Hook 'em.

That's actually the game plan for the Colorado men's basketball program this weekend as the coaching staff continues to put together its 2009 recruiting class.

Last week Jeff Bzdelik was able to get verbal commitments from two prospects -- Los Angeles area small forward Keegan Hornbuckle and Grandview, Mo., shooting guard Alec Burks. CU's second-year head coach has two more scholarships available and will likely use the atmosphere of tonight's sold out football game between CU and Texas at Folsom Field as one of his selling points to some other recruits.

"I think that's how we got Alec Burks," CU forward Jermyl Jackson-Wilson said Friday outside of the team's swanky new locker room in the Coors Events Center. "He was here when we beat West Virginia. He got to rush the field with everybody, and I think that really helped on selling him to come here. I think when we win big games like this — I believe we’ll win (against Texas) and I believe in my Buffaloes — a lot of people will be like, ‘Colorado is the school to be at.’¥”

Jackson-Wilson is the only senior in the program this year, which comes with a few perks. He’s the cover boy on the freshly printed 2008-09 media guide and will be the only player accompanying Bzdelik to the Big 12 media days in Oklahoma City later this month.

But a part of him wishes he was a member of the Buffs’ five-man freshman class Bzdelik is counting on to build the program, which includes Toby Veal, Nate Tomlinson, Austin Dufault, Trey Eckloff and Ryan Kelley.

“I think (Bzdelik) did a real good job of recruiting,” Jackson-Wilson said. “We have nice big guards. Austin is pretty much a guard and he’s 6-8. Nate is a pure point guard, he’s real good. Toby comes in and he’s athletic.

“And now that you have Trey here more guys from Colorado might be thinking, ‘We should stay home.’ I think he did a real good job.”

Eckloff is a Cherry Creek product who was sold on the Leeds School of Business as much as he was on Bzdelik’s impressive basketball background. But the staff has also been able to lure recruits to Boulder from Australia (Tomlinson), Georgia (Veal), North Dakota (Dufault) and California (Cory Higgins, Kelley).

One of the keys is approaching the process as a team. And if nothing else, these Buffs believe they have the right chemistry.

“Every guy that came in on a visit I think we all were around. We all hung out after they went to dinner with the coaches or whatever,” Jackson-Wilson said. “I think that’s what really sold a lot of the guys that are on the team now is the way we were all hanging out together. I remember when I was on my visits many, many years ago you were with that one host and I was like, ‘Where’s the rest of the team?’

“I think we all enjoy each other’s company and that was the selling point for some of them.”

According to rivals.com, among the prospects the Buffs are ready to apply the full-court press to are point guards Brandon Smith (Concord, Calif.) and Vertrail Vaughns (Mesquite, Texas).

Per NCAA rules, Bzdelik and his staff can’t comment on recruiting until after signing the prospects to letters of intent, which they can begin to do on Nov. 12.