Tourney Talk: HoopsHD interviews Colorado SO PG Dominique Collier

Colorado trailed Arizona by 20 PTS early in the 2nd half of last Thursday’s Pac-12 tourney quarterfinals and most Wildcat fans were already looking ahead to facing Oregon in the semifinals…until George King made a 3-PT shot with 2 seconds left that almost capped off an improbable comeback, but Arizona held on for the 4-PT win.  The Buffaloes’ 22-11 record and several quality wins were enough for them to receive an at-large bid and a #8-seed to this week’s NCAA tournament, where they will face Connecticut in Des Moines on Thursday.  Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Dominique Collier about the quality of the Pac-12 and his ability to make shots from behind the arc.

You grew up in Denver: what made you choose the Buffaloes? The environment of Boulder and the coaches. When I came on my visit I also bonded with the team really well.

You played in 30 games as a freshman: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? I tried to be aggressive and do what the coaches asked me to do when I was out there. I tried to be confident and play my game.

Last March you made it to the CBI quarterfinals before scoring 11 PTS in a loss to Seattle: what did you learn from that experience that you think will help you in the postseason this year? We learned that every team is good this time of year and the level of play increases a lot because it is win or go home. Our leader last year (Askia Booker) did not play so we needed a lot of other guys to step up in his absence.

You play for Coach Tad Boyle: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have ever learned from him? He pays attention to detail and tells us to believe in our game. All of the coaches believe in us but to hear that from Coach Boyle in meetings really helps.

You beat several good teams in conference play this season including Oregon/Cal/Arizona: how good is your conference, and which of these teams impressed you the most? Everyone in the conference is really good, even last-place Washington State (the Cougars’ 2 losses to Colorado this year were by a combined 12 PTS). I think that our conference is really underrated nationally but having so many teams in the NCAA tourney will open people’s eyes.

You shot 45.5 3P% this season: what is your secret for making shots from behind the arc? I worked a lot in the off-season on my shooting and changed my technique to keep my elbow up and tweak my wrist.

Your team is #3 in the nation in REB: how are you able to dominate on the boards? We emphasize that a lot in practice. We have a rule that if you do not box out then you have to run so we take a lot of pride in it. We have big guys in the post and big guys on the wing who all like to rebound.

Josh Scott is the only senior among your top-7 scorers: do you feel that your team is built to win right now or that you are going to be even better next year? I feel that we are built to win right now. Josh is our best player and we look to get him touches every possession, but I think we will be good next year even though Josh is gone. He is as good a player as we have ever had here.

1 of your AAU teammates was Conner Frankamp, who scored 8 PTS for Wichita State on Tuesday in their 20-PT win over Vanderbilt in the 1st Four: how good a player was he back in the day, and what advice do you have for him when the Shockers face Arizona on Thursday? He can really shoot the ball, which made my job a whole lot easier as a PG because I got a lot of assists by passing him the ball. I would tell him to box out and be tough on the boards because Arizona is 1 of the best rebounding teams in our league.

You ended up with a #8-seed and will play UConn on Thursday in Des Moines: do you think you deserved a higher seed, and how are you preparing to face the Huskies? I did not mind the seeding. We have spent the past couple of days preparing for UConn and are looking forward to the matchup and the challenge.