his shooting has been so good that I think he forces his way onto the court this season.  

Season Projection: 2 ppg.  

Isiah Johnson: McKinley Wright 2.0?  That’s a lot to throw at an incoming (and lightly recruited) true freshmen, but Johnson has quickly gotten his coaches’ attention.   Johnson is a 6’1″ guard from Valley Village, California. Coming out of high school, he was ranked a 3-star prospect and the 38th best point guard nationally.  Johnson’s father is a trainer for Klutch Sports and Johnson has grown up around NBA players.  Coaches can tell – his game is mature, and he has the skill to be a starting-level player already.  He will even play on occasion with Barrington Hargress in a small-but-mighty backcourt. 

Season Projection: 10 ppg, 4 apg, 1 rpg. 

Josiah Sanders: Sanders is a 6’4″ guard from Denver that has played with Colorado Prep for the last 3 years. The top ranked player in the state of Colorado, Sanders is ranked the #122 player in the nation. Like Johnson and Tacko, I expect Sanders to play as a true freshman. In fact, I wouldn’t be shocked if Sanders was playing starter-level minutes by the start of Big 12 play.

Season Projection: 6 ppg, 3 rpg, 2 apg. 

Leonardo Van Elswyk:  Van Elswyk is a 7’1” stretch center out of Italy (by way of Belgium, the UK and Canada!), coming to Boulder following a club career with Olimpia EA7 Milano U18 in Italy.  He saw action in several NextGen EuroLeague U18 events, including averaging 11.3 points and 6.9 rebounds during the Lega Basket Serie A Next Gen Cup in January. Van Elswyk joined the Buffs after the Australia trip which may make it hard for him to see the court early this season. However, he’s been more impressive than coaches were expecting – he can really shoot — and he may push Tacko for minutes by the start of Big 12 play.  Van Elswyk and Tacko will form a unique 1-2 punch at center in the future as they both bring very different skills to the table.

Season Projection: limited minutes.

Alon Michaeli: Michaeli has been a big surprise in early practices.  He is a 6’9” 230 pound forward that has played in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, the top league in Israel.  He ranked 3^rd in scoring among all players at the 2025 FIBA U20 EuroBasket Championships in Greece at 17.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.  In CU’s Black and Gold Scrimmage, Michaeli was one of the best players on the court. He is a much better athlete than coaches initially expected, and he’ll be one of the better players on this year’s team.

Season Projection: 8 ppg, 6 rpg, 2.5 apg. 

Enjoying your time in BuffsBlogLand? If so, check out the following in-depth analysis of CU’s football team after the Iowa State victory:

CU Beats Iowa State: Coaching and Schemes Deep Dive and Player Analysis