If the Buffs would have had more talent or depth last season there's a good chance Levi Knutson would have been redshirted.

Jeff Bzdelik and the new coaching staff found the cupboard at Colorado pretty bare, however, and needed the freshman shooting guard to play through a painful hip injury sustained early in the grueling 12-20 campaign.

A couple of days after the season ended with an upset of Baylor and a tough loss to Oklahoma at the Big 12 Tournament, the rest of the Buffs were having a good time at the men's basketball banquet while Knutson was in Vail undergoing surgery.

The sophomore-to-be says he has no regrets about his first season at CU. Knutson averaged 4.6 points and 1.3 rebounds in 18.3 minutes off the bench while shooting 41.5 percent from the field with 38 assists and 24 turnovers.

"I'm really glad I played. I had a blast," Knutson said. "Our record wasn't what we wanted it to be but we're going to turn that around. I'm extremely glad I got the experience last year. In the next couple years we should be a well-oiled machine."

Junior guard Dwight Thorne, who had knee surgery after the season, said he will be a step faster in his second year in Bzdelik's tenure.

And Knutson?

"I hope so," he said. "I'm doing a lotof footwork and conditioning stuff now."

It has been almost 13 weeks since Knutson's surgery and doctors cleared him to start sprinting and agility drills last week. He plans to return to the court to begin playing with his teammates this summer.

"It's really exciting," Knutson said of the potential the program has with five promising freshmen set to join an already youthful roster. "It was a lot of work for me getting back, a lot of rehab, and it's killing me not to be playing with the young guys we've got coming in. I don't mind the physical work, but I'd rather spend that time playing and lifting and shooting."

Bzdelik has said that there is a good chance the Buffs will have two sophomores (likely Cory Higgins and Casey Crawford) and three freshmen (likely Nate Tomlinson, Austin Dufault and Toby Veal) in the starting lineup next season.

Despite the influx of talent, CU will need Knutson and the other role players with experience to step up their level of play or it's going to be another painful season on the scoreboard.

"Last year we were like, 'OK, give us the system.' This year we know it for the most part," Knutson said. "The guys that played, like me and Dwight and Cory and Casey was in practice, we will help the new guys with the system and take a leadership role with that."