How to start a letter

BOULDER - Some among you have called this Colorado Buffaloes Basketball season a dumpster fire.

The young Buffs have struggled in nearly every aspect of the game at one point or another. Tad Boyle has been driven crazy trying to figure out which direction he should point his firehose.

So after a "gut-wrenching" Thursday night loss to Oregon State, Boyle got help... fittingly, from a professional firefighter.

"There is a guy named Dan Cashmore who is a firefighter," Boyle started his story. "He graduated here in 2007. He dropped a letter off while we were practicing and talked about the resurgence of Colorado basketball since he was a student here. It gave a great perspective of where this program is today relative to where it has been. After losses like Thursday night that are gut-wrenching for coaches, players, and fans, he brought perspective to where this program is. Our expectation levels have risen externally, internally, with our players, with our coaches, and with our fans. Let's not forget about where it's been. When he was a student here in his first couple of years, you could throw a rock in this place and not hit anybody. It has changed. The expectation level has changed. When you have a loss like that (Thursday night) people are upset and they should be. That is a testament to the players who have come before and how we have turned this place into a place where we can have games like we did tonight after a tough loss on Thursday."

"I want to thank Dan for the letter. I read it to the team before our pregame meal. It was touching and emotional for me. I could tell our players were really affected by it. Perspective is something that is difficult for a coach to keep during tough times."

The Buffaloes response was led by sophomore Tyler Bey, who may have had his most disappointing game just 48 hours ago. The forward scored a career-high 27 points on 9-of-9 shooting, leading Colorado ( 12-9, 3-6 Pac-12) to a 73-51 #BEATEMDOWN over Oregon.

Bey chipped in 10 rebounds as well for his sixth double-double of the season and scored 13 points in the game's first nine minutes. He was the star of a Buffaloes slick start that never really ended. Before one could blink CU was on a 24-5 run and they took a 40-17 lead into the break. It was the most points allowed, and the second-fewest points scored, by the Ducks in a first half this season.

Colorado's offense was decent but their defense was sound for 40 minutes. Arguably the first time they've received such an effort this season. Oregon ended shooting just 31 percent for the game, a low for the Ducks in Dana Altman's nine years in Eugene... in which he's never won in Boulder.

"Our challenge for our players is to be consistent," Boyle said. "Nobody plays great for thirty games. The challenge for us is to put a consistent effort and product on the floor. The challenge for our fans is to show up whether it's Oregon State or Oregon or whoever. It doesn't matter if it's November, December, January or February. We only have 15 or 16 home games depending on the year. Nobody can come every night. But, I always say to season ticket holders that if they can't come, give those tickets to some friends. Make sure we have people in the seats. Because this is a fun team to watch. Our crowd is really important to our young men. That's why I shared that letter with them (the team). I want them to understand that there a lot of buff fans out there. Not just here, but people tune in on the radio and watch on TV. We represent a lot of people. I have a responsibility as a coach and the players have responsibilities. I want them to be inspired by our fans. Tonig ht the crowd inspired our players and our players helped inspire the crowd. Hopefully, the crowd had fun and they'll be back for the next game against Arizona State."

All of this came on a night where Colorado—a good shooting team—struggled tremendously from deep, held to just 15 percent.

"It was a great win for our team. When we start shooting the ball from three like we are capable of, this can be a scary team when we put it all together," Boyle said."

Did a dude name Dan change the Buffaloes fortunes in a season where nothing has been strung together? Only time will tell. But a dude named Dan helped the Buffs win tonight. And reminded not just Boyle and the Buffaloes where they've come from but everyone. Maybe this is the reset button everybody in Boulder has been looking for.