Men's basketball notes: Three CU Buffs hoping to be picked in next month's NBA draft
May 17—There remains more than a month until the NBA draft. Yet it is shaping up to be a historic one for theColorado men's basketball program.
Three Buffaloes are competing at the NBA draft combine this week in Chicago, and all three are likely to hear their names called when the two-day draft begins on June 26. Cody Williams, Tristan da Silva and KJ Simpson all have been showcasing their skills for NBA personnel.
Williams, who averaged 11.9 points as a freshman for CU in a season limited to 24 games due to various injuries, remains a likely top-12 pick in most mock drafts, while da Silva has played his way into the middle of the first round in several mock drafts.
Coming off one of the most impressive individual seasons in program history, Simpson also is a fixture in the second round of most mock drafts, with his dynamic scoring and creativity balanced by a 6-foot-2 stature that some front office personnel surely will see as a liability.
Assuming all three players get picked, it will be the first time the Buffs have had multiple players selected in the modern format of the draft. The only other times CU had multiple players selected were a pair in 1955 (Tom Harrold and Charlie Mack), another pair in 1968 (Pat Frink and Chuck Williams) and three in 1981. However, none of the three selected in 1981 — Joe Cooper (96th overall), JoJo Hunter (146th) or Brian Johnson (212th) — would have made the cut in today's two-round, 60-player draft format.
Seven CU players have been selected in the draft over head coach Tad Boyle's 14 seasons — Alec Burks (12th overall in 2011), Andre Roberson (26th in 2013), Derrick White (29th in 2017), Tyler Bey (36th in 2020), Spencer Dinwiddie (38th in 2014), Jabari Walker (57th in 2022) and George King (59th in 2018).
White hot
White has taken his game up a few notches for Boston during the NBA playoffs.
Through two series victories and nine games, the former CU guard has averaged 18.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists heading into the Eastern Conference finals. White has shot .496 overall during the postseason with a .434 mark on 3-pointers.
Burks, now in his 13th season in the league, didn't play in the opening round of the playoffs for the New York Knicks but enjoyed a few huge performances in the second round, going 15-for-28 overall and 9-for-18 on 3-pointers while averaging 14.0 points between Game 3 and Game 5.
Notable
CU assistant/director of player development Zach Ruebesam once again will coach the Team Colorado alumni team this summer for the $1 million winner-take-all The Basketball Tournament. ... Former CU wing Quincy Allen, who spent this past season at James Madison, has transferred again and recently committed to Chicago State. Allen played just 57 minutes in eight appearances.
