How Bangot Dak and Sebastian Rancik have emerged as leaders amid new-look Buffs

Bangot Dak scores against TCU in the Big 12 Tournament. (Photo by Remi Krupinski/Sko Buffs Sports)

The Colorado Buffaloes’ men’s basketball team has seen substantial turnover ahead of the 2025 season. Nine new players joined the program during the offseason and now they look to veteran stars Sebastian Rancik and Bangot Dak for leadership.

The pair of forwards emerged as stars in the 2024 season. Amid a struggling year for the program as a whole, they shone. They averaged a combined 18.4 points per game and 6.7 rebounds. Additionally, Dak was a force at the rim on both offense and defense, as he averaged 1.3 blocks per game and frequently recorded backboard-shaking dunks.

The majority of Colorado’s new additions are underclassmen, with seven being incoming freshmen and only one of the transfers being an upperclassman. 

These young players have looked to Rancik and Dak as leaders in their early time in the program. 

“I look up to those two,” Buffs’ transfer sophomore Jon Mani said in a post-practice interview. “[I’ve been] trying to take tips and stuff like that from them, it’s been smooth.”

One concern with their ability to lead this team is their health. Dak was cleared just a week before Colorado’s first inter-team scrimmage, and head coach Tad Boyle doesn’t expect him to be at full capacity for the first game of the season. Additionally, Rancik suffered an ankle injury on Tuesday and was on crutches as a non-participant at Wednesday’s practice.

Despite the injury concerns, Dak believes they will be ready for the new role. 

“We know what we’ve got to do,” Dak said on Wednesday. “We’re just trying to let [our new teammates] know that it’s going to be tough, everything is going to be hard, so they’ve just got to be ready.”

Moving into a leadership role often comes with added stress and pressure, especially for athletes at the collegiate level. However, Dak doesn’t foresee that being the case.

“I don’t think it’s brought any pressure on me,” Dak added. “I know [Rancik] doesn’t have any pressure on him either, the work we put in is going to show on the court.”

Sebastian Rancik's leadership is felt despite him only being a sophomore this season. (Photo by Remi Krupinski/Sko Buffs Sports)

Boyle feels the same way. He not only thinks the duo has the necessary leadership capabilities, but he also has an expectation for them to take over that role.

“They’re two of our most experienced and talented players,” Boyle said. “I’m expecting a lot out of both [Dak and Rancik] this year, especially from that leadership perspective.”

If the Buffaloes want to avenge the woes of the 2024 season, they will need a much clearer leadership system than was present on the previous squad.

With Dak and Rancik leading the way, though, confidence is high.

“Nobody wants to have the same year as last year,” Dak said. “We’re trying to come with a different energy this year, a different mentality. I think the energy is much higher, we’re just more ready now.”