The finish was a play Luke O’Brien probably doesn’t make in November. Yet it was the entire sequence that exemplified just how far Colorado’s junior forward has come in a relatively short amount of time.
A tip-in from O’Brien gave the Buffaloes a six-point lead with four minutes remaining in CU’s NIT opener on Tuesday night against Seton Hall. The Buffs still had to survive a late Pirates rally before securing a 65-64 win to advance to the second round, but O’Brien played a key role the entire night by finishing with a career-high 14 rebounds.
Three of those occurred in a 40-second span capped by that tip-in. O’Brien secured that possession with a defensive rebound, then kept the possession alive with an offensive rebound. When a putback chance wasn’t available, O’Brien didn’t panic and kicked the ball to Tristan da Silva. While CU’s leading scorer was off-target on a jumper, O’Brien was there for another offensive rebound with his tip-in.
Although O’Brien and guard Julian Hammond III struggled to find their shooting touch for the bulk of the season, both players have embraced the opportunities at hand in the starting lineup with the most productive stretches of their college careers.
“(O’Brien) just keeps battling,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “Luke’s a battler. He didn’t finish like he’s capable of finishing, but he finished that play because he kept battling. That’s what Luke does. I don’t like when Luke puts his head down and gets down on himself, because that’s the old Luke O’Brien. The new Luke O’Brien is the one who just plays through. It’s not going to be perfect all the time, just keep battling. That’s what Luke has done.”
As the Buffs enjoyed an off-day Wednesday while awaiting their next move — CU will host Utah Valley on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. (ESPNU) after the Wolverines knocked off second-seeded New Mexico 83-69 on Wednesday night — the play of O’Brien and Hammond has provided a jolt to a team that battled attrition down the stretch.
In the 11 games since forward J’Vonne Hadley suffered a season-ending injury, O’Brien has averaged 9.2 points and 8.0 rebounds. His 3-point percentage has languished under .300 for much of the season, but O’Brien has gone 14-for-37 from the arc (.378) during that span to nudge his season percentage to .303. In eight games since being inserted into the starting lineup, O’Brien has averaged 9.1 points and 8.8 rebounds while posting the top four rebounding games of his career, along with his first two career double-doubles.
It has been a similar story for Hammond.
After CU’s Feb. 26 loss against UCLA, which featured three points from Hammond following two previous games with zero, the former Cherry Creek two-sport star was averaging 5.8 points with a 1.02 assist-to-turnover rate. In the past four starts in place of KJ Simpson (mono), Hammond has averaged 15.0 points with a 3.0 assist-to-turnover rate (18 assists, six turnovers).
Boyle said following Tuesday’s late victory that he’s “not optimistic” about a return by Simpson for the second round.
“I look at the growth (O’Brien) has had, and I look at the growth Julian has had, as a result of J’Vonne Hadley’s injury and as a result of KJ Simpson’s situation,” Boyle said. “Both those kids have just really, really come into their own here. I’m happy for both of them and I’m proud as heck of both of them.”
