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Cedric Simmons

Cedric Simmons profile
Drafted #15 in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Pelicans
RCSI: 37 (2004)
Height: 6'9" (206 cm)
Weight: 223 lbs (101 kg)
Position: PF/C
High School: West Brunswick High School (North Carolina)
Hometown: Supply, NC
AAU: NC Gators
College: N.C. State
Current Team: SeaHorses Mikawa
Win - Loss: 29 - 17

Articles

Private Workout: Cedric Simmons, Thabo Sefolosha, Lowry, O'Bryant

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Jonathan Watters
Jonathan Watters
Eric Weiss
Eric Weiss
Jun 07, 2006, 02:08 am
Simmons’ physical gifts are well documented and seeing them close up really drives home just how impressive they are. Simmons has an incredibly long frame. His standing reach is clearly over 9 feet and he uses this length to great effect. Simmons showed great agility and was very fluid in his court movement. Speed and explosiveness were evident throughout the drill work and Simmons showed tight body control while in motion which indicates that his core has been developed well.

Skills wise, Simmons showed some things that we hadn’t seen much of before. In the shooting drills, Simmons showed eye-opening accuracy from all spots on the court. Left elbow, right elbow, baseline to baseline, step-ins, jump-backs, lateral motion shots, and all the way out to college 3-point territory, Simmons was hitting everything. Simmons hit 88 out of 123 shots he took in the drills we charted, or 72 percent. His form and shot motion was consistent and as close to flawless as a big man can be. He showed tremendous consistency of motion, using his enormous frame to full effect by shooting effortless jumpers above his head while maintaining minimal arm movement other than his wrist. His shot has substantial arc to it and his shots snap through the net with the silence that only that type of trajectory can bring.

As far as weaknesses go, the only substantial thing that stood out in this regard was his post moves, which were somewhat mechanical. His body motion was quick, but his release was awkward on his hook shots and for a player with hands of that size it was surprising to not see him simply cup the ball and drop it in after making his move and getting into position for the finish. Simmons was releasing the ball before coming all the way around into position. Simmons told us himself that he does not favor interior play because of what he perceives to be a lack of adequate size for legit post play. Simmons said that he’d like to add an additional 15 pounds to get up to 240, which he could add without losing any of his agility. Simmons says that he favors the face-up game and it is no surprise as his perimeter shooting was outstanding and exceptionally stronger than his post work. But, Simmons’ length, touch, and quickness should allow him to be an effective post scorer against bulkier defenders because he won’t have to back down an opponent to get off a clean shot. Especially when you consider how touch and physical he is down low on tape.

Overall, Simmons has outstanding upside on the NBA level as both a 4 and a 5. Simmons’ perimeter skills and mobility will allow him to defend most NBA power forwards with pure foot speed, while his length will enable him to play effectively against the “tweener” forwards because he’ll be able to play a step further off and still challenge the shot. With a bit more size and strength, Simmons should also be able to adequately defend the center position much like Samuel Dalembert does for Philadelphia, by using timing and superior speed to challenge slower players inside. If Simmons develops a repertoire of interior moves to complement his face-up perimeter game, he’ll be a terror offensively. A 19 year old possessing the grounded demeanor and diligent approach to his craft should have a bright future. Everything he displayed spoke of an internal drive coupled with a humble and focused nature. Couple this with the tenacity and defensive mindedness he showed at NC State, and all the elements are there for him to develop into a complete player sooner rather than later.

Cedric Simmons NBA Draft Scouting Report

May 28, 2006, 02:05 pm
Strengths
In terms of physical attributes, Simmons has a great package. He stands 6-10 in shoes, with an outstanding 7-4 wingspan. His frame is outstanding and will undoubtedly fill out perfectly as he continues to mature physically. As an athlete, Simmons has a terrific bounce to his step, fitting the bill and then some for a modern day NBA power forward or center. He has outstanding quickness in particular, great explosiveness with his vertical leap, and very solid footspeed.

Offensively, Simmons is raw, but shows sparks of potential at times with the moves he’ll make in the post, for example with an occasional spin-move, drop-step, or pivot move. He appears to be a well-coached player and a fairly quick learner, which leaves some room for optimism about the fact that he will develop into a capable offensive player down the road. As a passer is where he surprises you the most, clearly having learned a thing or two from the Princeton offense and showing signs of solid court vision with the bounce passes he’ll drop from the high or low post. Although he rarely got a chance to show it, his jump-shot doesn’t look half bad, either. He elevates off the floor the way a small forward would, and has nice mechanics complete with a high release point.

