Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

The Colorado Buffaloes are 1-3 in the Pac-12 and much of the blame for that record must fall on junior power forward Andre Roberson. The San Antonio, Texas native has not improved from last year and in some ways it appears that he has regressed. A Buffs team that was 10-2 in non-conference games now has a tough road to finish .500 in the Pac-12. Coming off his worst game of the year against the UCLA Bruins, the Buffs need Roberson to regain form.

In the Buffs 78-75 loss to UCLA at home in Boulder, Roberson logged just five points, but also had five turnovers. For the year, Roberson’s points per game has decreased from 11.6 to 10.9 and his turnovers per game have increased by .5. While Roberson is still a master at grabbing rebounds, his lack of scoring is hurting the Buffaloes. So far he’s averaging 7.5 points per game in Pac-12 play.

Andre Roberson almost entered the NBA draft last spring, hoping his rebounding ability would propel him into the professionals like the Denver Nuggets’ Kenneth Faried. However, Roberson’s big flaw is an inability to score around the basket. The 6’7”, 210 pound forward does not grind out baskets against top defenders and scores a lot of his points from long range when they are available. He has not developed this skill, and it is now seriously depleting the effectiveness of the Buffs offense.

Colorado’s scoring ability has increased drastically from last year. Sophomore guards Spencer Dinwiddie and Askia Booker both average over 14 points a game and spread out the court. Senior Sabatino Chen and freshman Xavier Johnson also carry the load on various nights. Center freshman Josh Scott averages 13.4 points per game and 6.1 rebounds, but the center only masks some of Roberson’s ineffectiveness.

Roberson is the assumed leader of this team in his junior year. He has the talent to not only lead a fast moving offense against the Pac-12, but ultimately find his place in the NBA. That being said, the time for excuses is over. If Roberson dreams of playing in the NBA, then he needs to control the ball and score the tough baskets under pressure. That starts tonight as the Buffs travel to take on the Washington Huskies for an 11:30 ET tip-off, 8:30 on the West Coast.

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Read More of Derek Kessinger’s www.Rantsports.com posts here.

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