Colorado
Colorado men’s basketball transfer portal tracker ahead of 2024-25 season
Colorado basketball and coach Tad Boyle have had to re-tool the Buffs roster after one of the most successful seasons in program history.
Each of Colorado’s top six rotation players from the 2023-24 campaign have transferred or entered the NBA draft. Boyle’s Buffs won a program-record 26 games last season (and back-to-back NCAA Tournament wins for the first time since 1955) and a pair of transfers were crucial to that.
As Colorado transitions into the Big 12, the portal will have to be utilized once again with so much production on its way out of Boulder.
With that in mind, here’s a look at the players leaving the Colorado men’s basketball program and those who will join via transfer.
This list will be updated through the offseason as players leave and join the Buffaloes.
Colorado players entering transfer portal or NBA draft
EDDIE LAMPKIN JR.
Position: Center
Notable: The 6-foot-11, 265-pound big man was an emotional leader for Colorado in his first season with the Buffaloes. Lampkin Jr. played in all 37 games, averaging 10.6 points and seven rebounds per game. The former TCU center is headed to Syracuse to play for the Orange.
J’VONNE HADLEY
Position: Forward
Notable: The 6-foot-6, 205-pound senior improved mightily in his second season at Colorado, setting career highs in points (11.6), rebounds (six), assists (2.4), field goal percentage (53.8%) and 3-point percentage (41.7%). Hadley, a former junior college standout, will also spend the 2024-25 campaign in the ACC after committing to Louisville.
LUKE O’BRIEN
Position: Forward
Notable: The 6-foot-8, 220-pound senior spent the last four years at Colorado and set career highs in both points (6.7) and field goal percentage (45.6%) last season. O’Brien, a Littleton native, will finish his college basketball career at Georgia Tech.
TRISTAN DA SILVA
Position: Forward
Notable: The 6-foot-9, 220-pound senior spent the entirety of his college career at Colorado and was a three-year starter. da Silva, who averaged 16 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last season, is headed to the NBA draft as a projected first-round pick.
KJ SIMPSON
Position: Guard
Notable: The 6-foot-2, 190-pound junior was a first-team All-Pac selection last season as he led Colorado in points (19.7 per game), assists (4.9), steals (1.6) and 3-point percentage (43.4%). Simpson declared for the 2024 NBA draft earlier this month and is projected to be a fringe first-round pick.
CODY WILLIAMS
Position: Forward
Notable: The 6-foot-8, 190-pound freshman flashed enough of his high upside as a true freshman to be a potential lottery pick. Williams missed 13 games last season with various injuries (wrist, face, ankle) but still managed to average 11.9 points on 55.2% shooting from the field on 41.5% shooting from deep. The former McDonald’s All-American should hear his name called early on during the 2024 NBA draft.
Players transferring to Colorado
TREVOR BASKIN
Position: Forward
Notable: The 6-foot-9, 200-pound forward was Colorado’s first addition from the transfer portal this offseason. Baskin averaged 18.5 points (39% from deep), 8.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game last season for Division II Colorado Mesa. After choosing the Buffs over Colorado State, Baskin projects to be a starter for Boyle in 2024.
“The first thing you look at when you see (Trevor) play is his diverse skill set,” Boyle said Monday in a news release. “For a guy that’s 6-foot-9 with a long wingspan, he can really shoot the ball, put it on the floor and he can pass and rebound. He can do a little bit of everything.
“When you lose a Tristan da Silva, who’s 6-foot-9, with a great diverse skill set, and you’re able to pick up a guy like Trevor, it makes you feel better about Tristan’s loss. Trevor’s going to be able to impact the game in a lot of different ways, and the thing I like about him is he can play multiple positions offensively and guard multiple positions defensively. Anyone who has followed Colorado basketball knows it’s something that we value.”
ANDREJ JAKIMOVSKI
Position: Forward
Notable: The 6-foot-8, 220-pound senior from Macedonia started all 35 games he played in last season for Washington State (33.7 minutes per game) and averaged 9.7 points to go along with 5.6 rebounds. Jakimovski dropped a team-high 19 points on the Buffs in Boulder on Dec. 31, has 80 career starts under his belt and should slot right into Colorado’s starting lineup for 2024-25 alongside Baskin.
More: Colorado basketball picks up Washington State transfer Andrej Jakimovski from portal
“I think our five-out system is really going to help Andrej expand his game offensively and show some other things he’s capable of doing, that he didn’t have a chance to at Washington State based on their personnel (primarily playing with two bigs),” Boyle said Monday in a news release. “They had a heck of a team, finished second in the league, one spot ahead of the Buffaloes. I’ve got great respect for Andrej, and what he’s done in his career at Washington State and I think he can build on that as he comes to Colorado for a year.
“We lost the majority of our 3-point shooting this year, and so to be able to sign a guy that is a proven 3-point shooter at the highest level of college basketball is something we needed to replace. The thing I love about Andrej is his toughness and his ability to rebound both offensively and defensively.”
