Believe it or not, sometimes basketball recruiting can make a whole lot of sense.
Early this morning, Cristo Rey Jesuit (Minneapolis, Minnesota) 2017 forward Jericho Sims committed to Texas fresh off an official visit this past weekend, he confirmed via text message.
"As a program, it related to me the most," Sims stated this morning about why he chose Texas.
If you’ve been following along, the commitment isn’t a surprise.
DISCUSS SIMS' COMMITMENT TO TEXAS INSIDE THE 40 ACRES
During the early spring, Texas put eyes on Sims, and during the first July evaluation period, watched him extremely closely. Before a vast majority of the programs, like Kansas, Connecticut, Ohio State, Florida, Oregon and others, entered the race, the Longhorns made the extremely bouncy, 6-8 (6-9 is more accurate) Sims a top priority. It made sense. Sims has loads of potential and length, runs the floor like a guard, is surprisingly skilled, and can defend multiple positions. He checked pretty much all the boxes Shaka Smart looks for.
In late July during the Adidas Summer Championships, Sims, rated as the No. 146 prospect overall in the Rivals150 but a candidate to receive a bump in the next rankings, stated the only visit he knew he was taking was to Texas. That’s when chatter behind the scenes started to indicate that the Longhorns could be in the driver’s seat.
Fast forward to this past weekend, and Sims tripped to Austin for an official visit, and enjoyed it.
“I thought it was really good, good time in Austin,” he told Orangebloods.com Monday night. “The coaches were basically with me a lot of the time, they cared me about me coming down there and wanted me to come down. They really like me as a person. I’m their main guy. Just had a good time with coach (Shaka) Smart, coach (Darrin) Horn, met the whole staff. They want me down there.”
More importantly, he left the Texas visit, returned home, and didn’t have any intentions to schedule any other visits. His only intention was to decide, and quickly.
“I haven’t any scheduled any more visits, but I’m closing in soon on my decision soon,” he said Monday night.
That's because his mind was already pretty much made up prior to his flight to Austin.
"A little bit before the visit," responded Sims today about when he decided it was going to be Texas.
“Soon” turned into the morning after we caught up with Sims, a quiet young man but one that couldn’t hide his affinity for Texas after the visit. Specifically, Smart and one of the nation’s fastest rising big men developed a very strong connection, which played a gigantic role.
“Head coach and recruit relationship is really important to me,” said Sims. “Me and the head coach… that’s what really matters. It's a relationship that that was on a different level than any other person. That's what matters most in the decision. I really like coach Horn too.”
Sims added that Smart relayed to him that he's never recruited any player like Sims before, and that the two talked frequently throughout the process.
"They called me. They were fired up," said Sims about Texas' reaction to his commitment once he told them late last night.
During his visit to Texas, he returned to Minnesota thinking most about the conversations he had with everyone involved in the program. Specifically, one aspect of those conversations stood out.
"The realness of the conversations," responded Sims about what stood out the most during his visit and played a role in his commitment. "There wasn't anything negative or anything like that, and I respected that. I spent some time with the players and really got to know them. I built up a good relationship with them to the point that they really wanted me to go to Texas. I went out with the players, and they treated me like part of the program. I felt like I was important, and really wanted around the program."
Sims becomes Texas’ second commitment for the 2017 class joining Davis (Aldine) combo-forward Royce Hamm.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TEXAS HOOPS RECRUITING - THE ORANGEBLOODS 2017 HOOPS BOARD
WHAT KIND OF PLAYER IS SIMS AND HOW DOES HE FIT?
The Longhorns clearly think very highly of Sims, and actually believe, according to him, he’s good enough to get on a college floor now.
“They actually think I could play right now for their team – combo four type,” said Sims, back in late July, about Texas’ opinion of him, and how he’d it in Austin. “I know they have a lot of athletes on their team, so they get up the floor really quick.”
Sims also stated that the Longhorns noticed the skill he possesses - on a loaded D1 Minnesota AAU team, touches were often hard to come by for Sims, who only was able to show his underrated skill in flashes - and that he could be used in a number of ways, including around the perimeter.
After seeing him up close for three games during the Adidas Summer Championships, this was our evaluation:
Often, the phrase “just scratching the surface” is used to describe talented prospects with a lot of growth potential as a player. But you won’t find many prospects that fit that description better than Sims.
As mentioned above, Sims’ D1 Minnesota AAU team was loaded, which sometimes led to fluctuating minutes and Sims was surrounded by a lot of higher usage players on offense. In eight April Adidas games, Sims never attempted more than seven shots in a contest (52.8 percent from the floor), and only played 20 minutes or more once. However, he still grabbed 5.3 rebounds per game, and in the first game of the Adidas Summer Championships, he exploded for 14 points (7-of-8 shooting) and 12 rebounds in just 24 minutes.
What stands out the most about Sims is that at 6-8, and maybe 6-9, and around 200 pounds, the 2017 prospect runs the floor like a guard. He glides up-and-down the floor extremely easily and there can’t be many forwards in the country that can move north-south or laterally at that height and length like Sims. His lateral quickness and length allow him to defend pick-and-roll and smaller players around the perimeter, and also makes him a threat, along with a surprising handle, to get by bigger defenders.
When Sims elevates for a rebound and brings it down, he’s skilled enough to be the one that brings it up the floor if needed, and he showed the ability to facilitate offense in the half-court as a passer. He gets off the floor extremely quickly, which allows him to rebound and block shots, although he doesn’t challenge shots around the paint as often as he should. With his back to the basket, Sims is a threat to use either hand and has a knowledge of how to get buckets in that position that far exceeds most of his classmates.
Take these three separate plays as examples of unique ability: Sims put the ball between his legs a few times at the perimeter, and pulled up to take a jumper just outside the elbow during one game; in another contest, he caught the ball from the short corner, put it on the floor once blowing by a defender, and dunked on another; and in that same game, Sims, a lefty, attacked off the bounce with his right hand and actually put up a righthanded runner from near the free throw line.
Again, because of how deep and loaded his team was and the nature of other players dominating the shots, the overall performances often weren’t loud, but the flashes can’t be missed and suggest there is elite potential. He’s still raw and figuring out how to be assertive and how to follow one play immediately with another, but the potential is very high because of the rare combination of quickness, jumping ability, and size with a surprising amount of skill for someone many classify as a power forward.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR TEXAS?
With Hamm, who looks like a future pick-and-pop-type of forward in time that can play around the perimeter some as he ages, in the mix in addition to Sims, the Longhorns are probably done in the frontcourt.
They’re projected to have five scholarships to use for the 2017 class, and are still in very heavy pursuit of their top target, point guard Matt Coleman, wing P.J. Washington, and off-the-ball guards like Jase Febres and Brandon Rachal. Washington just announced he scheduled an official visit to Texas October 28-30th, Febres should be on the UT campus for a September 10th visit, and Coleman has maintained all spring and summer Texas is one of the schools he will for sure take an official visit too.
Sims gives the Longhorns another versatile, multi-year college player with pro potential. From a talent and skill standpoint, he’s an ideal fit for the Longhorns offensively and defensively and his length, athleticism, speed, and quickness will immediately translate the moment he steps on campus.
INSIDE THE 40 ACRES: MORE DETAILS ON SIMS' COMMITMENT
