BOULDER — The plan to keep the Buffs’ winning culture intact was made over meals at the Champions Center. CU women’s basketball lost eight players to the transfer portal and graduated three starters, including star point guard Jaylyn Sherrod. That called for a massive roster turnover this season with 10 total newcomers — tied for the second-most in the nation. Hence why the program’s only returning multiple-year impact players, guards Kindyll Wetta and Frida Formann, knew they needed a blueprint to ensure the Buffs don’t skip a beat in 2024-25 as they seek a fourth straight NCAA Tournament bid. So over breakfasts, lunches and dinners at the CU student-athlete dining hall, they outlined their plan. “We take it seriously to guide this team in the direction we want, and we want this team to have great chemistry on and off the court, have each other’s backs and have a great work ethic — all the same (intangibles) that built the program to this point,” Formann said. “Kindyll and I worked together to try to quickly instill that into the new players. Kindyll has a crazy work ethic and an intensity that rubs off on people, so she’s someone who can really show the way through her actions. And I’ve been someone who has tried to guide players a little bit more, and get everyone adjusted to our system.” The duo hopes the result is another head-turning season under head coach JR Payne, who’s steadily escalated the Buffs’ expectations and exposure since taking over a program that won just seven games in 2015-16. Wetta, a former Valor Christian star who is CU’s lone homegrown player, says maintaining the team’s momentum from consecutive Sweet 16 showings means being a consistent offensive threat in her final season in Boulder. The point guard will slide into a starting role after coming off the bench for the majority of her Buffs career. She’s played in all 99 of CU’s games over the past three seasons, and her tenacity on defense often led Payne to put her on the opposition’s best player. The Buffs’ boss declared her “the best defender in America.” But Wetta knows that with no Sherrod, and with last season’s leading scorer Aaronette Vonleh now at Baylor, the Buffs need her to get buckets. “I’m really ready to step up into more of an offensive role this year,” Wetta said. “My defense will always be there for me to lean back on, and it’s always something I’ll pride myself in, but I know my team is going to need more of a scoring threat from me this year and I’m ready to give them that. “I’ve been working on my pull-up jumper, my spot 3s, and I feel really comfortable in both of those. And when I get to the basket, I’m going to be looking for my shot first, instead of the pass.” Payne sees a point guard who is “intent on being the most well-rounded version of herself throughout her senior year.” Wetta’s averaged 5.3 points per game in her CU career, and 5.9 last season. “I’ve shared with everyone on the team that Kindyll has the green light to be as aggressive scoring on three levels as she wants to be, and we need her to do that,” Payne said. After staying in Boulder amid the transfer portal era, No. 15, which Wetta wears as an homage to her dad, Robb Wetta, who was No. 15 as a college quarterback at Idaho State and Fresno State, is looking to polish off her legacy as a senior. “She’s given a lot to that program, she’s come off the bench three straight years, she’s never complained, never said, ‘I’m leaving,'” Robb Wetta said. “In this day and age of ‘me basketball,’ and ‘What have you done for me?’ and ‘What can you do for me?’ she’s stuck it out. … Her legacy is that she persevered through two ACL injuries at Valor but made everyone around her better there. And she’s gone to CU, done what’s asked to do to elevate the program, and has continued to make everyone around her better.” For the equally loyal Formann, scoring has been no problem in four years as a starter. She averaged a career-high 12.5 points per game in 2023-24 en route to tying the program’s single-season 3-point record with 82 and breaking the school’s all-time 3-point mark (men and women) with 260. When she’s been at her best, like when she dropped a career-high 27 points in CU’s upset of No. 1 LSU last November, the Buffs are tough to beat. Formann said she’s focused on being more of a vocal leader this season, as well as diversifying her scoring, considering teams are sure to swarm her behind the arc. “I have a nice pull-up game (I want to show off), and it’s about knowing how to get to my spot more from 3 and using my physique more to get to the rim because people are guarding me so tight, so there’s so many windows to really attack,” Formann said. “And now that I have the ball more in our offense now as a more primary ballhandler, that’s another part of my game I’m really trying to grow.” Related Articles College Sports | JR Payne, CU Buffs women’s basketball ready for “intellectual challenge” of Big 12 College Sports | CU women’s basketball features 10 newcomers and international makeup, but same NCAA Tournament goal College Sports | Women’s basketball: CU Buffs celebrate former star Jaylyn Sherrod winning WNBA title College Sports | CU Buffs kicker Alejandro Mata honored by Big 12 College Sports | CU Buffs AD Rick George discusses latest round of NCAA upheaval CU’s two other returners are guards Sara-Rose Smith and Kennedy Sanders. Smith transferred from Missouri before last season and played in 30 games off the bench, averaging 3.7 points and 4.0 rebounds. Sanders redshirted. But both are expected to make an impact this winter, especially Smith, who understands her role is focused on the hustle rebounds and unheralded details the Buffs need to win. “Having a year under my belt and understanding the system — and knowing what JR and (associate head coach Toriano Towns) and the coaching staff wants from me — has helped me build that confidence,” Smith said. “Now I know I can demand what I want from my teammates, too.” Until the Buffs figure out who their top contributors this year will be outside of Wetta and Formann — forward Lior Garzon is a likely candidate after starting 30 games last year at Oklahoma State, as is guard Johanna Teder (three-year starter at Washington State) and forward Nyamer Diew (two-year starter at Iowa State) — CU will look to their returners to develop the necessary chemistry. “It’s definitely been Kindyll, Frida and Sara that we’ve leaned on for leadership throughout our preseason,” Payne said. “… The one thing we don’t know for certain yet because we haven’t been through any fires yet, is how we respond when the lights are on. “When our opponent goes on an 8-0 run, and we go from up six to down two, who else muscles up? Who’s going to dig in and fight for it, and who’s going to get big eyes and get nervous? Those things are very hard to simulate in practice, and it’s something I’ll be paying close attention to (in nonconference play).” CU’s Nonconference Schedule With all the new faces, Wetta, Formann and the Buffs will need to use their 12 preseason games to develop chemistry. Colorado senior Frida Formann puts up a shot during the first official practice of the season on Sept. 23 at the CU Events Center in Boulder. (CU Athletics) Date Opponent Time TV Oct. 27 vs. Mines 1 p.m. Nov. 4 at Wyoming 5:30 p.m. Nov. 7 vs. Northern Colorado 7 p.m. ESPN+ Nov. 10 at Boise State 2 p.m. Nov. 12 at Nevada 8 p.m. Nov. 17 vs. Southern 5 p.m. ESPN+ Nov. 19 vs. Utah State 7 p.m. ESPN+ Nov. 27 at Utah Tech 1 p.m. Nov. 30 vs. Louisville 1 p.m. ESPN+ Dec. 3 vs. Tennessee Tech 11 a.m. ESPN+ Dec. 7 vs. Southern Utah 1 p.m. ESPN+ Dec. 10 vs. Denver 7 p.m. ESPN+ (Click here to view schedule in mobile.) Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.