Trio of Buffs log all-time minutes
KJ Simpson’s tireless work propelled the Colorado men’s basketball into the postseason.
But he certainly wasn’t the only Buffaloes player who shouldered an inordinate share of the workload this season.
In addition to his program-record free throw percentage of .876, Simpson posted a team record by playing 1,298 minutes this season (officially, 1,298 minutes, 10 seconds). Tristan da Silva and especially J’vonne Hadley were right on Simpson’s heels.
Hadley played 1,232 minutes, which also topped the team’s previous record (1,222 minutes by Cory Higgins in 2010-11) and would have left Hadley as the record-holder if not for Simpson.
Da Silva played 1,150 minutes, which ranks sixth alltime. If not for his teammates, da Silva’s mark would have ranked fourth. It goes without saying that three teammates haven’t logged that many minutes within the same season in CU men’s basketball history.
Injuries to Julian Hammond III, RJ Smith and Cody Williams robbed the Buffs of the most viable alternatives for spot duties as Simpson’s backup at point guard, forcing Simpson into his iron man mode — Simpson logged at least 38 minutes in nine of the final 10 games, playing 40 minutes in four of those games.
Hadley and da Silva both ended in the top six in minutes played despite missing time during the regular season. Hadley missed just one game (the Jan. 20 home win against Oregon State), and those missed minutes wouldn’t have allowed him to catch Simpson.
However, da Silva missed the first three Pac-12 Conference games due to a sprained ankle. If his average of 33.8 minutes was added to the equation for three more games, da Silva would’ve joined Simpson and Hadley among the top three CU players in minutes played during a single season.
Da Silva finished his career ranked 15th on the program’s all-time list for minutes played (3,334), surpassing former teammate Evan Battey (3,313) by playing 37 minutes in the NCAA Tournament second-round loss against Marquette that ended the season. Despite being a third-year player who missed six games as a sophomore, Simpson’s surge this year left the junior ranked 23rd in career minutes (2,904).
“I love these guys,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “It’s a no-excuse mentality and the leadership from guys like Luke O’brien, KJ Simpson, Tristan da Silva, that kept this team afloat when things got tough.”
Mutual admiration
As she met the local media ahead of her team’s second consecutive appearance in the Sweet 16, CU women’s basketball coach JR Payne offered her praise of the men’s team run of 10 wins in 11 games before Sunday’s loss against Marquette.
“Just unbelievably proud of our men’s program and all that they accomplished,” Payne said. “Everybody that followed our men’s team knows that there were some huge, key injuries during pretty pivotal stretches of their season. To be able to hold the group together and have the type of success that they had throughout the end of Pac-12 play, through the Pac-12 tournament into the NCAA Tournament with all of those injuries and things like that is just a true testament to their culture and tremendous leadership obviously in Tad and the coaches, but also in KJ as their point guard and Tristan and Luke (O’brien) and all those guys that have been here a long time. Just really, really proud of them.”
Notable
Boyle earned $270,000 in contract incentive bonuses — $30,000 apiece for reaching 19 and 21 regular season wins; $75,000 for reaching the Pac-12 semifinals; $105,000 for reaching the NCAA Tournament and another $30,000 for reaching the second round. … Simpson and da Silva own four of the top 10 season scoring average marks in CU’S 14 seasons under Boyle. Simpson posted a 19.7 mark this year, second under Boyle behind Alec Burks’ 20.5 in 2010-11, and finished at 15.9 last year (tied for eighth under Boyle). Da Silva also finished at 15.9 last year and recorded a 16.0 this year (seventh).