Although they fell short of upsetting Marquette, Colorado stars KJ Simpson, Tristan da Silva and Cody Williams each impressed in their second-round NCAA men’s basketball tournament game on Sunday.
The Buffs’ big three combined for 49 points with a boatload of national eyeballs focused on the high-scoring March Madness matchup. In the aftermath, da Silva’s NBA draft stock improved, the freshman Williams Williams remains a projected lottery pick and Simpson may also test the draft waters this spring.
ESPN released an updated 2024 NBA mock draft on Monday (subscription required) and each of those three found a landing spot. Williams and da Silva were projected first-rounders — No. 9 (Utah Jazz) and No. 18 (Miami Heat), respectively — while Simspon went 39th overall to the New York Knicks.
In late November, ESPN projected da Silva as the 36th overall pick and had Williams at No. 12.
Simpson, who was arguably snubbed for Pac-12 Player of the Year, enjoyed the best season of his college career as Colorado’s starting point guard. The junior averaged career-highs in points (19.7 per game), assists (4.8) and rebounds (5.8).
As for Williams, some are arguing that he’d benefit from another year at the college level due to his injury issues. We should learn soon whether or not the former five-star prospect agrees.
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