One of Tad Boyle’s players has announced that he will be departing Colorado a year early.
And this decision had nothing to do with the NBA draft.
Junior shooting guard Jeremy Adams, who averaged 2.6 points and 1.4 rebounds in 30 games off the bench for the Buffs, will transfer and play his senior season somewhere else.
Adams, who will graduate at the end of the semester with a degree in psychology, said the reason he is leaving CU is because the university doesn’t offer the specific graduate program (industrial organizational psychology) he wants to pursue a master’s degree in.
“When I think about Jeremy Adams, it’s a testament to what college athletics can do for a young man,” Boyle said during a phone interview with the Camera from Atlanta, where the CU head coach is attending the Final Four. “Coming out of high school, like a lot of talented players, he had dreams of playing in the NBA. At some point he realized, ‘That’s not going to happen.’
“And that realization for Jeremy came at Colorado. So he made the decision to use basketball to maximize his educational opportunities.”
With Adams moving on, CU now has enough scholarships for all of the other returning players and the three incoming freshmen.
Andre Roberson, the Pac-12 defensive player of the year, is still in the process of deciding whether to return for his senior season or declare for the NBA draft.
Adams, who is from Madison, Miss., spent one season playing for Mark Turgeon at Texas A&M, where he redshirted, and one season at Navarro Junior College in Texas, before experiencing back-to-back NCAA Tournaments at CU.
“I probably would have graduated a while back if I would have just stayed at one school,” said Adams, who took 21 hours of classes during the fall semester. “To be graduating on time, I didn’t think I would, but it feels good. But I was also raised like, ‘That’s what you’re supposed to do.'”
After battling health problems related to his Type 1 diabetes, as well as excruciating knee and foot injuries, Adams turned to acupuncture and played his best basketball towards the end of the Pac-12 season.
Over the final five games leading into the NCAA Tournament, Adams averaged 4.6 points and 2.2 rebounds. He was 5-for-6 shooting from 3-point distance during the stretch.
“That was probably the best I’ve felt in a long time. The pain was a lot more bearable,” Adams said. “There was still pain. Early in the season I’d be walking and my legs would just give out. I’d tell my dad sometimes, ‘Hey, I want to stop right now.’
“I pushed through and luckily I got a little healthy towards the end and helped the team out.”
One of the lasting memories from the Buffs’ amazing turnaround over the past two seasons is the image of an exhausted Adams laying down in his locker at the Staples Center while his teammates celebrated the program’s Pac-12 Tournament championship.
“I’ll remember the friendships I’ve made and of course winning the Pac-12 and that whole run,” said the 6-5 Adams, who was one of Boyle’s best defensive players. “Just coming in after each and every practice and being able to talk and mess around with the guys and have some funny moments, that’s what I’ll remember most. …
“Winning four games in four nights, that feeling after that buzzer sounded and we won (the conference tournament) was one of the best feelings in the world.”
Adams will graduate in May along with teammates Sabatino Chen and Shane Harris-Tunks. CU will welcome a three-man recruiting class (Tre’shaun Fletcher, Jaron Hopkins, Dustin Thomas) to campus for workouts in June.
“Jeremy is a terrific young man,” Boyle said. “The fact that he has graduated in four years after attending three different schools speaks to his work ethic. He’s a guy that has overcome a lot. We will always support him.”
Follow Ryan on Twitter: @RyanThorburn
