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Personal improvement equals team success for Colorado’s Spencer Dinwiddie

Colorado v Illinois

AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 22: Spencer Dinwiddie #25 of the Colorado Buffaloes lays up during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament against the Illinois Fighting Illini at The Frank Erwin Center on March 22, 2013 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

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While the Colorado football team has taken its lumps during the school’s brief run in the Pac-12, the men’s basketball program has seen its fortunes change for the better under head coach Td Boyle. The Buffaloes have reached the NCAA tournament in consecutive season for the first time since accomplishing that feat in 1962 and 1963, and despite the early departure of forward Andre Roberson they’re expected to be a contender in the Pac-12 this season.

A major reason for Colorado’s recent run of success has been their recruiting of California, which was directly impacted by the school’s move form the Big 12 to the Pac-12. Three of CU’s five projected starters hail from the Golden State, including 6-foot-6 junior point guard Spencer Dinwiddie. As a sophomore Dinwiddie led Colorado in both points (15.3 ppg) and assists (3.0 apg), earning first-team All-Pac 12 honors as a result.

With Roberson now in the NBA more will be expected of Dinwiddie, whose skill set attracted the attention of NBA scouts as the 2012-13 season wore on. That attention can be a negative for some players, with the desire to fit the NBA “mold” ultimately taking away from what their college team needs. But that isn’t expected to be the case for Dinwiddie, as he looks to achieve his childhood dream of not just reaching the NBA but ultimately excelling at that level.

“It’s really great because (scouts) are not asking me to go outside of my comfort zone or outside of my box,” Dinwiddie said. “They’re saying we want to see consistent effort on both ends of the floor, assist-to-turnover ratio, leadership and we want to see you win more games in the Tournament. Those are all things that point to a great season for Colorado, not just for Spencer.”

One area in which Dinwiddie will need to improve in 2013-14 is on the glass, as noted by coach Boyle in the article written by Brian Howell of Buffzone.com. Averaging 3.2 rebounds per game may be permissible for most point guards, but given his height Dinwiddie isn’t your standard floor general. Add in the fact that Roberson was so good on the glass (defensive rebounding percentage of 27.1% per Ken Pomeroy’s numbers; Xavier Johnson was second on the team at 14.3%), and it’s rather evident that Colorado will need “all hands on deck” in order to account for the production they’ve lost in that department.

“For his size at the guard position, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be averaging six or seven rebounds a game,” Boyle told Howell.

Arizona State’s Jahii Carson is the generally accepted answer to the question of who the best point guard in the Pac-12 is entering the 2013-14 season, but there are a number of contenders for the honor with Dinwiddie being one of the options. And if Dinwiddie continues to progress, both he and the Colorado basketball program can reap the rewards in the spring.

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