NCAA Basketball: Top 10 players to wear jersey No. 2 in 2023-24 season
By Joey Loose
3. KJ Simpson (Colorado)
After taking a massive leap forward as a sophomore, even bigger things were expected of Simpson in his third season at Colorado. Suffice to say the junior lived up to those expectations in what became quite the final season in the Pac-12 for the Buffaloes. Every part of his game took another step forward as he evolved into even more of a leader and offensive weapon for this program.
Building on last year, Simpson accumulated 19.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game for some pretty fantastic figures as a junior. He was the league’s top scorer and rightfully earned First Team All-Pac-12 honors. Simpson was also near the top of the conference in assists and steals, truly filling stats sheets for the Buffaloes.
He was a major part of a 26-win season that included some heroics in the Big Dance. Long before that he established himself with 30-point outings against future Tourney teams in Colorado State and Washington State. After keeping the Buffaloes in solid shape, he’d have a double-double in the First Four before scoring 23, including the game-winner, against Florida in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.