Simpson garners first-team All-pac-12 honor

For the first time in a career that rapidly has turned into an all-timer for the Colorado men’s basketball program, KJ Simpson is a first-team All-pac-12 Conference performer.

However, he is not the league’s player of the year.

Simpson led the way for the Buffaloes on the final men’s basketball all-conference awards of the Pac-12 era, landing first team honors while also garnering honorable mention all-defensive team honors.

Senior forward Tristan da Silva was a second-team selection while Cody Williams landed on the allfreshman team.

The Pac-12 player of the year award went to Arizona’s Caleb Love, who ranked second in scoring in league games at 20.0 points per game. Regular-season champion Arizona landed two players on the 10-player first team, with Love also joined by Oumar Ballo.

The year-end honorees are selected in a vote of league coaches, with each coach prohibited from voting for their own players. Washington State’s Kyle Smith was named the Pac-12 coach of the year, while UCLA’S Adem Bona was named the defensive player of the year.

Simpson is the ninth first-team selection for CU in the 13-season Pac-12 era. Three of those players won multiple honors (Andre Roberson two, Josh Scott two, Mckinley Wright IV three), giving CU a total of 13 first-team all-conference awards in the Pac-12 era.

Simpson ranked fourth in Pac12 games at 19.5 points per game and outpaced Love in a number of other categories in league games, including field goal percentage (.448 Simpson, .446 Love), 3-point percentage (.433 Simpson, .373 Love), rebounding (6.1 Simpson, 4.7 Love), assists per game (5.1 Simpson, 3.3 Love), assist-toturnover rate (2.08 Simpson, 1.57 Love) and steals per game (1.53 Simpson, 1.2 Love).

A second-team All-pac-12 selection last year, Simpson led the Buffs through their plentiful personnel issues, helping to stake a shorthanded CU to a 2-0 start in the conference with a pair of big performances at home against Washington (21 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists) and Washington State (a career-high 34 points), the latter of which ultimately helped keep the Buffs afloat in the NET rankings.

Simpson is one of just five players to post multiple 30-point games in league play, scoring 19 of his 30 points in a dramatic double-overtime win at USC on Feb. 17

over the final 7 minutes, 52 seconds of regulation plus the two overtimes. Simpson also fed Luke O’brien for the game-tying dunk in the waning seconds of regulation.

“I just believe in KJ,” CU head coach Tad Boyle said. “Caleb Love has had a hell of a year. Pelle Larsson of Arizona is, to me, just as deserving as Caleb Love. They won the league, and usually the best player on the team that wins the league gets the player of the year. But that doesn’t take anything away from KJ Simpson, the kind of year he’s had. He’s had an All-american-type season and hasn’t gotten the credit nationally that he deserves. But anyone that knows this league and knows this program and knows basketball, knows how good KJ Simpson is.”

Da Silva, a first-team selection last year, missed the first three conference games due to a sprained ankle, which remained at less than 100% for several weeks after his return. He goes into Thursday night’s quarterfinal date in the Pac-12 tournament against either Utah or Arizona State having averaged 20.1 points over the past four games.

Overall, da Silva has averaged career highs in scoring (16.2), rebounding (5.4), assists (2.4) and free throw percentage (.840).

Williams played in only 11 conference games due to various injuries, but when he was on the floor he often was a force, scoring a season-high 23 points in a home win against Oregon

Portland 67, No. 14 Gonzaga 66. No. 21 UNLV 62, Colorado St. 52

MEN’S TOP 25 SCORES

No. 21 Saint Mary’s 69, No. 17 Gonzaga 60

on Jan. 18. Williams once again appeared to have rounded back into form during CU’S mid-february split in Los Angeles, going 13-for-15 in the two games.

Williams, though, turned an ankle in the following game, a home win against Utah, and although he returned to that game he has missed the past four.