Colorado’s $10.8 million basketball practice facility is already paying dividends as the construction crew heads down the homestretch.
The soon-to-be-completed project on the north side of the Coors Events Center is one of the reasons why Jeremy Adams decided to sign with the Buffs.
“It did have an impact on my decision because I’m a gym rat,” the 6-5 shooting guard told the Camera on Wednesday after signing a letter of intent to play at CU. “When I found out they were going to have a new facility, that was a bonus. To have 24-hour access to the gym … I’m ready to break it in.”
Adams plans to arrive on campus in late May. The practice facility is scheduled to be completed in June.
The timing is fitting. Adams has always made a habit of arriving early to work on his game.
“Jeremy was a fantastic leader,” said Jeff Heath, Adams’ coach at Madison Central High School in Mississippi. “I haven’t had anybody here with a better work ethic than he had. He would get in the gym at 5 a.m., he would work out at the (YMCA) in the morning, and then he’d practice with the team in the afternoon.”
It was time well spent.
Adams averaged 27.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 4.2 steals during his senior season at Madison. He scored more than 40 points in three games.
“I think he’s going to excel (at CU),” Heath said when asked how Adams’ game might translate to major Division I basketball. “He has the good, strong type of body. He has worked to get himself at that point. Physically, he has all the tools.”
A stellar high school and AAU career led to scholarship offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgetown, Georgia, Kentucky and Virginia. Adams decided to join Mark Turgeon’s top-25 class at Texas A&M two years ago.
“Jeremy is an outstanding young man who will fit in greatly to what we are trying to do here at Texas A&M,” Turgeon said after landing Adams on April 15, 2009. “He has the ability to score the ball from many areas on the floor and he makes players around him better. His size, strength and skills will allow him to play multiple positions for us.”
Adams decided to leave College Station after redshirting as a freshman on an Aggies squad littered with talented players at his position. He played last season at Navarro (Texas) College, averaging 12.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.4 steals at the junior college level.
Now he will step onto the Pac-12 stage for CU head coach Tad Boyle, whose mentor in the profession was Turgeon.
“I’m extremely excited to start fresh and get a second chance,” Adams said.
Adams credits his father Jim — who was an offensive lineman at Delta State and is a member of the school’s athletic hall of fame — for instilling a strong work ethic in him.
“It came from my dad,” Adams said. “He used to tell me stories about how he would work hard and because of that hard work he got a scholarship. So that’s what I did.”
Boyle is happy that Adams accepted his scholarship offer. He will have three years of eligibility left beginning with the 2011-12 season.
Even if Alec Burks decides to leave for the NBA, the newest Buff doesn’t believe the team has to take a step back.
“Some people might think it’s going to be a rebuilding year. I don’t,” Adams said. “We can go to the NCAA Tournament and win the Pac-12 Tournament. We can set whatever goals we want.”
