DENVER – Maris Colton's approach to the defensive end of the floor is both simple and telling.
 
"It's just effort," he said. "We've got a lot of really talented athletes. I'm not the most athletic guy on the team, so I've got to make up for it with positioning and effort to put myself in the right spots."
 
Through his first 10 games of the season, the 6-foot-7 Colton ranks second on the team in steals and blocked shots (with 10 of each, for an average of 1.0 per game) and ranks third with an average of 5.1 rebounds per game. He's already earned Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors.
 
"He's done everything we wanted him to do," Metropolitan State University of Denver coach Michael Bahl said. "He's really committed himself to the defensive side. He's a big reason why we're up at the top of the conference on the defensive end.
 
"We're asking him to do something that he hasn't really done a ton of, and it's taken a while for him to adjust. But he's done a phenomenal job. His ability to keep his man in front, to guard (positions) 1 through 4, or even 5, is where he's taken a big step."
 
Heading into Saturday's 4:30 p.m. home game with Chadron State (2-8 overall, 1-3 RMAC), MSU Denver (5-5, 1-3) leads the RMAC in league-games only in field-goal percentage defense (40.4) and scoring defense (66.5 points per game).
 
"Coach keeps telling us we have one of the best defenses in the country," Colton said. "We've done tremendously well with our effort on defense and have given ourselves a chance to win. We're right there."
 
A junior from Australia who transferred to MSU Denver after two seasons at NCAA Division II Southwest Baptist (Mo.), Colton said there are some changes he's had to make with the Roadrunners.
 
"It's a different system defensively," he said. "It's kind of pack-line defense, which I played in Australia but not so much at Southwest Baptist, so I'm re-learning some of that. Having great help-side defenders makes everyone else look better. Guys like (shot-blockers) Kendall (McIntosh) and Elijah (Straughter) are elite athletes and really good defenders."
 
Colton also arrived at MSU Denver with a reputation as a prototypical stretch-4, a power forward capable of torching defenses with his 3-point shooting.
 
He shot 46.0 percent from 3 (23 of 50) last season for Southwest Baptist.
 
Though he has been part of what has been a team-wide shooting slump, Colton has made four of his last nine 3-point tries (44.4) percent, including 2 of 3 last Saturday at Western Colorado, to improve to 32.3 percent (10 of 31) from deep this season.
 
He averages 7.7 points per game.
 
"I saw a couple go in last game, so that felt great," Colton said. "I think I'm starting to get into a rhythm. It's been a tough start to the season, but I feel good going into Saturday."
 
Said Bahl: "He's versatile offensively, and he's starting to come into his own after struggling the first couple of games, just like anybody would. Fitting in is harder offensively and I think he's turned the corner there."
 
Colton's presence, plus the addition of freshman Tom Garrett, has helped rekindle memories of MSU Denver's glory days that included a strong contingent of Australians, from Lee Barlow to Luke Kendall to Nick Kay and Mitch McCarron – with many others in between.
 
"We're trying," Bahl said. "We've got Maris and Tommy, and we're recruiting a couple of other kids down there right now. A lot of the guys I played with (at MSU Denver) are either back there coaching, or they are still playing in Australia. That's the best connection with players, because all those kids are attached to a club. Hopefully it will start to come back, but it's also getting harder and harder because everyone is down there (recruiting)."
 
Colton said MSU Denver's reputation is still strong, with many former Roadrunners still playing in Australia's professional league. So, when it came time to transfer, interest from MSU Denver got his attention.
 
"I talked to a few other schools in the MIAA," Colton said. "(MSU Denver) presented a great opportunity, with the history it has, and being in downtown Denver. I thought it was a great opportunity to do some things off the court as well, academically, on-campus and in the city."
 
MSU Denver plays the early game in Saturday's doubleheader, as the women's game will be televised in prime time.
 
After Saturday's game with the Eagles, MSU Denver is off until Jan. 3.
 
"Both teams are sort of in the same spot," Bahl said. "We're both trying to fight and scrap, do everything we can to put our teams in the best position to be successful. We know they'll come in here with their hair on fire and it's going to be a high-intensity game. Everyone wants to be feeling good going into the break. There are still 18 conference games left, so the season is relatively young, but you don't want to go into the break coming off a disappointing performance."