Colorado’s Simpson struggling with shot
Buffs’ point guard looking to regain pre-injury form
It didn’t seem like a significant setback at the time. And certainly KJ Simpson has had his moments in the two months since.
Still, the numbers are impossible to dismiss. In his first year as Colorado’s starting point guard, Simpson’s season hit a gradual downslide when he missed the Jan. 5 home win against Oregon.
Simpson and the rest of the CU men’s basketball team still have a chance to make a year-end statement, first at home against Utah in the regular season finale on Saturday (3:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network), and then next week in Las Vegas at the Pac-12 tournament.
Yet Simpson hasn’t been the same player since that one-game layoff. And regardless of when exactly CU’S season comes to a likely end next week in Las Vegas, the sophomore guard will go into the offseason answering questions about his ability to be a consistent long-range threat.
“There’s nothing I think physically that’s holding him back,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “I think the big thing for KJ is the defenses he’s facing are now geared to stop him. That’s something that he has to adjust to. Just taking what the game gives you. KJ has been so talented and so overpowering his whole career up to this point, he’s been able to do that and have success. Well now, it’s harder to do that.”
When Simpson missed that Jan. 5 home win against Oregon, he was only a few days removed from scoring 25 points at California, very nearly rallying the Buffs to an improbable victory with 16 points in the final 2 minutes, 6 seconds. Two nights prior to that loss at Cal, Simpson scored CU’S final 11 points at Stanford, singlehandedly turning a three-point deficit into a three-point road win for the Buffs.
Simpson finished with a careerhigh 31 at Stanford, and those two games in the Bay Area gave Simpson six 20-point games through the season’s first 15 games. Late in the Cal game, however, Simpson turned an ankle. As he attempted to come back the following week, he was struck by an illness that kept him out of practice and out of the lineup against Oregon.
At that point, Simpson owned a .354 3-point percentage on the season. But his long-range touch deserted him during his brief turn on the sideline.
In the 14 games since, Simpson has shot just 8-for-52 (.154) on 3-pointers, dropping his season percentage to .276. He has not made multiple 3-pointers in a game since that 25-point outing at Cal on Dec. 31, and he has
recorded just one more 20-point game since then. Simpson’s assist-to-turnover rate has been average all season, but even that was better before the onegame absence (1.58) than after (1.42).
For his part, Simpson dismissed the notion his shooting struggles are related to any lingering physical problem.
“I’m not one to make excuses if I can go out there,” Simpson said. “I’ll just leave that at that.”
And despite the shooting struggles, it’s not as if Simpson has been a completely ineffective player. He has recorded 22 assists against 10 turnovers in the past five games, and his penchant for getting to the free throw line (.817 this season) has kept his scoring average at 15.9. His free throw percentage of .833 in league games ranks fifth in the Pac-12.
“We’re just focused on not looking ahead,” Simpson said. “Obviously we’re not blind to the fact that if we don’t take care of business there’s a good chance it will be over after Vegas. But I think our focus is just game by game. The first one is Utah, and after that just focus each game.”
On Wednesday, Boyle offered updates on CU’S three injured players, indicating that redshirt freshman guard Javon Ruffin (knee) will remain sidelined against Utah. Boyle said he was “hopeful” reserve guard Jalen Gabbidon (concussion) will return, while leading scorer Tristan da Silva is day-today due to an ankle injury suffered on Sunday against UCLA.