Photo by: Andrew Fielding
Five freshmen are joining the men’s basketball team for the 2011-2012 season: guards Brett Olson and Cam Griffin, forwards Marcus Byrd and Royce O’Neal and center Jake Logan.
“I think we have a good freshman class,” said head coach Joe Scott. “They’re the right kind of kids.”
Olson, a 6-foot-5 guard, played for Highlands Ranch High School before coming to DU and was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Colorado his senior year. He began playing basketball at a very young age and grew up surrounded by the sport.
“My dad was a really big basketball player,” said Olson. “He played for the University of South Dakota. My brother and sister also played. It just runs in the family.”
After being recruited early on by DU, Olson chose Denver both because of its proximity to his home and because of its status as “a team on the rise,” he said. So far, he has transitioned smoothly from high school to collegiate athletics.
“[The biggest difference is] the pace and the hard work you have to put in,” said Olson. “It’s a whole new level of speed and intensity, and it just makes a world of difference.”
Olson will begin the 2011-2012 season as the starting point guard for the Pioneers.
Olson is joined at DU by one of his high school teammates, Marcus Byrd, who was voted the team’s Most Outstanding Player his junior and senior years. Unlike Olson, Byrd is the only member of his family to play basketball.
“It’s a great sport,” said Byrd, a forward for the Pioneers. “It’s a fast-paced, reaction-based game that I just fell in love with.”
Byrd, 6-foot-7, began playing basketball in third grade, when a friend’s father noticed his height and convinced him to join the team. Byrd said he chose DU because of its academics and its basketball program.
Also joining the roster are two Texas natives, guard Cam Griffin (San Antonio) and forward Royce O’Neal (Killeen).
“I started playing when I was 8 at the local YMCA,” said Griffin. “At first I didn’t really want to play, but my parents forced me to try and I started to love the game. It’s something to get my mind off a lot of things. It’s a competitive sport, and I’m a competitor.”
During his senior year at Judson High School, Griffin averaged 16.2 points per game and led his team to a run in the Texas 5A State Tournament. Griffin is the youngest player on the team; he celebrated his 18th birthday late last month.
Griffin chose DU because he wanted to get out of Texas, he said.
“Why not play basketball and get a good education?” said Griffin.
O’Neal, like Olson, grew up around basketball, as his mother, father, sister and cousins all played the sport.
Before coming to DU, O’Neal helped lead Harker Heights High School to a 28-6 record and the Texas 5A regional quarterfinals in 2010-2011. He set school records for rebounds in a season (364) and single-game marks in scoring (39) and rebounding (21).
In transitioning to collegiate athletics, O’Neal has found team requirements to be helpful in managing both academics and athletics.
“We have mandatory study hall Monday through Thursday, and we have time after workouts to do homework,” said O’Neal.
The final addition to the roster is 6-foot-8 center Jake Logan, who graduated from Norwalk High School in Iowa. He was named All-State First Team his senior year, as well as All-Conference his junior and senior years. In high school, he scored 898 career points.
Logan began playing basketball in fifth grade and enjoys the challenge of collegiate athletics.
“It’s a lot more running, a lot more conditioning, a lot more weight training,” said Logan. “It’s just a higher level of basketball. I just love the sport. It’s a great game to play, and it feels good when you’re able to go out there and play and when you’re able to win.”
All five players are leaning toward business majors, though Griffin is also considering journalism.
Looking toward the upcoming season, Scott hopes to find the best role for each player on the court.
“A lot of it is just getting everyone in the right roles,” said Scott. “This year is all about natural roles, and we’ll be working on it all preseason. That’s when guys get better; that’s when they get stronger. Once you get going six days a week, you go from thinking to knowing.”
