Three true freshmen made their first career starts for the Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball team on Sunday at the CU Events Center. Jalin Holland, Fawaz “Tacko” Ifaola, and Josiah Sanders were in the starting lineup and played key roles in the team’s performance.
The three combined for 23 points, 14 assists, and 10 rebounds while shooting 10-of-18 from the field. The entire freshman class contributed 43 of Colorado’s 87 total points, accounting for just under half of the team’s scoring.
Josiah Sanders led among the trio with a career-high 12 points, six assists, and three rebounds. He reflected on his approach to improvement: “I have faith,” Sanders said. “I stayed in the gym. I kept talking to my people. And just got to keep working, no matter if I was playing the best basketball of my life or the worst basketball of my life, I got to wake up the next day. I got to get in the gym and get better. So just trying to stay with that. And hopefully I can build off these two games and just keep getting better.”
Fawaz Ifaola had six points and six rebounds on perfect shooting from the field (3-for-3), setting new personal marks for points and rebounds. His positive presence was noted by teammates: “I love seeing him out there having fun and smiling, because he brings that energy,” Sanders commented about Ifaola’s impact off and on court.
Jalin Holland contributed five points, five rebounds, and a career-high four assists while also making an impact defensively as a point-of-attack defender.
Head coach Tad Boyle spoke about Holland’s efforts: “Jalin Holland’s been really playing his tail off,” Boyle said. “That’s the one thing we know he’s going to do, is compete and rebound and defend. He did a great job on (Brock) Harding tonight. He’s a good player. His stat line does not show the effect that he had on the game.”
Boyle addressed how freshmen are developing their identities as players: “Who you are today as a freshman is not who you’re going to be next year as a sophomore, and that’s okay, but you’ve got to understand who you are today,” Boyle said. “Don’t show people what you can’t do, show them what you can do.”
Sanders described how energy within this group influenced play: “We try to do that in practice, especially more recently… bringing that energy from the start… it was contagious throughout the whole game.” He added regarding Ifaola’s role: “It’s contagious… So if he’s playing really well… I know I have to step up my game… everybody tries to hold ourselves to that standard.”
The performance by these freshmen marks one of Colorado’s most balanced offensive games this season.
