Colorado basketball coach Tad Boyle opened his NCAA tournament post-game press conference Monday night by addressing the mass shooting that took place just a few miles from the school campus in Boulder, saying the tragedy left “a void” in his stomach, winning or lose.
“First of all, before we talked about this basketball game, I thought about this in the locker room before the game, how the events that happened today in Boulder, Colorado – and I have no other details than to know that it was a tragic, tragic situation, Boyle said after the Buffalo’s loss in the second round of the 71-53 NCAA tournament against Florida State. “It puts basketball in the right place.
“And win or lose tonight, I just felt an emptiness in my stomach. Another pointless act of violence that we as a country have experienced many, many times.
“But even if we would have won and celebrated this game to the Sweet 16, it would have been a downer. So my heart goes out to the families that were affected and those who lost their lives.”
The shooting at the King Soopers supermarket killed 10 people earlier Monday, including the police officer who first responded to the scene, authorities said.
Police arrested a suspect but did not reveal his name or details of the shooting at an evening news conference.
Colorado has been away from Boulder and in Indianapolis for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament since last week. Boyle said some members of the Buffaloes received warnings on their phones about the shooting about an hour before arriving at the arena, but he said he had not talked to his team about the tragedy before the tip.
“I’ve talked to a few of my assistants about it and we felt like it was probably better to leave – we didn’t have any details,” he said. “There wasn’t really anything to talk about, and I talked about it after the game, again, from the perspective.
“But your team’s mental mindset when they prepare for a game is sometimes fragile. I didn’t want to complicate their minds because we had to play the game. We were not going to play the game. So I decided to wait until after the game to discuss it with them, and I did. “
Boyle said he didn’t think the shooting was on his team’s minds during the game, but added, “I could be completely wrong. The only thing I’m not going to do is sit here and make excuses. for the way we played. I’m going to take responsibility for it. “
Guard McKinley Wright acknowledged that he was preoccupied with what had happened.
“I thought about my life and growing up and what I’ve been through and seeing these people,” he said after scoring 10 points in the loss. ‘And what they have to go through now sucks. I’m so sorry, and I’m going to pray for their families.
“Basketball is just a game; people have lost their lives. That sucks. It’s hard to put that into words now that I played my last game here at CU and that tragedy that happened in Boulder, it’s just awful. . “
Boyle called Boulder “a safe place like I’ve ever felt and lived in my life”.
“So if it can happen, it can happen there, it can happen anywhere,” he said. ‘But we have to find a way to stop this stuff. I don’t know the answer, but we just have to figure out a way. ‘