Among the two new additions that joined the Colorado men’s basketball team this week, forward Bobi Klintman reshapes a 2022 freshman class already long on talent but perhaps short on depth.
That freshman class — Klintman, Joe Hurlburt and RJ Smith — hopes to make an immediate impact in the 2022-23 season. While it officially is a three-player class, the Buffaloes’ fortunes next season could be altered by a return to form by two second-year players who essentially will be freshmen next year as well in Javon Ruffin and Quincy Allen.
Though Ruffin still is recovering from the knee injury that forced his redshirt season, plus the back injury that knocked him out of practice late in the regular season, Allen has been fully cleared to participate in spring drills after sitting out the entire 2021-22 campaign due to an offseason hip injury.
“I’m feeling really good. It feels good to be back out here,” Allen said. “I was always part of the team, but this makes you feel like part of the team more, being able to play with everybody. It’s a lot more fun. It’s such a relief to be healthy after these last six months. It was kind of tough, so this feels good.”
While KJ Simpson and Julian Hammond III combined to win three Pac-12 Freshman of the Week awards, with Simpson landing a spot on the league’s All-Freshman team, the impact of a class ranked as the top rookie group in the Pac-12 was muted by injuries. Allen and Ruffin had their CU debuts delayed by a full year, while fellow freshman Lawson Lovering logged 18 games before missing the final 15 due to a midseason knee injury.
Lovering and Allen were the two four-star prospects among the bunch, with coach Tad Boyle and his staff making a bit of a recruiting coup by wooing Allen out of Washington DC and the handfuls of scholarship offers he had along the east coast (Allen originally was recruited by former Buffs assistant Anthony Coleman).
Allen was able to participate in the first set of five summer practices the Buffs were allowed last summer ahead of an August exhibition trip to Costa Rica. But Allen was sidelined by the end of the next set of five practices and did not play in Costa Rica. He soon underwent season-ending surgery to repair his hip.
The 6-foot-8, 190-pound Allen was mostly an observer this past season, though he was able to go through individual and shooting drills during the final weeks of practice.
“There were moments, but to be honest my teammates, my coaches, they kept me going through it,” Allen said. “My teammates are my best friends, and seeing them every day, even though I’m not with them, they’re checking on me making sure I’m straight when I was on crutches. Even though I wasn’t out there, it felt good being around all the time.
“The coaches tried to get me involved, just showing me the mistakes that I need to pay attention to so when I come back next season, I don’t make the same mistakes.”
Allen projects as a potential three-level scorer from the three spot, and although he had to be patient as his hip healed, Allen says the rehabilitation process allowed him to make big strides with his strength and conditioning.
“I feel like I’m ahead of the curve in the weight room, because that’s all I was doing,” Allen said. “I was just lifting five, six days a week. As it went on, I got to do legs. I’m actually jumping higher than I was when I first got here. I’m way stronger than I was when I first got here. Even through all that, I was lifting on my own, so I feel good.”
