Tag: KJ Simpson

Bleacher Report projects three Buffs to go first-round in latest 2024 NBA mock draft

KJ Simpson’s NBA draft stock has surged over the past two months

In Bleacher Report’s latest 2024 NBA mock draft, Colorado men’s basketball standouts Cody Williams, Tristan da Silva and KJ Simpson were all projected to go in the first round.

Williams, the younger brother of Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams, was the highest projected draft pick out of those three, going seventh overall to the Memphis Grizzlies. Da Silva landed No. 19 (New Orleans Pelicans) and Simpson went No. 20 to the New York Knicks.

While Williams and da Silva have been featured in plenty of other NBA mock drafts, Simpson’s draft stock is surging amid his junior season. CU’s point guard is averaging a career-high 19.1 points per game while shooting over 50% from the field and 47.2% from deep.

Here’s what Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman wrote on Simpson:

Athletic limitations and 6’2″ size may prevent KJ Simpson from passing the eye test. But the functionality of his handle has led to effective creation. His shotmaking has been consistent off the catch and dribble, and he’s used touch to compensate for no explosion. And he reads the game well at both ends, whether he’s processing quickly as a passer or anticipating defensively to average 1.9 steals per game.

I’ve never thought of Simpson as athletically limited, but Wasserman still thinks highly of his overall game.

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College Sports Wire names KJ Simpson as the Pac-12’s biggest ‘x-factor’

College Sports Wire believes KJ Simpson is the Pac-12’s biggest “x-factor”

The Colorado men’s basketball team has performed well, although the Buffs just got blown out by Arizona on Thursday and lost to Arizona State on Saturday. Albeit, they didn’t have Tristan da Silva against the Wildcats and Cody Williams missed both games.

One huge bright spot this season has been point guard KJ Simpson, who is dazzling for head coach Tad Boyle’s team.

College Sports Wire’s Andy Patton named one x-factor player for each Power 6 basketball conference and had Simpson as the Pac-12’s representative. Here’s what Patton wrote on Simpson:

Colorado is one of multiple teams competing for second place in the Pac-12 behind Arizona, and despite getting crushed by 47 points on Thursday they still might be the biggest competition for the Wildcats this year… For Colorado to stay afloat and not lose ground to teams like Oregon and Utah, they’ll need Pac-12 Player of the Year candidate Simpson to continue producing at an elite level.

The others listed are Dalton Knecht of Tennessee, Providence’s Garwey Dual, Zach Edey from Purdue, Elmarko Jackson from Kansas and Clemson’s PJ Hall.

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KJ Simpson making early case for All-American nod

KJ Simpson is playing his way into the All-American conversation

Colorado men’s basketball head coach Tad Boyle has raved about his starting point guard all season.

Following two stellar showings to start Pac-12 play, including a career-high 34 points against Washington State, KJ Simpson has continued to prove his head coach right as he has played himself into All-American conversations.

After Friday’s win over Washington, here’s what Boyle said when asked if his junior PG should be an All-American:

“I hope so,” Boyle said. “He’s having an All-American kind of year. Looking at the numbers, he’s the best point guard in the Pac-12. It’s not even close. It’s not even up for debate in my mind. I think he’s one of the best in the country and I’ve said that for the last two, three weeks now. (He’s a) top 10 point guard in the country without a doubt.”

In the Buffs’ 11-2 start to the season, Simpson is averaging career highs in points (21.1), rebounds (4.7), assists (4.5) and steals (2.1). He has also made strides in the two biggest areas he needed to improve after last season: shooting percentage and taking care of the ball. Simpson is the only player in the country who’s shooting at least 55% from the field, 45% from 3-point range and 85% from the free-throw line (minimum of five made shots per game). Additionally, he’s turning the ball over at a career-low rate (1.7 turnovers per game).

While the Buffs are still outside of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll Top 25, they’ll have an opportunity to beat No. 10 Arizona on Thursday. Tipoff in Tucson is at 7:30 p.m. MT on ESPN.

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KJ Simpson follows up Jaylyn Sherrod with own career-high game in Colorado’s win over WSU

KJ Simpson set a new career-high in Colorado’s New Year’s Eve win over Washington

Colorado point guards Jaylyn Sherrod and KJ Simpson enjoyed quite the weekend.

About 24 hours after Sherrod scored a career-high 34 for the women, Simpson dropped that same total, also a career-best, in the men’s win over Washington State on Sunday.

Simpson, who was 10-of-18 from the field and 13-of-14 from the free-throw line, was Colorado’s primary offensive weapon again on Sunday with Cody Williams and Tristan da Silva still sidelined. Led by Simpson’s motor and a late 3-pointer from J’Vonne Hadley, the shorthanded Buffs capped off the 74-67 win on a 12-3 scoring run.

On the heels of beating Washington on Friday, Colorado is now 2-0 in Pac-12 play.

It’s still early, but Simpson is beginning to generate some All-American buzz.

Colorado could be ranked, too, ahead of Thursday’s matchup at No. 4 Arizona.

 

 

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KJ Simpson stays hot in CU Buffs’ final nonconference game

The most impressive player from Colorado’s nonconference season? KJ Simpson.

With Pac-12 play now on deck for Colorado, KJ Simpson is playing arguably the best basketball of his college career.

His field percentage has improved from just under 40% last season to 57.7% this year and even more important, the third-year point guard has found consistency within his game. Capped off by a 23-point performance in Colorado’s win over Utah Tech on Thursday, Simpson scored at least 12 points in each of the Buffs’ 11 nonconference games.

