How Tristan da Silva became Tad Boyle and Colorado's next hidden gem

Tad Boyle has had his fair share of projects during his tenure at CU. From Andre Roberson to Spencer Dinwiddie to McKinley Wright IV to Jabari Walker, multiple three-star athletes have walked into Boulder as low-profile prospects, and walked out as NBA-level players; the next one in line is Tristan da Silva.

When Jabari Walker and Evan Battey left the program last offseason, it was all but implied that the forward from Germany would have to make a large jump in his third year. 

Da Silva has certainly exceeded expectations this season, bolstering his scoring average up to 15.9 points per game – nearly seven more points per game than last year. On top of that, he is also shooting 51% from the field – good for fourth in the entire conference.

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“I’m a player that lets the game come to him so I’m not really trying to force anything,” said da Silva. “I just try to make the right decision on offense and scoring or passing or attacking in various ways.” 

Making the right decision has been a trend throughout da Silva’s junior season. He has received ample praise from his head coach for his increased confidence on the court this year.

“He’s playing with unbelievable confidence and unbelievable poise,” said Boyle. “He’s got a great pace about him. He doesn’t get sped up. He’s unselfish. He knows he needs to score for our team, but he doesn’t force it. He doesn’t take bad shots, he’s finished, and he can play inside and play outside.”

When your head coach is able to rattle off six great things about your style of play in a matter of thirty seconds, you’re doing something right. But this year’s success isn’t attributed solely to the natural talent of a player like da Silva, it’s the hard work that both he and the entire coaching staff have put in to get him there.  

“In the Summer, I worked a lot on my game, shooting, dribbling, and getting some more moves in my bag,” da Silva said. “Most of that time was spent with the assistant coaching staff. Every time I went to get a workout in, they were right there.”

The hard work the German forward put in during the offseason has put his name on the map for Pac-12 all-conference teams; something many Pac-12 fans might not have thought he would reach a few years ago.

When da Silva signed with Colorado on April 15, 2020, the world had been shut down for a month, with no true light at the end of the tunnel. The German was unranked out of high school and signed to CU without having ever taken a visit to Boulder.

“The connection really came up with my brother playing in the Pac-12,” said da Silva. “[Colorado] watched some tape and talked to the coaches at Stanford about me before they recruited me.”

Da Silva’s freshmen year was played in front of cardboard cutouts, and last year he was simply a roleplayer on the Walker/Battey-led Buffs’ squad. The growth that Buff Nation has been able to see in da Silva’s game over the course of this third season has positioned himself as the next hidden gem that Tad Boyle discovered and polished. 

But don’t just take my word for it; take it from ESPN’s NBA Draft expert, Jonathan Givony, who has da Silva slated as a late second-round draft pick in his latest 2024 NBA Draft mock. While this draft is still nearly a year and a half out, I think da Silva will continue to move up draft boards as his name continues to become more and more commonplace amongst the college hoops community.   

With KJ Simpson sidelined with mono, it is the perfect opportunity for da Silva to take over and make an even bigger name for himself in the spotlight of the Pac-12 tourney in Vegas.

The Buffs take on Washington in the first round of the tournament Wednesday. Coverage starts at 1 pm on the Pac-12 Network.