Sebastian Rancik shines in stellar debut for CU Buffs men’s basketball

The 10th overall pick in the NBA Draft this past summer didn’t do it.

Neither did anyone in the 2021 recruiting class, ranked as the highest in the history of Colorado men’s basketball. Same with three of the freshmen to make their Buffaloes debut in the opener of the 2017-18 season, all of whom went on to become 1,000-point scorers at CU.

No, to find the most recent true freshman who scored as many points in a season opener as the Buffs’ Sebastian Rancik did during Monday’s win against Eastern Washington, Buffs fans have to go back a dozen years.

Rancik’s impressive debut was one of several key factors in the Buffs’ second half rally, turning Eastern Washington’s upset bid into a 76-56 victory, the ninth consecutive opening-game win for CU. The 6-foot-9 forward scored 10 of his team-high 13 points in the second half as the Buffs closed the game on a 41-12 run.

The performance, featuring a 4-for-5 mark on 3-pointers, was a continuation of the momentum Rancik built during an impressive preseason. He also went 5-for-7 overall and 2-for-4 on 3-pointers during CU’s exhibition win against Pomona-Pitzer.

“The thing about Sebastian is he’s really coachable,” head coach Tad Boyle said after his 299th win at CU. “He’s very conscientious. He wants to get better. When he gets his feet set, his ball is going in. We want him shooting the ball when he gets his feet set on the perimeter. Now, eventually he’s going to get scouted and people are going to start running at him and run him off the line. He’s going to have to put it on the floor and make plays that way.

“But Sebastian is doing a lot of good things for us. I’m on him all the time about rebounding, defending, taking care of the ball, and taking great shots. If he does those things, his talent is unquestionable. His skill level is unquestionable. It’s a high level for a freshman. We’re going to need him. We needed him (Monday). When he gets open shots, he can make them.”

Last year’s touted freshman, Cody Williams now of the Utah Jazz, scored only four points in the 2023-24 opener. The last CU true freshman to score in double figures in the season opener was Jabari Walker, who opened the 2020-21 campaign with 10 points and six rebounds against South Dakota, finishing 2-for-8 from the floor but 5-for-5 on free throws.

McKinley Wright IV scored 10 points in the 2017-18 opener against Northern Colorado, but he finished 5-for-14. A player with a similar background as Rancik as an international recruit who prepped in California, Lucas Siewert, went 3-for-3 from long range with nine points in the 2016-17 opener.

But the last true freshman to score as many points as Rancik in the season opener was Josh Scott, who recorded 14 points and six rebounds in the 2012-13 opener against Wofford. Scott started that game and was just 2-for-4 from the field, but he went 10-for-11 at the free throw line.

In addition to the hot start from the arc, Rancik grabbed three rebounds and blocked a shot without committing a turnover in nearly 16 minutes of action. CU was off on Tuesday, but Rancik and the Buffs will look to carry the momentum into a stronger start on Friday at home against Northern Colorado (7 p.m., ESPN+).

“He’s not fazed at all. He’s never scared to be aggressive,” CU guard Javon Ruffin said. “That’s one of the reasons he was out there. He’s a super, super talented player. The fact that he can step up when no one’s making shots and the offense was struggling, and actually make some shots and get us going, it’s huge. It kind of turned the corner for us offensively.”