With KJ Simpson, Tristan da Silva, Cody Williams and other top players advancing in their careers, Colorado men’s basketball could be heading into a rough welcome season in the Big 12.
Coach Tad Boyle has added some intriguing transfers, including Andrej Jakimovski (Washington State) and Trevor Baskin (Division II Colorado Mesa), but overall, the Buffs enter 2024-25 with some uncertainty.
Can Julian Hammond III be an effective full-time starting point guard? How quickly can freshmen Andrew Crawford and Felix Kossaras adjust to the college game? Are Bangot Dak and Assane Diop ready for bigger roles?
Sports college basketball writer Isaac Trotter, at least, doesn’t have a very rosy outlook on what’s next for Colorado. Earlier this week, Trotter placed the Buffaloes in last place in his Too Early Ranking of Big 12 Men’s Basketball Power.
Here’s some of what Trotter wrote about the Buffs:
There aren’t many proven key players in this rotation right now. Now, if KJ Simpson opts out of the NBA Draft and returns to CU, that’s a different story. He would be a Big 12 Player of the Year candidate. But as of now, Boyle is banking on identifying talent from both international prep prospects and outside the Division I transfer ranks.
The advantage is tempting. The downside is scary.
Kansas ranked first and Houston ranked second in Trotter’s rankings.
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