ELIJAH MALONE
Position: Center
Notable: The 6-foot-10 big man was the NAIA Player of the Year last season as he averaged 17.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks last season at Grace College. Malone was one of the hottest names in the transfer portal, choosing Colorado over Boise State, Indiana, Notre Dame and others. The 2024 Bevo Francis Award winner, given to the best player among all of small college basketball (NCAA Div. II, Div. III, NAIA, junior colleges), gives the Buffs a formidable paint presence.
“Elijah could have left Grace College after his sophomore or junior years and very easily gone to the Division I level,” Boyle said Monday in a news release. “But the fact that he showed loyalty to his teammates and coaching staff that he signed with coming out of high school, that tells you everything you need to know about his character and kind of person he is. His value system and our value system are aligned very well.
“He wants to be able to prove himself at the highest level of college basketball and playing in the Big 12 is going to allow him the opportunity to do that. The way we play our style and the way he played at Grace College are very similar. So I feel really good about him in terms of what we lost and what we need for next year’s team. He fits the bill perfectly.”
Follow Colorado Buffaloes sports reporter Scott Procter on X.
Colorado
Vacation booking blunders are costing Colorado travelers. Here’s what you should be looking out for.
DENVER — Summer vacation season is here, and Denver7 Investigates is hearing from more Coloradans frustrated by costly surprises and misleading bookings when planning their getaways.
▶️ WATCH: Denver7 Investigates’ Jaclyn Allen has tips to avoid costly travel booking mistakes
Vacation booking blunders are costing Colorado travelers. Here’s what to look out for.
Eagle County resident Mourghan Ridenour was planning a hockey trip to Denver for her family last month.
“I have two boys that play hockey and we travel and book hotels all the time,” she said.
She thought she had booked a room directly through Marriott. But when they arrived, there was no reservation.
Ridenour had unknowingly booked through a third‑party site with hundreds of negative reviews on the Better Business Bureau.
“I kept calling and calling, getting different people. What they kept saying is, ‘Oh, our system is needing to upload. Oh, it hasn’t been updated,’” she said. “It was a lot of excuses, but the money was never brought back.”
She eventually got her $288 back after disputing the debit card charge through her bank.
“All my friends and family, we’re all so busy trying to do five things at once, so you’re not noticing this, which from now on I’m going to,” she said.
The BBB says it has seen nearly 300 complaints and 550 negative reviews involving vacation‑related bookings from Colorado in the past year.
Cameron Nakashima with the BBB said fake booking websites and impostor listings are common.
“They give you a fake booking number, and then it’s not until later that you realize you’ve been out all this money and you don’t actually have a flight booked,” Nakashima said.
He says fraudsters even make fake property listings on platforms like VRBO and Airbnb.
“They’ll go on to places like VRBO and these other trusted sites, and they’ll create fake listings, and those platforms are working hard to weed those out, but it does get through every once in a while,” Nakashima said.
The BBB recommends:
- Verify the website URL matches the official company site. Watch for misspellings.
- Check that phone numbers come directly from the hotel, airline or rental company.
- Do a reverse image search of property photos.
- Use Google Maps street view to see if the exterior matches the listing.
- Book directly through official company apps or sites.
- Use a credit card for more protection in case of a dispute.
Denver7 has also reported on rental car issues, including a Commerce City rental car location where customers said charges increased dramatically from add‑ons and unexpected fees.
While Routes said they were making changes, other rental car companies have similar complaints.
“You realize what seems to be the least expensive option at first, actually, there’s all these little fees, like the administrative fee, the gas refill fee, the inspection fees, all these little things that weren’t clear up front, and now you’re paying in a lot of cases like hundreds of dollars more by the end of your trip than what you had budgeted,” Nakashima said.
Bottom line: Research before you book, check reviews and BBB ratings, and read the fine print.
Sometimes, the cheapest option really is too good to be true.
If you believe you’ve been misled in a booking, you can file a complaint at bbb.org and report fraud to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. Or reach out to the Colorado Attorney General.
Denver7
Got a tip? Send it to the Denver7 Investigates team
Use the form below to send us a comment or story idea you’d like the Denver7 Investigates team to check out. You can also email investigates@Denver7.com or call our newsroom at 303-832-0200.
Hideaway Creek Cabin, which is in a private, members-only ski community in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, is set to be auctioned next month.
Listed for $25.7 million, the home is the only completed private residence within Cimarron Mountain Club, a 1,900-acre ski-focused community limited to 13 families.
The 35.23-acre property is being offered through global real estate auction house Concierge Auctions in cooperation with Compass Real Estate Broker Steven Shane.
