Denver, CO
Keeler: CU Buffs’ Deion Sanders loses 15 guys in 17 days? It’s not them, Coach Prime. It’s you.
BOULDER — For a cat with a private jet, Deion Sanders sure seems to lose a lot of his luggage.
“We’re good. We’re good,” the CU Buffs’ second-year football coach said during a news conference Thursday, roughly a week ahead of the program’s April 27 spring game. “I trust our recruiting team. I trust the coaches. And please have some faith in me.”
More faith than some of his players, at any rate. The transfer portal for FBS players opened Tuesday. According to On3.com, as of early Thursday afternoon, 15 Buffs had jumped into the portal since April 1.
The company line, one Coach Prime doubled down on, is that the losses were strictly cosmetic. Benchwarmers. Nobody who was going to, ya know, actually play.
Only here’s the thing: Some weren’t nobodies. Actually, a handful were very, very much set up to be somebodies. Cormani McClain was the top cornerback recruit in the country, Deion’s first five-star get at CU. He bailed.
Alton McCaskill IV was a four-star transfer tailback from Houston, the 2021 AAC Rookie of the Year — a 6-foot-1 banger, Big 12 fast and Big 12 big, potential thunder to Dylan Edwards’ lightning. He’s gone, too.
2023: We coming!
2024: They going!
Oh, brother. Are they ever going.
“I think this would be (the same with) every school. That’s not just here,” Sanders said when I asked about the quantity of departures. “That’s what every school (deals with). You (media) guys just are compensated to pay attention to us a little more than anybody else.”
Well, yes … and no.
As a point of reference, 15 departures with two weeks until the portal closes is more than any other Big 12 school. Like, a lot more. In fact, the only peer even close to that kind of turnover is Houston, with 11 players reportedly leaving. The other 15 Big 12 football programs have averaged 2.9 portal jumps this month.
Last year, Sanders’ roster makeover was historic, cold and callous. But it was also allowed, and, objectively, understandable given the university’s desire to slash or burn everything associated with a 1-11 dumpster fire in 2022.
But this? This is Prime chucking his own Louis Vuittons from the jet bridge.
The company line, again, is that more mass departures out of CU equals more talent coming in, and fair enough. Although that’s only so far been proven in terms of skill positions and in the secondary.
Deion is a star who recognizes stars, hangs with stars and knows how to chase and woo them. But outside of The Chosen Ones, his own children and Travis Hunter, has he developed many stars as a coach?
The Jackson State Era produced two NFL draft picks. Sanders doesn’t have the patience. Or the time. He’s got a TV show. He’s got a promotional appearance. He’s got a book signing. He’s got a lake that won’t fish itself.
The 247Sports.com database lists 72 players as part of CU’s 2023 recruiting class, 51 of them transfers. As of 2 p.m. local time Thursday, 27 of them had either entered or re-entered the portal. That includes nine of the 21 non-transfers.
It’s not them, Deion.
It’s you, my man.
You can’t help it. It’s the only road you know. The only song in the hymnal. The player standards are high, which is noble. But the strike zone enforcement, some have intimated, is all over the map. If the wrong guy doesn’t fit, move ’em along. The grass is always greener.
Of course, some of those “wrong guys” sure do come in handy after a few of the “right” guys happen to get hurt. Which they inevitably will.
And yes, some of that Louis luggage absolutely did this to themselves. Sanders made it very clear last fall, and early on, that McClain had set up a futon in Prime’s doghouse. That the road out was going to be long and hard, that responsibilities weren’t being met, and it was up to him to shape up or ship out.
The kid shipped.
“I want the best for him. I really do,” Coach Prime said of McClain. “I want that kid to soar. I want him to man up. I want him to be the best possible athlete and human being he can be. I want him to fulfill all those dreams that his mother and he desire. I really, really do.”
McCaskill’s situation, though, is more nebulous. He was hurt in 2023, or beat out, depending on when you asked and whom.
The young man’s father muddied the waters more when he posted on social media that the younger McCaskill “was ready last year … he’s 100% this year …unfortunately have to find another home where there’s no favoritism and he is valued, appreciated and has no doubts about RB1 …. he is the best RB in Colorado … but (he’s) not settling! We going!”
A statement which, to be fair, sounds a lot like a dad looking out for his son. A political position Coach Prime understands intimately.
“A lot of people are fighting for backups,” Sanders said. “When a guy is a starter and he transfers, you’ve really gotta think about that. We have some coming in for visits pretty soon, we can attract those type of players, but I don’t think we’re losing those type of players. And if we do, we’re good.”
Yeah, but 16-20 departures every spring? That’s not how you develop a program, Coach. It’s how you develop a rep. It’s how you develop baggage. And not the cheap stuff, either.
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Denver, CO
Suns lookahead: Phoenix looks to end Christmas skid in holiday matchup vs. Denver Nuggets
Phoenix Suns coming off back-to-back wins
The Phoenix Suns won their last two games despite missing injured guard Bradley Beal. What’s next for the team?
The Phoenix Suns will play in their fourth consecutive Christmas Day game Wednesday against the Denver Nuggets at Footprint Center.
The week begins with a Monday game at Denver and finishes with a back-to-back set: Friday’s home game against the Dallas Mavericks and Saturday’s matchup at Golden State.
It’s nice to play on the most celebrated holiday of the year, especially at home.
Family and loved ones in town. Everyone watching on national television.
A festive time for celebrating and gift-giving, but the Grinch keeps showing up and ruining Christmas for the Suns.
Phoenix is 1-7 in its past eight Christmas games, losing the past three to the Golden State Warriors, 116-107, in 2021; at the Denver Nuggets, 128-125 in overtime, in 2022; and against Dallas, 128-114, last year.
