Buffalo guard will stay with Big Eight
By Mark Button
Kansan sportswriter
Colorado coach Joe Harrington can thank heaven for small favors.
For the past two years, it was rumored that Buffalo junior guard Donnie Boyce wanted to transfer out of Colorado. This summer he almost did.
"I decided not to go to Michigan because I have established myself in this conference," said Boyce, who was a first-team All-Big Eight Conference player last year. "And to start all over was kind of scary for me. You never know what can happen when you transfer."
Harrington knew that if Boyce did transfer, he would have lost arguably the best player he has had in his three years as the coach of the Buffaloes.
The Maywood, Ill., native averaged 19.2 points last season, second only to Bryant Reeves of Oklahoma State, last year's conference player of the year.
With the abandonment of the 5-second rule that now allows one player to dribble for the entire possession, Harrington has moved Boyce to the point guard position. This will allow him to look to create his own shot without having to pass.
"Last year I had to put up a lot of shots because the 5 seconds were almost up," Boyce said. "I think this rule will help us out offensively. I feel as long as I have the ball in my hands and can keep dribbling, I can do some better things offensively."
Inevitably though, Boyce will have to pass.
Harrington said he would need to get quality performances from junior forward Ted Allen and the lone senior, forward Mark Dean, if Colorado was to be successful this year and climb out of the conference cellar.
Colorado
As a sophomore, Allen led the team in field goal-
Last Year: 10-17
Big Eight Finish: 2-12, eighth place
Coach: Joe Harrington
Record at Colorado: 42-46 (3 years)
Strength: All-conference junior guard Donnie Boyce. At 19.2 points a game, Boyce ranked second in the conference in scoring last season. He was a consensus preseason All-Big Eight first teamer this year and will look to battle Oklahoma State's Bryant Reeves for player of the year honors. He decided not to transfer to Michigan after considering it during the off-season. He can shoot, put the ball on the floor and rebound — averaging 6.2 last year. After Boyce, strengths are tough to find.
Weaknesses: The other four positions. Boyce will be moving to point guard this year and has no proven supporting cast. The Buffaloes have seven freshmen this year, some of whom will have to play quality minutes. Last year, forward Randy Robinson scored 15.2 points a game and center Poncho Hodges helped with shotblocking and rebounding. Both are gone. Harrington needs someone to step up and help Boyce. The most likely candidate is junior forward Ted Allen, 6-foot-10. He prefers the perimeter but will need to move closer to the bucket this year.
KANSAN
percentage at 54.7 percent but failed to have enough shot attempts to qualify for a conference ranking. At 6-foot-10, he is one of the tallest members of the team. He will need to pick up the slack in rebounding with the loss of last year's center Poncho Hodges.
Dean spent most of last season recovering from an early knee injury and will be called on often for scoring and rebounding this year.
In the backcourt with Boyce will be either redshirt freshman Dameon Page or freshman Matt Tuck.
Doug Hesse/KANSAN
Colorado's Poncho Hodges, who has graduated, soars over Kansas senior forward Patrick Richey. Kansas defeated the Buffaloes 82-51 last year in Boulder, Colo. This year the Buffaloes are looking to junior guard Donnie Boyce to bring them out of the conference cellar.
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COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW • University Daily Kansan • November 17, 1993