Without Evan Battey and Jabari Walker, the 2022-23 CU men’s basketball squad will have to make up for both lost leadership and production. One of the leading candidates to provide more of both in his junior season is Tristan da Silva, who Tad Boyle believes can be one of the Pac-12’s top players if all goes well for the Buffs.
More so, Boyle revealed that he has indeed talked with da Silva about him adopting a bigger role this season. It’s great that Luke O’Brien and Nique Clifford are back as fellow experienced returners, but da Silva could be expected to do the most.
Boyle was asked on Wednesday’s Colorado basketball media day about da Silva filling the shoes of Walker in particular, and here’s what was said:
“I told Tristan if Jabari does leave in fact, it’s going to benefit you personally because you’re going to be able to step into a bigger role. Not that he and Jabari didn’t play together, they did, but you’re right, Jabari was so productive and Tristan is such a team player but now being a junior, like we talked about with Luke, like we’ve talked about with Nique, those three guys now have to play like juniors, and I almost look at them as seniors, even though they’re not. Thank God they each have another year but Tristan is far and away — he is our most consistent and his intelligence, his knowledge of the game, and his feel for the game. He’s much more comfortable and confident now. I expect him to be a first-team All-Pac-12 player, I really do if we can win enough games. That will happen because Tristan is going to be on the floor and he’s going to be on the floor a lot and he can play multiple positions, (he) can guard multiple positions, Having a guy like him, as a coach, makes you feel good.”
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