BOULDER — Even though it might feel similar, JR Payne’s latest project is not the same one from when she took over Colorado women’s basketball.

Despite losing much of the roster that fueled a successful three-year run that included three trips to the NCAA Tournament, two that ended in the Sweet 16 and the program’s highest AP ranking (No. 3) in nearly 30 years, the Buffaloes are not starting over.

Far from it.

“We have the same expectations we always have, which starts with being excellent each and every day in anything that we do,” Payne said. “We were very fortunate to have strong veteran leaders (last season). Even though there are not a lot of them, our upper class, being Kindyll (Wetta), Frida (Formann), and Sara-Rose (Smith), have done a great job of not only welcoming and embracing all of our new players but setting a really high stand of how things are done here.”

The 2024-25 edition of the Buffs certainly starts with Wetta and Formann, who have been big pieces for Payne’s program for multiple years, and Smith, who missed parts of last season due to injuries, but will once again be a key player when healthy.

But after that trio, there are 10 newcomers to Boulder and from all levels of basketball from high-major transfers to mid-major transfers to freshmen.

“Everyone’s going to need a cheat sheet for the first few games, just until you learn who everybody is,” Payne said with a laugh. “But I can promise you, it’s a group that you’re going to love to watch. We have better depth than we’ve ever had. We’re very long, longer than maybe we’ve ever been, and just a very experienced group, not necessarily experienced here at Colorado, but a very experienced group with us.”

It’s anyone’s guess who Payne’s starting five will be for the season opener on Monday night and that first five will likely see plenty of changes throughout the season. The amount of depth and the amount of different lineup combinations at the coaching staff’s disposal is a good problem to have in today’s day and age of college basketball.

The amount of newcomers is likely why the Buffs were picked to finish ninth (out of 16 teams) in the new-look Big 12. But finishing in that spot would be a disappointment for them.

“Honestly, I don’t know about other coaches, but I don’t really care about preseason rankings,” Payne said. “I care much more about the end-of-season rankings because that’s more indicative of how the season went and where we finished. I think on paper, if you didn’t really do your research on who we signed in the spring, our freshmen that we have coming in, I think I would have picked us ninth, too. I know our team much better than most, and I definitely think we’ll finish much higher than ninth.”

Yes, it will certainly be hard to replace what CU lost. Players like Jaylyn Sherrod, Quay Miller, Tameiya Sadler, Maddie Nolan and Charlotte Whittaker were all hugely important pieces on and off the court.

Wetta should step into an even bigger leadership role as the full-time point guard, taking over for Sherrod.

Formann feels she has more to her game that she can add to the court. There are a host of newcomers that have already impressed like freshman Tabitha Betson, Oklahoma State transfer Lior Garzon, Minnesota transfer Ayianna Johnson, Iowa State transfer Nyamer Diew and Missouri State transfer Jade Masogayo — just to name a few.

“We could not have a better group of young women,” Payne said. “They’re intelligent, funny, hardworking, and awesome to each other, and our locker room culture is wonderful. They really are special. I think that makes it easier to have 10 new players on a team.”

This isn’t a rebuild, just a retooling.

“It’s a very different team from what we’ve had in years past, but in a very good way, I would say,” Wetta said. “We’re very hopeful for this season, and I think we have very high expectations. We definitely still get that the goal is not to meet the expectations but to pass them, and we can definitely do that.”

---

CU Buffs women’s basketball 2024-25 schedule

Monday: at Wyoming (5:30 p.m.)

Thursday: 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+)

Dec. 21: vs. West Virginia (6 p.m., ESPN+)

Jan. 1: at TCU (5:30 p.m., ESPN+)

Jan. 4: at Baylor (1 p.m., ESPN+)

Jan. 8: vs. Central Florida (7 p.m., ESPN+)

Jan. 11: vs. Kansas (1 p.m., ESPN+)

Jan. 15: at West Virginia (5 p.m., ESPN+)

Jan. 18: at Cincinnati (4 p.m., ESPN+)

Jan. 25: vs. Kansas State (1 p.m., ESPN+)

Jan. 29: at BYU (7 p.m., ESPN+)

Feb. 2: vs. Texas Tech (2 p.m., ESPNU)

Feb. 5: vs. Arizona (7 p.m., ESPN+)

Feb. 8: at Iowa State (4 p.m., ESPN+)

Feb. 12: at Utah (7 p.m., ESPN+)

Feb. 15: at Houston (6 p.m., ESPN+)

Feb. 19: vs. Baylor (7 p.m., ESPN+)

Feb. 22: at Oklahoma State (1 p.m., ESPN+)

Feb. 26: vs. Arizona State (7 p.m., ESPN+)

Mar. 1: at Texas Tech (1 p.m., ESPN+)

---

King’s prediction and team awards

Prediction: 7th-place finish in Big 12 and trip to First Four of NCAA Tournament

Team MVP: Kindyll Wetta

Defensive player of the year: Nyamer Diew

Breakout star: Jade Masogayo

Impact freshman: Tabitha Betson