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Listed for $25.7 million, the fully furnished Hideaway Creek Cabin offers a rare opportunity to own within a private 1,900-acre ski community limited to just 13 ownership families. (Photo courtesy of Tin House Creative)
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Listed for $25.7 million, the fully furnished Hideaway Creek Cabin offers a rare opportunity to own within a private 1,900-acre ski community limited to just 13 ownership families. (Photo courtesy of Tin House Creative)
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“Extraordinary properties deserve extraordinary exposure, and opportunities as rare as this simply do not come to market often,” said Chad Roffers, CEO and co-founder of Concierge Auctions.
Offered fully furnished, the over 4,000-square-foot home features four bedrooms and five full bathrooms. The interior includes a full appliance package with a refrigerator, freezer, oven, range, microwave, dishwasher, washer and dryer. Window coverings and ceiling fans are installed throughout the home, according to the listing.
Completed in 2025, the home also features radiant heat throughout, two wood-burning fireplaces and a solar energy system.
“You’re not simply purchasing a home –– you’re gaining access to an entire private mountain lifestyle that very few people will ever experience,” Shane said.
Unlike most traditional ski properties, ownership includes membership to Cimarron Mountain Club, a private alpine enclave more than twice the size of Aspen Mountain.
Accessible only by snowcat, the mountain offers untouched powder, no lift lines and highly personalized experiences led by 14 expert guides. Members have access to three snowcats, a newly completed 15,000-square-foot private lodge, Michelin-caliber dining and professional concierge services.
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Nestled on more than 35 acres in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, Hideaway Creek Cabin combines luxury mountain living with immediate membership access to one of North America’s most exclusive alpine clubs: Cimarron Mountain Club. (Photo courtesy of Tin House Creative)
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Nestled on more than 35 acres in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, Hideaway Creek Cabin combines luxury mountain living with immediate membership access to one of North America’s most exclusive alpine clubs: Cimarron Mountain Club. (Photo courtesy of Tin House Creative)
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Approximately 30 minutes from Montrose Regional Airport, at 4901 Cimarron Mountain Rd. in Cimarron, the area also provides trout fishing, hiking, boating, climbing, wildlife viewing and backcountry exploration beyond winter recreation.
Curecanti National Recreation Area, Blue Mesa Reservoir and the historic mountain towns of Ouray and Telluride are nearby.
Bidding for Hideaway Creek Cabin is scheduled to open on July 14 via the firm’s online marketplace, conciergeauctions.com. The auction will close live on July 28 at Sotheby’s New York as part of the New York Global Sales lineup.
As part of Concierge Auctions’ Key For Key giving program in partnership with Giveback Homes, the closing will result in funding toward new homes built for families in need.
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Colorado
Colorado firefighters in grade mountain homes on wildfire survivability during training exercise
As wildfire concerns grow across Colorado’s mountains, firefighters in Summit County spent part of the week walking through a neighborhood and evaluating which homes they would be able to defend if a wildfire raced toward them.
Crews from Summit Fire & EMS and Red, White & Blue Fire Protection District worked together on a training exercise in Silverthorne, practicing everything from calling in additional resources to assessing homes for wildfire risk. The exercise centered around a reality firefighters face during major wildfires: they cannot save every structure.
“All of these homes potentially could be threatened,” said Steve Lipsher, community resource officer with Summit Fire & EMS. “So we want to spend our resources and our time and our energy in a place where we can actually make a difference.”
As firefighters moved from property to property, they completed what is known as structure triage, evaluating how defensible each home would be during a wildfire. The assessments look at factors such as defensible space, vegetation near structures, access to water, and other hazards that could make a home more difficult to protect.
“This is what we found at this home, this is how defensible it is from a fire, this is how we may be able to improve it,” Lipsher said. “Or in the worst-case scenario, this is a home that would take far too much effort and we cannot improve it in time.”
Some issues are simple to fix. During one assessment, Lipsher pointed out vegetation concerns near a home and noted that “this would be a real easy fix to dramatically improve the likelihood” of the home surviving a wildfire.
The training comes as Summit County enters the summer fire season under unusually dry conditions.
“Our soil moisture is nothing right now,” Lipsher said. “You can feel it.”
For homeowners Harold and Sherry Pearce, the wildfire threat was one of the realities they understood when purchasing a mountain home.
“The insurance rates reflect what we’ve realized is a threat commonly,” Harold Pearce said.
One challenge firefighters frequently encounter is convincing homeowners to make mitigation improvements that may change the look of their property.
“Sometimes it’s a case, ‘I bought a mountain home that I want to be a mountain home. I want it to be in the woods,’” Lipsher said. “Nobody moved to Colorado to live on a scalped lot — but there are definitely some things that we can do to make a home more likely to survive a wildfire.”
That challenge can be even greater with second homes, where owners may not be present year-round to monitor conditions or complete mitigation work.
Officials said the goal of exercises like this is not only to train firefighters, but also to help homeowners understand how small changes can dramatically improve a home’s chances during a wildfire. Summit County recently moved into a high fire danger classification, a reminder that despite recent rain, much of the moisture gained this spring has already dried out.
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