Rhode Island transfer Anaëlle Dutat hoping Colorado unlocks anomalous skillset
- Harrison Simeon
- Oct 16
- 5 min read
Less than 30 miles from Paris lies Cesson, France, a quaint village with a population of roughly 11,000.
Kingston is an antique college town in the union’s smallest state. It’s known for a historic railway station and Victorian architecture, but most of all, the Rhode Island Rams.
Anaëlle Dutat could eat for free in both areas, but her atypical odyssey continues in Boulder.
The 6-foot senior forward transferred to the Colorado Buffaloes last May. Dutat will provide defensive pedigree and much-needed rebounding for a new-look group, but her untapped potential has coach JR Payne fawning.
“She’s probably one of the most gifted athletes we’ve ever had,” Payne said.
Dutat first tested that athleticism at Lycée Victor-Hugo secondary school in Caen, where basketball is part of the curriculum. Hotly pursuing guidance into the sport, she moved three hours west of her Cesson roots and birthplace in Rang-du-Fliers.
She broke through at 16. In 2020, Dutat joined USO Mondeville, a second-tier club of France’s women’s basketball league closely tied to her school. There, she sat behind 35-year-old Shanavia Dowdell, who led the NCAA in rebounds and double-doubles at Louisiana Tech in 2010.
Dutat swiftly became a French national. In 2022, she started for a third-place team at the FIBA U18 European Championship.
There, she emerged on the glass. Dutat led France and tied for eighth in the tournament with eight rebounds a game.
“Since I started basketball, I just always liked jumping,” Dutat said.
That same year, she signed with Rhode Island, a growing hub of French recruiting. Dutat logged more offensive rebounds than points in her first season, earning a rotation spot that grew by the day.
“The first thing that shocked me as a freshman was [that] it’s really fast,” Dutat said of the differences between European and American basketball. “They call more fouls, especially offensive fouls. I don’t know if it helped me, just gave me a different perspective.”
Dutat’s maturity once in the U.S. propelled her up as games slowed down. She tallied four double-digit rebound performances to guide URI to the Atlantic-10 semifinals and third round of the WNIT.
Back on the international front, she flourished. Dutat averaged a near double-double (nine points, 12 rebounds) with four steals and was recognized as the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup’s best defender.
She notched the first of two preseason all-defensive honors before her sophomore year at URI. Meanwhile, coaching taught Dutat nuances that rounded out her physical gifts.
“I learned new techniques like position,” Dutat said. “So now, I’m mixing my rebounding game. Sometimes I’ll just go, sometimes I’ll try to be more technical about it.”
As a junior, she reached 10th on Rhode Island’s all-time list with 679 rebounds and gained A-10 All-Defensive status. Dutat shifted positions from post to wing as a full-time starter and instantly leveled up on both ends, averaging career bests of 7.9 points, 7.9 boards and 1.7 steals.
But with one more year of college to find the limelight, she packed her bags and chose Colorado. Above all, Dutat wanted somewhere “more human” than the frigid, no-nonsense northeast. Sunny Boulder stuck out, but coach Payne’s culture shone brighter.
“The coaching staff, especially JR, was the biggest reason I came here,” Dutat said. “They’re more family-oriented. They really care about their players.”
While defense and rebounding are her epicenter, proving her worth without a ball in hand, Dutat desires to grow. She tried 88 3-pointers last season after not attempting any as an underclassman, shooting a solid 32%.
She was the last of CU’s five recent transfers to sign, but wasn’t too late to run ones with a graduating Frida Formann. Colorado’s all-time leader in 3-point baskets (men or women) tested the forward in the best ways possible.
“She loves that challenge,” Payne said of the experience. “She’s a highly intelligent person and player. We’ll have to use her smarts on both sides of the floor.”
Over the summer, Dutat befriended another sharpshooter in Gonzaga transfer guard Claire O’Connor. They practice jump shots together before every practice and go on grocery runs after, finding new frontiers as newcomers from opposite coasts.
It’s all in a day’s search for a complete skillset, especially as the Buffs deal with departing deadeyes like Formann, glass cleaners such as Sara-Rose Smith and defensive pests like Kindyll Wetta.
The trio left Sweet Sixteen-sized shoes to fill, and while Payne sees something fresh in Dutat, she envisions similar results.
“We need her to be everything she’s capable of being,” Payne said. “She’s the most athletic kid in the gym. She’s one of the most experienced players in the gym. She can score in a lot of different ways, and she can absolutely lock you up.”
And as a biomedical engineering major and one of CU’s two seniors, Dutat is grounded enough to avoid culture shock. Payne’s Buffaloes are notorious for an intricate offense, but after just a handful of practices, the coach named “AD” among the quickest to settle in.
This fall, the Buffs are angling for a new, energetic identity on their traditional, team-first foundations. Dutat is poised to become a quintessential Payne player, but to unleash her desired capabilities, she must squash a long-loathed stigma of her motherland.
“One thing I’ve never been told is ‘Go faster here,’” Dutat said. “They want me to be aggressive and take more risks on defense, so that’s something different. That I can do. I’ll just try to be solid and keep on that track.”
In many ways, a reputation of apprehension has followed the French, especially in basketball. Players surface, excel but bump clouded heads on a hard ceiling.
Payne doesn’t want Dutat to overthink and settle for good. She eyes greatness.
“If I were her, I’d be trying to demolish everybody,” Payne said. “She’s that gifted. She could attack anyone’s feet at any time and get whatever she wants, or she could lock somebody up or pick their pocket, but she’s such a nice young lady that she plays it a little bit safe.”
Dutat reads like a superstar. The IQ, fundamentals and winning instincts are all ingrained, while her strength, rim running and improving jumper make her an anomaly. She’ll play a cohesive role for the Buffs, though one that could hang on her commitment to reach for what’s possible.
From Cesson to Kingston to the CU Events Center, one final step:
“No regrets at the end, no matter what,” Dutat said of what a successful season looks like. “To know I did everything I could.”
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