Klee: CU's Andre Roberson on Game 7 stage for Oklahoma City Thunder

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BOULDER - How he got here?

How Andre Roberson emerged in the NBA playoffs to help Oklahoma City into Monday's Game 7 against Golden State?

That's easier to explain.

"He's doing what he does. He just makes winning plays," Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. "He did it with us, and now he's doing it against the best players in the world."

How Roberson - an unheralded, under-recruited, three-star prospect out of Texas - got to CU? That's more complicated.

Start here: Boyle wasn't even the coach at Colorado when he began recruiting Roberson. It was a Friday, way back in April 2011. Roberson's AAUえーゆー squad made a pit stop in Greeley for an unofficial visit on the Northern Colorado campus. There was a player on that club team, maybe two, whom UNC had shown interest in, but Roberson wasn't him.

"We couldn't get him at Northern Colorado," Boyle said.

But they could get him at CU, and guess what happened next? On the Saturday after Roberson's visit, Boyle interviewed with CU, and by the next Tuesday, he was hired as the coach at CU.

The first player Boyle signed at CU? Andre Roberson.

"Sometimes timing really is everything," Boyle said.

Roberson picked a swell time to show how excellent he can be in the NBA. Oklahoma City wouldn't be here, in Game 7, on the brink of a historical upset, without him. His coming-out party arrived in a Game 4 win - 17 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and five steals - but Roberson's true value was realized in the Game 6 loss that sent the Thunder back to Golden State. Roberson had 11 points and eight boards. If he avoids a shaky fifth foul in the third quarter? Here's a hunch Oklahoma City wins Game 6, and Roberson is on his way to joining Matt Bullard, Scott Wedman and Chauncey Billups as former Buffs to play in the NBA Finals.

But here we are, in Game 7, and stranger things have happened (in this series alone) than the Thunder closing out the defending champs on the road.

"We've won there before (in Game 1)," Roberson told The Oklahoman. "Why not do it again?"

Roberson is 24, still on his first contract and shows the kind of versatile, position-free skill set the league covets. This series all but ensured his NBA future is paved in cash.

"I think he's on the perfect team in the perfect organization who values what he does and what he brings to the table," Boyle said. "With Andre it always starts with defense and rebounding. He's a pretty terrific defender. He really is. For us, he was able to (defend) the 1 through 5. He can guard 1 through 4 at the NBA level.

"He might be on (Steph) Curry on one possession, Draymond Green on the next possession, Klay Thompson on the next possession. That's really so valuable."

Back in the day, before Roberson committed to CU, his short list included Wichita State and Nevada. Not exactly blue-blood powerhouses. Something else to love about this series is how it showcased a handful of stars who weren't supposed to be stars.

Thompson, one half of the Splash Brothers, played at Pac-12 doormat Washington State; Russell Westbrook was the 36th-rated shooting guard and 151st-rated prospect in the high school class of 2006, according to one scouting service; Curry, the two-time NBA MVP, was the 281st-rated prep prospect, according to another.

Roberson isn't on that level, of course, though he might be the textbook example of how Boyle and his staff have built the Buffs into a perennial NCAA Tournament team. They know a good player from a bad player: Roberson's other scholarship offers included Tulsa, UNLV and Penn State.

"I'm just so proud of Andre and what he's done. I can't say enough about him. He's a terrific young man, a great teammate," Boyle said. "And you have to remember this is only his third season. So not only to have a Buff playing on this stage, but a Buff who's really contributing and playing a big role is really exciting, especially this early in his career. He's going to be around a while."

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Twitter: @bypaulklee