This past summer, not long after he joined the Colorado Buffaloes as a transfer from TCU, Eddie Lampkin Jr. sat down with head coach Tad Boyle to discuss some of the finer details of Lampkin’s expected role.
Among the obvious talking points like rebounding and providing sturdy interior defense, Boyle also told Lampkin he needed to improve at the free throw line. The message to CU’s new, 6-foot-11 center was that while he didn’t need to challenge for the Pac-12 free throw title, if he wanted to be on the floor late in close games, he needed to be able to knock down his foul shots.
Through the nonconference portion of the schedule, that has been a mission accomplished for Lampkin.
Lampkin went 8-for-10 at the line on Thursday and nearly missed his second consecutive double-double by finishing with a season-high 16 points along with nine rebounds in CU’s 98-71 win against Utah Tech at the CU Events Center.
“He’s confident. That’s the key,” Boyle said. “His follow-through has gotten better and he’s got a little rhythm to his shot at the free throw line. It’s something that we talked about certainly in the offseason, before the season. Great sign that he can do that, because we’re going to need that as we get into league play.”
As a regular part of the rotation at TCU the past two seasons — Lampkin played in 57 games with 51 starts in that span — Lampkin struggled at the free throw line, posting a .531 mark. He had never made more than four free throws in a game before going 8-for-10 against Utah Tech, improving his season percentage to .704 (19-for-27).
Boyle said Lampkin’s improvement has been less about any technical tweak than an improved mental focus and confidence.
“I addressed it in the offseason that it’s very, very important that (Lampkin) makes free throws,” Boyle said. “Because if you want to play late in games, and we’re going to need you to play late in games, you’re going to have to make free throws. I’ve got confidence when he goes to the line now. I didn’t probably in September and October. But I do now, and I think he does, too.”
Hammond limited
After the win, Boyle said backup guard Julian Hammond III was limited this week in practice due to a sore back stemming from a fall he took in CU’s previous game against Northern Colorado.
Hammond went 3-for-5 with seven points, three turnovers and no turnovers against Utah Tech, but he played a near-season-low 19 minutes, 31 seconds. (Hammond’s minutes low was 18:57 vs. Richmond on Nov. 20.)
“He’s had some back problems. He didn’t practice a lot this week,” Boyle said. “(He) practiced enough to play. He’s a big part of our team.”
By going 1-for-2 from long-range, Hammond improved his season 3-point percentage to .459 (17-for-37).
Notable
With three steals, CU guard KJ Simpson improved his career total to 102, becoming the 22nd Buffs player to record 100 steals in his career. Simpson’s six assists increased his career total to 247 and moved him up two spots to 18th on CU’s career list. … J’Vonne Hadley recorded three steals, giving him multiple steals in four consecutive games. Hadley also finished with four assists and has recorded 14 assists against four turnovers in the past three games. … Tristan da Silva scored 15 points and moved up two spots on the all-time scoring list to 32nd-place with 1,085 career points. … Utah Tech’s 20 rebounds was the lowest total by a CU opponent since California managed just 19 rebounds against the Buffs in the first round of the 2019 Pac-12 tournament. … Walk-on forward Greg Gerhardt, a Monarch graduate, made his first career appearance in the final minute.
