Colorado’s Tad Boyle on KJ Simpson: “He gets no national love at all, which really pisses me off”

Buffaloes coach goes on the stump for his star guard with a few games remaining

Tad Boyle is tired of his team being downplayed. The Colorado Buffaloes coach saved his strongest words for the end of his press conference after the win over Utah on Saturday. He called out some in the national media for not giving KJ Simpson enough recognition.

“I can’t say enough about KJ Simpson,” Boyle said. “He’s playing like an All-American. Bottom line. He gets no national love at all, which really pisses me off. But whatever.”

Simpson has been added to Player of the Year watch lists throughout the season, but still isn’t in the conversation of being one of he nation’s best point guards. The Buffs leader is averaging nearly 20 points per game with 5.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.7 steals. Not to mention, shooting 49 percent from the floor and 46 percent from 3-point range.

Yet, Simpson has received little recognition regarding where he stands in the national landscape. He deserves similar praise to Maryland’s Jahmir Young, Denver’s Tommy Bruner, Alabama’s Mark Sears, and UNC’s RJ Davis. The numbers don’t lie with their respective stats charting on similar paths. But why is there no love for Simpson? He deserves being in the conversation considering the work he’s put in.

At present, according to ESPN’s Bracketology predictions, the Buffaloes are currently on “Bubble Watch.” So, it would be understandable if Colorado wasn’t on the tip of everyone’s tongue pertaining to projecting Tournament bids. However, this CU team wouldn’t be nearly as good without Simpson.

Tad Boyle is no stranger to talking up his guys, as he should. In at least half of the press conferences this season, he has gone out of his way to talk about how important the contributions of J’Vonne Hadley and Luke O’Brien are to them winning games, even if they aren’t box score fillers every game. He has also mentioned throughout the season how integral Tristan da Silva is to their success and vocal about Cody Williams’ progression and the true talents of the former McDonald's All-American.

Throughout these mentions, it has been abundantly clear that Simpson, without overtly saying it, might be the most important player to this team’s success. Yet, no one is talking about it. Boyle is not wrong in his frustration. Colorado doesn’t have a deep NCAA tournament history and isn’t one of the nation’s favorites yet. 

However, Simpson ranks very favorably against the crop of names the national media puts out there as the best guards in the country. The eye test of watching him play this season should also strongly suggest he deserves a spotlight.