Editor's Note: The following feature was provided to Big12Sports.com by Joel Petterson of University of Kansas - a participant in the 2010 Big 12 College Communications Clinic, held in conjunction with Big 12 Basketball Media Days.

When Cory Higgins started playing basketball, it was all about following the family tradition. With an NBA player for a father and a talented brother two years his elder, he had no shortage of examples to follow.

But at Colorado, Higgins has not done too much following. He has started every game as a Buffalo since arriving on campus as a freshman in 2007, and in each of the past two seasons, he has led the team in minutes, points, steals, free throws and field goals.

His basketball skill has earned him a place on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team and the Wooden Award preseason watch list. A lot of that skill was honed on a hoop in front of his house as a kid, just like plenty of other players. But unlike most players, his driveway basketball games featured NBA talent. His father, Rod Higgins, played in the NBA for 13 years and is now general manager for the Charlotte Bobcats.

For Cory and his older brother, Rick, it was a childhood steeped in basketball.

"It's everything basketball all the time," Cory said. "You grow up watching basketball, your favorite show is SportsCenter - I think it just makes you that much better of a basketball player though."

The brothers spent hours playing their father on the driveway in games of two-on-one. That chemistry naturally translated onto the high school court when Cory was able to play on the same team as Rick.

"He knew exactly where I was going to be at and I knew where he was going to be at," Cory said. "That was the best year I had playing basketball."

Eventually, Cory emerged as the bigger, stronger and faster of the two Higgins. But he continued to learn from his brother, watching Rick navigate his own transition to college.

Cory's play caught the eye of then-Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik and he wasted no time becoming a star on the team. Last season, along with Big 12 Freshman of the Year Alec Burks, Cory helped Colorado to its best finish since 2006.

But the abrupt departure of Bzdelik after the season threatened the momentum that the team was struggling to build. Colorado hired Tad Boyle as its new coach, and Boyle went straight to Higgins to ask a favor: help keep the team together for next year.

"It was a shock because it really came out of left field," Higgins said of the coaching change. "But the first impression was great. And it's been great ever since. It would have been just as great if he had been my coach for all four years."

Boyle was able to keep the core of his team intact and has made no secret that Higgins is the team's leader on and off the floor.

"I could go on and on, but he's a terrific player and a guy that has the respect of all his teammates," Boyle said. "The only way you get that respect is by bringing it every day. And Cory does that."

The day-in-day-out effort that Higgins has put in at Colorado is a big reason for the program climbing out of the last-place conference slot that it occupied for the three years prior to last season. But at least in Higgins mind, the Buffaloes haven't yet garnered the respect they deserve. Even with Higgins and Burks, who also earned a spot on the Wooden Award preseason watch list, the team was picked to finish ninth in this year's Big 12 Coaches Preseason Poll.

"It was a slap in the face when we had two players on the Wooden list and a host of other versatile players, and we finished better last year than they picked us," he said. "So yeah, it was a slap in the face. But that's okay; it's just extra motivation."

His motivation goes beyond just helping Colorado to a winning record for the first time in five years. Even with the coaching change and lack of expectations outside of Boulder, Higgins sees progress at Colorado. This year, he's looking to break even more ground.

"From when I was a freshman until now, I think - at least I'd like to believe - that we made big strides in getting the program back on the national map," he said. "And I think this year it'll be really cemented that the program will be a big-time force in upcoming years."

Of course, in upcoming years, Higgins won't be around. Where he will be isn't certain, but he has his sights on the NBA Draft. With a dad who has already been through that process, Higgins is soaking up all the advice he can get. But in the meantime, he does have one certain goal.

"Now I'm focusing on senior year," he said. "I just really want to enjoy it and go out with a bang."