McKinley Wright IV never averaged 19 points per game as a Buff. Donnie Boyce never made 49 treys in a season. Jay Humphries never snatched 5.6 rebounds a tilt.

In a state brimming with great college point guards — you’ve got McKenna Hofschild and Isaiah Stevens for the CSU women and men, respectively; Tommy Brunner for the DU men; Jaylyn Sherrod with the CU women — Buffs junior KJ Simpson has still somehow managed to stand out among the elite.

So as we bid farewell to college hoops’ “dog days” of February, the Grading The Week team would like to offer an overdue tip of the cap to Simpson, the CU junior who’s made sure Tad Boyle’s Buffs are never boring while helping to keep an NCAA tourney bubble team afloat.

And you know what? It’s downright scary to think of where CU might be without him.

KJ Simpson’s quiet excellence — A

Especially this week. Late last Saturday night in Los Angeles against a flailing USC squad, Simpson had just six points at halftime, while CU trailed 39-33. Suffer a sweep in Southern California, and that hoof Ralphie’s hanging by from the Bracketville fence might have given way.

But once Simpson turned it on, CU poured it on, rallying to force overtime while their star point man netted 24 points in the second half and in the extra stanza to lift the Buffs to just their second “true” road win of the season and fifth “Quad 2” victory of the campaign. (In the NCAA’s Net Rankings, a major component in determining March Madness at-large bids, results are broken up into “quads” — in simplest terms, the more Q1 and Q2 victories you have, the better.)

Simpson’s 30-point night was his fifth this season in which he’s put up 25 or more in a game. More to the point, it’s his third this month. The Buffs (17-9, 8-7 Pac-12) open a three-game, get-fat homestand, their last of the season, on Saturday against Utah (16-10, 7-8), followed by visits from Cal (12-15) and Stanford (12-14).

On paper, it looks like a crazy-good chance to forge a four-game winning streak heading into March. Unlike with football, the final ride with men’s hoops for the Pac-12 as we know it has been a massive anti-climax, Washington State notwithstanding.

Although Simpson’s 34-point effort against the surging Cougars back on New Year’s Eve is starting to look better all the time. And so is CU’s 74-67 win over Wazzu, now that you mention it.

Fans of EA Sports’ “NCAA Football” franchise — A-

Travis Hunter is in the game. And if Hunter isn’t on the cover, the GTW staff will bet you a taco at Torchy’s that Shedeur Sanders or Deion Sanders will be. And if the return after 11 years of Electronic Arts’ addictive and seminal college football series wasn’t enough to get gamers in the Front Range jacked, fast forward to Thursday, when CU’s own Chris Fowler went on the socials to reveal that he’ll be among the play-by-play voices for NCAA Football 25, along with ESPN partner Kirk Herbstreit.

You’ve got a game with 134 FBS programs (sorry, UNC), conference realignment, NIL deals, a 12-team playoff field and the transfer portal. It’s in the game, right? Although if digital Lil Wayne doesn’t run out next to an AI Ralphie when gamers play as the Buffs at Folsom Field, consider us mildly crushed.