Within the core college memories, there’s often that one person who was there to experience those moments. For Tristan da Silva, Luke O’Brien was that person.

From beating then-No. 2 Arizona on senior night in 2022, to knocking off then-No.11 Tennessee, fighting their way to the NCAA tournament in a tumultuous COVID season, O’Brien and da Silva began their journeys with Colorado basketball in 2019 and would go on to make these memories and many more by each other's sides.

There’s still more memories to create as the Buffs once again battle their way into the NCAA Tournament seeking Colorado’s sixth tournament appearance in the tenure of head coach Tad Boyle. However, before O’Brien and da Silva play through the madness of March, they both were confronted with the somber and celebratory realization that their contributions at the CU Events Center have come to a close.

“It was surreal,” O’Brien said on senior night. “I didn’t think it would ever come to this. It just went too fast for us, but we enjoyed it. Tristan is my best friend. We’ve been through many ups and downs, so it’s tough to sink in that this was our last year.”

Inside the CU Events Center a kid from Littleton, Colorado became bonded with his teammate from over 5,000 miles away in Munich, Germany. Season after season, every practice, every game they grew and developed together and became key players in the Buffs’ rotation in their later years.