As the ultimate seconds ticked away in a season-ending loss towards Marquette within the second spherical of the NCAA Match, Colorado guard KJ Simpson leaned dejectedly towards the scorer’s desk whereas lifting his gaze to the rafters.
It was straightforward to imagine Simpson was overcome by the second, because the stirring late-season run by the CU males’s basketball workforce got here to a sudden finish. But perhaps Simpson was savoring his remaining moments in a Buffaloes jersey, as nicely.
After some of the spectacular particular person seasons in program historical past, Simpson is able to roll the cube on the subsequent degree. On Friday, the junior guard introduced through social media that he’ll forgo his senior season at CU to enter the NBA draft. The lack of Simpson isn’t utterly surprising, because the first-team All-Pac-12 choice developed from a draft afterthought at first of the season to a participant with an excellent probability of being chosen within the second spherical of the June draft.
Simpson averaged 19.7 factors for a Buffs workforce that completed with a team-record 26 wins whereas reaching the second spherical of the NCAA Match. Simpson’s scoring common was the second-highest by a Buffs participant in 14 seasons underneath head coach Tad Boyle, trailing solely the 20.5 factors per recreation put up by Alec Burks in Boyle’s first season of 2010-11.
Simpson’s 2023-24 marketing campaign received’t quickly be forgotten within the workforce file ebook. His free throw proportion of .876 set a workforce file, topping Cory Higgins’ mark of .866 from 2010-11. Simpson’s 3-point proportion of .434 ranks fourth all-time, and he additionally performed a team-record 1,298 minutes.
Simpson’s 728 complete factors this season ranks third in workforce historical past and was only one level behind Cliff Meely’s 1970-71 complete of 729 factors. Likewise, Simpson’s 181 assists additionally ranked third amongst CU’s season leaders, trailing by just one McKinley Wright’s 2020-21 complete of 182 assists.
Simpson finishes his profession ranked fifteenth on the all-time scoring checklist with 1,424 factors and ninth in profession assists with 378. Simpson’s 133 made 3-pointers are also tied with Wright for eleventh all-time.
Amongst Simpson’s final-season highlights had been a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double in a house win towards Washington on Dec. 29, adopted by a career-high 34 factors in a win towards Washington State two days later. But Simpson saved what doubtless can be his most unforgettable second for the NCAA Match.
After posting his fourth profession double-double with 19 factors and 11 rebounds in CU’s NCAA Match First 4 win towards Boise State, Simpson went 7-for-12 from the sector and 8-for-9 on the free throw line earlier than ending with 23 factors, 5 rebounds and 5 assists within the Buffs’ wild 102-100 win towards Florida within the first spherical. Simpson supplied the go-ahead factors on a baseline jumper that rattled across the rim dramatically earlier than dropping by way of with simply 1.7 seconds to play.
With Simpson’s departure, Boyle and his workers have three open scholarships to work with this spring, a quantity that would enhance pending the NBA draft choice of freshman Cody Williams.