NBA scouts are starting to look at Hoyas center Jim Calhoun had more awareness of Henry Sims than Sims did of Andre Drummond.
Like nearly everyone who has come through Washington this season, the Huskies coach credited Sims’ transformation after three substandard seasons as a major reason for the Hoyas’ success.
“I remember Sims as a high school kid in Baltimore, so he really has improved as a player,” Calhoun said after Georgetown’s 58-44 win on Wednesday. “He’s a nice guy to throw in because you [can] do an awful lot with the ball.”
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| South Florida at No. 14 Georgetown |
| When » Saturday, 11 a.m. |
| Where » Verizon Center |
| TV » ESPNU |
As for Sims, the chance to test himself against the 6-foot-10, 270-pound Drummond, who is projected by some to be the top pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, was just another game.
“I really didn’t have any expectations,” Sims said. “He’s a big kid. He’s a good player. I just wanted to outplay him.”
That’s not exactly how it unfolded, with Drummond dominating the paint early en route to 18 points on 9-for-12 shooting, seven rebounds and two assists, a line that shouldn’t harm his NBA resume. Sims responded with a victory, well-rounded stats (13 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals) and an exclamation point slam dunk in the second half. Even if he did commit a season-high seven turnovers, Sims was clearly better than Huskies center Alex Oriakhi, another NBA prospect, and he’s steadily forcing his way onto NBA radars.
“He has a lot of the intangibles,” NBA director of scouting Ryan Blake said. “When teams look at big men and a guy that can be versatile and play well within himself and the role of the team, what the coaches want, that’s a player. You don’t have to be the go-to guy to earn a living or make a difference on a team.”
After starting the season unknown and being expected to contribute mostly hustle plays, Sims has become an integral part of the Hoyas’ offense. Though he can be quick on the trigger, his 6-10 size allows him to shoot his midrange jumper nearly at will, and his team-leading 74 assists (3.5 per game) intrigue pro scouts.
“When you watch him in game situations, that’s where he excels,” Blake said. “… What would help himself is playing in Portsmouth [at the pre-draft camp]. It would be perfect, whereas individual workouts might not see what exactly he can do.”
Sims is ranked 70th overall by ESPN.com’s Chad Ford and 99th by DraftExpress.com. NBADraft.net has Sims being taken with the 40th overall pick in June. But in the same way that he wasn’t affected by the hype around Drummond, Sims hasn’t let thoughts of getting to the next level distract him either.
“Honestly I’m not concerned about that,” Sims said. “Every game I go out and try to play my best and outplay whoever’s guarding me and play against whoever I’m playing to the best of my ability.”
