Da Silva, Simpson land conference honors
This entire season, Colorado fans never knew what to expect out of the offense of the men’s basketball team.
On some nights, steady streams of turnovers squashed any chance for victory. On others, the Buffs couldn’t shoot straight. And still, every so often, the Buffs played as if they could go toe-totoe with any team in the nation.
Throughout all these ups and downs, Tristan da Silva was a steady force. And coaches around the Pac-12 Conference took notice.
The league announced its year-end awards on Tuesday, with da Silva earning first team all-conference honors. KJ Simpson landed on the all-conference second team for the Buffs, who open the Pac-12 tournament on Wednesday against Washington in Las Vegas.
CU’S junior forward is the eighth Buffs player to earn first team all-conference honors in the Pac-12 era. Those eight players have combined to collect 12 first team selections, with Andre Roberson (2), Josh Scott (2) and Mckinley Wright IV (3) receiving multiple honors.
The all-conference honors are selected in a vote of Pac-12 coaches, who cannot vote for their own players. Da Silva’s older brother, Oscar, was a first team All-pac-12 selection for Stanford in 2020.
“That’s the first thing I had to think about. My brother did the same thing at Stanford,” da Silva said. “It’s a huge honor. There’s so many great players here in the Pac-12. It’s humbling for sure.
“I think just playing my way. Being confident. Playing slow out there. Playing at my pace, not getting sped up. I feel like a couple players get sped up when things aren’t going their way. I’m just trying to play my game and keep my game steady.”
Da Silva has posted 11 20-point games, becoming the first CU player with at least 10 in a season since Derrick White recorded 15 in 2016-17. Da Silva’s scoring average of 15.9 ranks sixth overall in the Pac-12 (tied with Simpson), and his season highlights include a 5-for-7 outing with 14 points in CU’S early-season upset of Tennessee, and a career-high 30 points with seven rebounds in a home rout of Oregon on Jan. 5.
Da Silva posted his first career double-double against Southern Utah on Dec. 21 with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and he added another with 22 points and a career-high 15 rebounds at Oregon State on Jan. 28. He has a chance to post one of the top 3-point seasons in program history, as the .402 3-point percentage he takes into the Pac-12 tourney ranks sixth all-time.
Simpson, who will be sidelined for the Pac-12 tournament due to mono, was named to the all-freshman team last year. He is the sixth second team honoree for the Buffs since joining the Pac-12.
“(Da Silva) has gotten better each and every year,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “Starting his freshman year when we went to the NCAA Tournament, he was a good player. In a normal year when we don’t have as many seniors as we had, he’d have gotten more time. As a sophomore he stepped into a pretty prominent role for us. And this year, he’s been in a really prominent role. He’s gotten better from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. His consistency since January 1 through March has been really, really good for us.
“Those (awards) are maybe confirmation of the fact that yeah, you’re doing something other people in the league recognize. But, the bottom line is we finished ninth. Knowing both Tristan and KJ, they would give up both of those individual honors to finish in the top half of the league or win a championship. I am proud of those guys, but still a lot of things we’ve got to accomplish.”
Last year Arizona nearly swept the Pac-12’s year-end honors.
This year UCLA nearly did the same, with Jaime Jaquez Jr. winning the player of the year honor and Mick Cronin taking the coach of the year award. UCLA also landed the freshman of the year award (Adem Bona) and the defensive player of the year award (Jaylen Clark).
Arizona’s Oumar Ballo was named the most improved player and USC’S Reese Dixon-waters received the sixth player of the year honor.