Eddie Lampkin Jr. and J’Vonne Hadley have left. Joe Hurlburt has also left.
Cody Williams has not yet made his NBA draft decision official. Point guard KJ Simpson will have to decide this spring as he goes through the pre-draft evaluation process.
Furthermore, head coach Tad Boyle anticipates the remaining underclassmen for this season to return for next year’s return to the Big 12 Conference for the Colorado men’s basketball team.
Boyle recently spoke with BuffZone about the departure of Lampkin and Hadley after a program-record 26-win season ended for the Buffs.
On Tuesday, Hurlburt, a redshirt freshman forward, also announced his intention to transfer. Boyle, however, said he expects the other projected scholarship returnees — Julian Hammond III, Javon Ruffin, RJ Smith, Bangot Dak, Assane Diop and Courtney Anderson — to remain in Boulder. (Senior Luke O’Brien also entered the transfer portal last week, but he has stated for nearly a year that this would be his last season at CU.)
Boyle partly attributed the sudden timing of Lampkin and Hadley’s departure announcements to CU being on spring break last week. The Buffs returned to Boulder on Sunday evening, March 24, hours after their season-ending loss against Marquette in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Indianapolis.
Usually, Boyle conducts his season-ending, one-on-one meetings with each player over a few days once the season ends. With the players ready to scatter for spring break, Boyle held all of those meetings last Monday. Hence, the announcements from Lampkin and Hadley last Tuesday.
“It’s a misconception that they want to give kids a 60-day window to go into the transfer portal,” Boyle said. “The truth is, 90% of the kids know whether they’re going to go in the portal or not in the portal by the time the season’s over. They’ve thought about it. They’ve talked about it with their families. That’s just the reality.”
On3 sports reported that Hadley is expected to visit with Michigan State and Iowa State this week. Lampkin, one of only two Buffs who played all 37 games (also Simpson), reportedly was set to visit Syracuse on Tuesday. On Monday, Lampkin posted an interview on Instagram in which he responded to a question about whether he was open to a return to Boulder by saying, “You have to ask Tad.”
Later on Monday, Lampkin issued another post that read, in part, “I want to clarify I have nothing but positive experiences in Boulder. I am grateful for the opportunity to showcase my skills, improve my fitness, and become a better basketball player and person. Unfortunately, due to personal reasons, I cannot return to Boulder. After talking to my family it was the best decision to transfer. I want to make it clear that this decision has nothing to do with the coaching staff, especially Coach Boyle Rick Ray (sic) and Steve Englehart.”
Boyle was asked if the opportunities related to NIL influenced Lampkin and Hadley’s decision, and if it's becoming a growing challenge for recruiting at CU. Boyle replied:
Boyle stated that the questions about NIL need to be answered by Lampkin and Hadley, not by him. He acknowledged that the university was late to get involved in NIL, but they recognize the current situation. Boyle expressed that he is unsure if NIL played a role in their decisions, but emphasized that NIL is a significant factor in college basketball and football, especially for certain players and schools. He mentioned that they are continuously discussing, working on, fundraising for, and addressing NIL.
Hurlburt did not play in his first year and only played 26 minutes in 10 games this year without scoring. The 6-foot-11 forward faced challenging circumstances in competing for a spot in the frontcourt next year, given the presence of Diop, Dak, incoming freshman Sebastian Rancik, and an expected addition to the frontcourt through the transfer portal.
Currently, Boyle and his staff have two available scholarships for this spring, but this could change depending on the decisions of Williams and Simpson.
