Longhorns will host first 2017 official visitor this weekend
When football season arrives, it means basketball season isn’t too far behind. But also, it means a key recruiting period for college coaches is beginning – official visits.
With the fall basketball signing period now less than three months away and football season less than two weeks away, college programs across the country are going to begin having their weekends filled, well, if they’re fortunate enough to, with official visitors.
Currently, the Longhorns have one 2017 commitment from Davis (Aldine) combo-forward Royce Hamm. However, he’s just the beginning piece of what will undoubtedly be a large class in numbers, and what Texas hopes is large in talent too.
This weekend, Texas’ first official visitor for the 2017 cycle will be on campus, and he’s absolutely a name that Longhorn fans need to pay close attention to.
THIS WEEK'S ORANGEBLOODS.COM HOOPS RECRUITING UPDATES
THE VISITOR
Jericho Sims
Position – Forward, Combo-forward
Rivals.com national overall ranking - No. 146 overall
Size - 6-8, 190 pounds (in Las Vegas looked closer to 6-9, 200 pounds)
School – Cristo Rey Jesuit (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
AAU team – D1 Minnesota (Adidas circuit)
The skinny – Playing on a loaded D1 Minnesota team that was one of the premier groups on the Adidas circuit, Sims’ rise as a prospect began in early July. At one point, the nation’s No. 146 prospect overall – OB would be surprise if he’s not a candidate for a significant rankings bump – only heard consistently from a group of three to five schools. Now, he holds offers from the likes of Connecticut, Kansas, Auburn, Florida, Iowa State, Memphis, Ohio State, Oregon, Iowa State and more in addition to schools like Texas, Xavier, and Minnesota that aggressively recruited and offered him early.
Currently, the official visit to Texas is the only one Sims has planned. The Longhorns identified Sims early as a top target, and pursued him aggressively, which included having at least one coach at his July games. That seems to have really made a difference, at least right now, in Sims' recruitment compared to those that came on later. Sims’ father, Charles, played basketball at Minnesota, and he also has a brother that played football for the Golden Gophers as well. The chatter behind the scenes is that Minnesota and Texas are ahead of the pack right now. When asked if there was pressure on him to stay home and play for Minnesota, this is what Sims told Orangebloods.com late in July:
“I try not to put too much pressure on myself,” he responded when asked if there is a lot of push back home to go to Minnesota. “I don’t really think about that.”
Most would assume that Minnesota is probably out in front, but we’ve heard that the Longhorns could be in the best position currently. This weekend, they’ll have a chance to cement themselves as leaders, and will likely try to work towards an early commitment from Sims, who stated he’d like to decide before his high school season begins, which puts him on track to sign in the early period. Sims hasn't conducted many interviews about his recruitment, so it's tough to project if a decision soon is possible, or if more official visits are to come. However, he scheduled the Texas official visit over two weeks ago.
OB WAR ROOM UPDATE: WHAT DOES KANSAS OFFER MEAN FOR SIMS?
Prospect Breakdown – 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. Here’s our scouting report after seeing Sims this summer:
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 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.
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.
OB in-person look – Adidas Summer Championships in Las Vegas (three games)
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