“It’s not just me, it’s my teammates. They allow me to get open shots,” Simpson said after the Buffs’ 98-71 blowout of the Trailblazers. “A lot of times today I was just spotting up and they just found me.”

Simpson’s 8-for-14 shooting performance, which included five made 3s, against Utah Tech also marked his third straight game with at least 20 points. He scored a season-high 30 earlier this month at Colorado State.

Additionally, Simpson is averaging career highs in assists (4.5) and rebounds (4.5) per game.

“He’s playing at a high, high level as a point guard and leader,” Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said of Simpson. “I thought he had a few forced turnovers tonight that he normally hasn’t had, but he had six assists. KJ is playing confident, he’s playing loose, but he’s not loose in the sense of he’s cavalier or careless with the ball. He’s got a lot of confidence, and I’ve got a lot of confidence in him. He’s becoming a guy we rely on every single night on both sides of the ball.”

If Simpson maintains his consistency well into March, he should continue to fly up NBA draft boards as well.

Colorado closed its nonconference slate at 9-2 and will now prepare for Washington on Dec. 29.

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Colorado men’s basketball 2023-24 player profile: KJ Simpson

KJ Simpson is looking like an improved player early in his junior season

The Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball team has a trio of stars who will lead the team this season. We have already highlighted forwards Tristan da Silva and Cody Williams, but we’ll now focus our attention on junior point guard KJ Simpson.

Simpson has been chomping at the bit to get back on the court after missing the last few games of last season due to illness. Now that CU is near full strength, this could be a bounce-back season for the Buffs, and Simpson will play a pivotal role in how far this team goes.

Below is a breakdown of what Simpson brings to the Buffs:

Trio of Buffs earn preseason All-Pac-12 men’s basketball honors

Three Buffs received preseason All-Pac-12 men’s basketball honors

The Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball team is gaining some steam heading into the 2023-2024 season, and the debut of freshman Cody Williams is a big reason why. The Pac-12 preseason polls came out earlier this week, and the Buffs were selected to finish fifth in the conference.

The Pac-12’s preseason all-conference teams were also announced and three Buffs were listed: forward Tristan da Silva, guard KJ Simpson and forward Cody Williams. Both Simpson and da Silva made the First Team and Williams was tabbed as an honorable mention.

Here is the entire All-Pac-12 First Team, as voted on by the media:

Oumar Ballo, Arizona
Adem Bona, UCLA
Keion Brooks Jr., Washington
Branden Carlson, Utah
Isaiah Collier, USC
N’Faly Dante, Oregon
Tristan da Silva, Colorado
Boogie Ellis, USC
Spencer Jones, Stanford
KJ Simpson, Colorado

The honorable mention was given to players with five or more votes. Besides Williams, the list included Kwame Evans Jr. (Oregon), Pelle Larsson (Arizona) and Aday Mara (UCLA).

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CU men’s basketball below full strength early in preseason camp

Tad Boyle’s squad began preseason camp on Monday with a few key players looking to get healthy

With as much attention as the Colorado football team is currently drawing, the Buffs men’s basketball team should draw plenty of eyeballs as well in their upcoming 2023-2024 season.

Top prospect and projected NBA lottery pick Cody Williams is a huge reason why, and head coach Tad Boyle is trying to do whatever it takes to make the NCAA Tournament.

The Buffs, however, held their first preseason practice on Monday without a few prominent names, per Nikki Edwards of CU Sports Report.

J’Vonne Hadley is dealing with an illness but should be back later in the week. KJ Simpson, who should be one of the Pac-12’s top point guards this season, has an ankle injury and Eddie Lampkin Jr., a center who transferred in from TCU, has a back injury that is going to keep him out for some time.

None of that is good news, although the situations with Hadley and Simpson are temporary and Lampkin is expected to be ready when the season begins.

As training camp continues, it will be interesting to see if the Buffs can stay healthy heading into the season, especially with high expectations.

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CU men’s basketball dishes out 2022-23 team awards

Five different Buffs received team awards for their efforts during the 2022-23 season

The Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball team missed the NCAA Tournament but wound up in the NIT for the second straight season. The Buffs topped Seton Hall but then lost to Utah Valley in the second round by 12 points.

With the college basketball season officially over, the Buffs handed out team awards for the 2022-23 season. The Buffs finished 18-17 but have a ton of promise for next season with Cody Williams being the talk of the town and Colorado landing in ESPN’s way-too-early top 25 rankings.

Here is a quick rundown of the players who received team awards for their efforts this season:

Colorado men’s basketball recap: Buffs fall short of upsetting No. 4 UCLA

CU’s upset attempt came up just short

Sunday’s Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball game against No. 4 UCLA was eerily similar to the women’s upset bid against No. 2 Stanford. Colorado jumped out to an early double-digit lead in the first half, but the Bruins fought their way back to secure the four-point victory, 60-56.

The Buffs held the duo of Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez Jr. in check, only allowing UCLA to shoot 40.7% overall from the field while also limiting the Bruins to only one 3-point make in 14 attempts. Shot-making was the killer for the Buffs tonight, as they themselves only hit 33.3% from the field, plus they missed 10 free-throws (13-for-23) in a four-point game.

Luke O’Brien was a bright spot for the Buffaloes as he achieved his first career double-double, scoring 13 points and hauling in 10 rebounds. The duo of Tristian da Silva and KJ Simpson were the other double-digit scorers for the Buffaloes, adding 13 and 14 points, respectively. There was a scary moment in the waning minutes when da Silva went down with an apparent ankle injury and hobbled back to the locker room under his own power.

Colorado will close out the regular season on Saturday against the Utah Utes on senior day in the Buffs’ final tune-up before the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas.

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