What’s even crazier is the Suns lost to teams that either won an NBA championship or reached the finals that season.
The Warriors won it all in the 2021-22 season, the Nuggets took it in 2022-23 and the Mavericks advanced to the finals before losing to the 2023-24 NBA champion Boston Celtics.
The Suns last won on Christmas in 2009, beating the Los Angeles Clippers, 124-93, at home. Phoenix went more than 10 seasons without playing on the holiday until the 2021-22 season, the year after it reached the 2021 finals.
Phoenix is 12-9 overall on Christmas.
Christmas 2021: Curry leads Warriors past Suns
The Suns played the centerpiece Christmas game in 2021 against the Warriors during their historic 64-win season. They entered the marquee matchup with a 26-5 record and on a five-game winning streak, but lost at home.
Phoenix bolstered the best home record that season at 32-9 with one of those rare losses coming on Christmas. The Suns didn’t score in the final three minutes while Otto Porter Jr. scored the game’s final seven points.
Stephen Curry punched out a game-high 33 points to go with six assists to just one turnover while Chris Paul led the Suns with 21 points and eight assists to two turnovers and six rebounds.
Devin Booker managed just 13 points on 5-of-19 shooting.
Christmas 2022: Booker injured early, Suns fall in OT
In 2022, the Suns lost Booker within the first five minutes of their Christmas loss to the Nuggets at Ball Arena in Denver as he aggravated a groin injury. Scoring just two points, he had missed the previous three games.
Landry Shamet came off the bench to deliver 31 points to match a career-high, and Nikola Jokic posted another insane triple-double of 41 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists, but the game will forever be remembered for Aaron Gordon’s ferocious one-handed dunk in overtime over Shamet, who tried to take the charge on the play.
Gordon was first called for an offensive foul, but after review, the call was overturned because Shamet was ruled outside of the restricted area.
Gordon missed the ensuing free throw, but his dunk gave Denver a 126-123 lead with 24 seconds left.
Christmas 2023: Doncic 50-piece dooms Suns
Then last season, Luka Doncic cooked the Suns for 50 points in leading Dallas to victory at Footprint Center. Shooting 8-of-16 from 3, Doncic became the seventh-fastest to reach 10,000 career points.
Grayson Allen scored a team-high 32 points to lead the Suns, going 8-of-17 from 3 while Kevin Durant and Booker combined for just 36 points on 10-of-25 shooting.
The Suns were without Bradley Beal (right ankle sprain) and Jusuf Nurkic (personal reasons) while the Mavericks won despite Kyrie Irving being sidelined due to a heel injury.
The Suns now have another chance to win on Christmas.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today.
Esther Romero
OBITUARY
Esther Romero (Lopez), 84, entered into eternal rest surrounded by her loving family. Born in Mt. Harris, Colorado, a small coal mining town near Steamboat Springs, her family moved to Denver in 1950. She graduated from North High School in 1957 and was the first in her family to attend college. She left for Colorado State College now UNC in 1958 where she soon met the love of her life and future husband Richard Romero. Esther graduated in 1961, married a week later, and together moved to Castle Rock where she began her career as an educator. Before long they returned to Denver where their three daughters were born. In 1972, Esther became one of Denver Public Schools first bilingual bicultural teachers and soon earned her Masters Degree from UNC. A passionate advocate, she understood the value of building a strong educational foundation in a child’s home language and honoring culture while also learning English. She taught at Elmwood, Del Pueblo, and Fairmont elementaries. A founding member of the Congress of Hispanic Educators (CHE), Esther served as president for many years helping to ensure children in DPS had access to a quality bilingual education. She continued this work through her final days. Esther taught for 30 years, was recognized as a master teacher of children, an exceptional mentor and coach to future educators, and served as a liaison between CU-Denver and DPS. She was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma.
Esther enjoyed traveling with family and friends to Mexico, Europe, South America, the Caribbean, and almost all fifty states. She and Richard were avid Broncos fans holding season tickets since 1970, traveling to two Super Bowls. She loved organizing family gatherings, gambling trips, camping, reading, puzzles, and playing games with family. She had the unique ability to make everyone feel seen, heard, valued, and loved.
She was preceded in death by her parents Luis and Tommie G. Lopez, devoted husband Richard Romero, brother Baltazar Lopez ( Lourdes) and survived by her loving daughters Rosana (Dean) Trujillo, Carla (Arturo) Perez, Diana (John) Romero Campbell, and her grandchildren Arturito, Juliana, Claudia, Sofia, Orlando, Geronimo and Alicia, her sister Alice (Joe) Marquez, brothers Louie (Pat dec.) Lopez, Davey (Pat dec.) Lopez, Robert (Shari) Lopez, Ray (Melva) Lopez, and numerous extended family members. Please see www.cfcscolorado.org for service details.
The Salvation Army provides shelter, meals, and support for families in need in our community every day, but they need help to raise those donations.
They have put out a call for paid and volunteer bell ringers to collect donations vital to support their programs and services.
All of the donations raised go to serve the Denver community. Funds go to serve families struggling to feed their children or provide gifts during the holidays as well as disaster services and much more for the residents of the Denver metro area.
Bell ringers get to pick their hours and location, and friends and families are encouraged to volunteer together and give back to the community.
Those interested in volunteering can sign up online at www.registertoring.com. To find a paid bell ringer position, applicants can visit the Salvation Corps nearest to their neighborhood.
A listing of all Denver area Corps locations is available at visiting.denver.salvationarmy.org. Applicants must be 18 or over to have a paid bell ringing position.
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