Tristan da Silva returning to Colorado for senior season
Colorado’s best men’s basketball player from last season is coming back.
Junior forward Tristan da Silva is withdrawing from the NBA Draft and will return to the Buffs for the 2023-24 season, the university announced on Wednesday.
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The 6-foot-9 da Silva led Colorado in scoring last season, averaging 15.9 points per game, and earned first-team all-Pac-12 honors.
The move doesn’t come as a total surprise.
For all of his production last season, da Silva’s name wasn’t appearing on NBA mock drafts nor was he among the players invited to the draft combine in Chicago.
da Silva himself even left the door not only ajar but wide open when discussing his future following the Buffs’ season-ending loss to Utah Valley in the NIT.
“That doesn’t tie me to anything,” da Silva said at the time. “That’s kind of a process for the summer and I haven’t made a final decision yet. You guys are going to be the first ones to know.”
Still, he got what he wanted out of the process.
"The experience has been really good, but I still feel like I can be in a way better spot next year than I am now," da Silva told ESPN. "I would rather go back for another year to improve my stock and get higher onto NBA boards and work myself up to being a first-round draft pick instead of settling this year."
The impact of his decision to come back to Boulder could be quite consequential for coach Tad Boyle and his squad. With da Silva back in the fold, the Buffs return their top seven scorers, including guard KJ Simpson, who also averaged 15.9 points per game last season. That only tells so much of the story, though. Colorado will also be bringing in a top-25 recruiting class, highlighted by five-star forward Cody Williams and four-star big man Assane Diop, along with TCU transfer Eddie Lampkin Jr.
Boyle still has a scholarship at his disposal, but even if that remains open – or is given to a walk-on – the Buffs could begin next season as a top-25 team, one with legitimate aspirations to make the program’s first Sweet 16 since 1969.
“We have a really good team, potentially the best in CU history,” da Silva told ESPN. “I'm confident we can do what we want to do, but we need to put in the work one day at a time. We can't think that far ahead. It's about the right now."