CU’s best player will sit during the team’s summer trip to ‘Straya
With everything that’s going on this week, the Colorado Buffaloes have been turned upside down, figuratively and literally.
The Buffs first announced a pre-season tour of Australia — the literal part, being down under — then re-hired Nate Tomlinson, the Aussie point guard who returns as an assistant coach. And now the latest news is that Bangot Dak will miss the entirety of the summer recovering from injury.
First reported by Pat Rooney, Dak is expected to make a full recovery and return to preseason practices in August. But he will be out during this Australia tour in which the Buffs play four exhibition games from July 23 to August 5, including the national team. (NBA players like Patty Mills and Dante Exum won’t play, but the team is loaded with veteran NBL players.)
This should also present itself as a recruiting trip for the Buffs. Australia is rich in basketball talent and Nate Tomlinson has been active recruiting his countrymen in the past. This trip should increase the visibility of the Buffs and shore up connections between CU and top basketball clubs and academies in the country. And maybe next time Josh Giddey chooses the Buffs over the NBL, like he almost did in 2020.