Like it is : It doesn’t take long to feel at home in Colorado

Wally Hall

Posted on Wednesday, August 22, 2007

URL: http://www.wholehogsports.com/adg/199239/

When we decided to visit Charles Baker, it was with a very slight feeling of guilt.

When the North Little Rock native and former head coach at Shorter College was an assistant basketball coach at Kansas State, we never considered visiting our very good friend in Manhattan, Kan.

Same for when he was at Louisiana Tech in Ruston.

Last May, Baker was hired as an assistant coach at Colorado, and with a nonstop flight each way to one of the most beautiful areas in the United States, there was no way we weren’t going to make at least one trip there.

So last Thursday, Donald Mc-Donald and your trusty scribe landed in Denver.

That day was just some catching up, a trip to — as Baker called the place he gets his head shaved — a “Muslim barber shop” and a great Mexican dinner at an outdoor cafe with a view of the spectacular mountains.

Friday was a day to meet the other assistants, Steve McClain and Derrick Clark, as well as Coach Jeff Bzdelik.

College basketball fans will recall the great job Bzdelik did with Air Force last season, posting more 30-plus-point victories than any team in the country. He also has tons of NBA experience and was the coach responsible for the Denver Nuggets drafting Carmello Anthony.

Razorbacks basketball fans might remember that McClain was actually the top choice by the search committee when Stan Heath was hired.

The connections to the Razorbacks were just beginning, though.

That night at a popular Denver sports cafe, we were joined by Charles Johnson and Alfred Williams.

Johnson was the starting quarterback for Colorado in 1990 when the Buffaloes won the national championship. Williams, who won the Butkus Award, was the hard-hitting linebacker on that team known for its defense.

Johnson is now an assistant athletic director with CU.

Williams played several years in the NFL and helped the Denver Broncos win two Super Bowls, making him a rarity: a player who won a national championship and a Super Bowl in the same state.

Williams is now co-host of a radio show with former Arkansas Razorbacks basketball standout Scott Hastings.

Their show is on The Fan, 950, and has jumped to No. 2 in the market.

When Williams arrived and was walking toward our group, there was no doubt who he was. He’s still big, flat-bellied and has that distinctive athletic look.

Saying he is popular in the Denver area would be like saying there’s a little skiing done in the state.

His awareness of what has happened the past few months at Arkansas was off the charts, but the shocker came about 15 minutes into the conversation.

“I came really close to going to Arkansas,” said Williams, a Houston native. “I love Ken Hatfield. His offense was putting up points and hard to stop.

“ I liked the defensive scheme and the staff, and Fayetteville is a beautiful area.”

So what happened ?

“SMU got the death penalty and it looked like more teams in the old Southwest Conference were headed that way too,” he said. “That would mean no TV.

“ I wanted to play on TV to help me in the NFL Draft.”

He did and ended up as the 18 th pick in the first round of the draft.

In addition to his radio show and being with his kids every afternoon when they get out of school, Williams has started taking classes so he can graduate.

“How can I tell my kids education is important if I don’t graduate ?” he said.

A few weeks ago, Williams and Johnson hosted a reunion for the 1990 national championship team.

It was a great weekend for all, including Charles Baker, who was invited to the event and has now been accepted by all that is CU.