Colorado has found its central big man. And head coach Tad Boyle hopes the Buffaloes have uncovered a diamond in the rough.
On Monday, Boyle’s Buffs received their third frontcourt transfer commitment of the spring, landing 6-foot-10 center Isaiah Malone out of Grace College, an NAIA program in north central Indiana.
Malone was named the 2023-24 NAIA player of the year after leading Grace to a 34-2 record in a season that ended in the NAIA semifinals. Malone also landed the prestigious Bevo Francis Award, which honors the top small college player in the nation encompassing Division II, Division III, NAIA and the junior college levels.
Malone played in all 36 games this season for Grace, shooting .630 overall while averaging 17.3 points and 8.3 rebounds. He also shot a solid .369 from 3-point range and put up an .814 free throw percentage. In four seasons at Grace, Malone played in 139 games (117 starts), averaging 14.1 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting .653 overall and .394 (99-for-251) on 3-pointers. Malone also finished with a .722 career free throw percentage, shooting .696 at the line as a freshman before gradually improving along the way to this year’s .814 mark (131-for-161).
A native of LaGrange, Ind., Malone visited Indiana prior to visiting CU, but the Hoosiers ultimately landed former Arizona center Oumar Ballo.
Malone is the third frontcourt player to join the Buffs this spring, following Washington State transfer Andrej Jakimovski and Trevor Baskin from Division II Colorado Mesa. Barring any further unexpected attrition, Boyle and his staff still have one open scholarship to use this spring.