Where Simmons will be able to offer the most early on in his career is as a defender and rebounder. His size, length and athleticism help him out greatly in this area, but he is also not afraid to throw his body around down low to make his presence felt. He covers ground quickly and elevates intelligently from the weak-side to come up with blocks, and will even block shots on the ball on occasion, showing nice timing in the process. Simmons boxes out well for rebounds, and again, effort is never an issue with him. His tenacity helps him out greatly as a rebounder, and it’s not rare to see him go well out of his area to track one down, particularly on the offensive end.

His court demeanor is solid and by all accounts he’s an excellent kid off the court who is likely to achieve his upside due to his solid work-ethic. There is little doubt that he hasn’t reached anywhere near his full potential as a player.

Weaknesses
Simmons wasn’t a particularly dominant force on the collegiate level besides a few occasional sparks he showed at times. It’s fairly obvious that he is more of a long term project due to his youth and lack of all-around polish, so patience will be needed from the team that drafts him.

Offensively is where Simmons has the furthest to go at this point. He looks very mechanical in many of the moves he makes, being highly tentative and not exactly sure of what he is capable of executing effectively. The lack of touch he shows around the hoop is what will need to improve the most, as he at times just tries to throw the ball at the basket from 5-8 out rather than being fundamentally sound and efficient with the moves he attempts. Developing a go-to move should be a priority for him. His left-hand is almost non-existent, favoring his right so strongly that he becomes a little predictable at times. He doesn’t really know how to use his body well enough to establish position down in the post, being pushed around for the most part due to his current lack of strength.

In all fairness, though, Simmons never got anywhere near the amount of touches he deserved in the conservative and perimeter oriented N.C. State version of the Princeton offense, which may have affected his confidence and slowed down his learning curve to a certain extent. Very often he’d have his man sealed, only to be completely ignored by his wing players due to their obsession with backdoor cuts and fadeaway 3-pointers. .

Although once in a blue moon he would show some sparks of potential, for the most part Simmons’ face-up game is nowhere near polished enough. His ball-handling skills are what he is lacking the most, from the perimeter in particular but also in the post while trying to create offense for himself.

Defensively, there is plenty of room for improvement as well. Although his frame is excellent, his body has yet to fill out, which means he gets pinned down or outmuscled quite frequently. His timing and footwork still aren’t 100%, but for the most part most of his weaknesses here revolve around his lack of strength and experience. Foul trouble has been a major issue for him in his college career thus far. He often sticks his hands in places they should not be, and tries to save the day at times with a spectacular play rather than helping his team more by allowing himself to stay on the floor. One thing Simmons will enjoy in the NBA more than college is the fact that he’ll allowed to actually be physical in the post, the way he enjoys, and throw his body around.

Competition
Simmons played for NC State, a consistently good to very good team that plays in one of the tougher conferences in America, the ACC. As a freshman he was almost a complete non-factor (10 minutes per game) on a team that was owned for all intents and purposes by current Denver Nuggets guard Julius Hodge. With Hodge graduating, Simmons stepped into a bigger role for the Wolf Pack (12 points, 6 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 1.7 assists per game), but was very inconsistent due to his lack of polish, foul trouble and the fact that he clearly wasn’t a great fit in the Princeton offense.

Outlook
Simmons is in good shape for this draft, as his combination of strengths (height, length, frame, athleticism, tenacity, attitude, budding skills, upside) is extremely rare, while his weaknesses are, for the most part, highly improvable. He is still testing the waters at this point in late May, but is likely to stay in the draft once he’s told that he’s a likely top-20 pick. This is not a great draft year for bigs, and if teams will reach for someone, it will be for a player like Cedric Simmons. He’ll probably be drafted somewhere from the late lottery to late teens when it’s all said and done. He projects as a power forward, but can certainly steal some minutes at center due to his length and athleticism in today’s small-ball infatuated NBA, particularly once he adds weight to his terrific frame.

NCAA Tournament: Atlanta Bracket NBA Draft Prospects

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Landry Fields
Landry Fields
Eric Weiss
Eric Weiss
Mar 15, 2006, 03:58 am
Despite playing for a team that seemingly does not fit his style at all with their Princeton-esqe style of offense; featuring multiple ball-handlers at all positions and perimeter shooting big men, when he's received the ball and stayed out of foul trouble, Cedric Simmons has given NC State a presence that most NCAA teams can only dream of. The problem is that those instances have been too far and few between, to the point that the Wolfpack have lost 4 straight games going into the NCAA tournament and is clearly a team that is on the ropes.

Simmons is still far from being a perfect prospect and needs to find a way to add consistency and plenty of polish to his game. He’s still figuring out what he is capable of doing on the offensive end outside of 5 feet, learning how to use his left hand, staying out of foul trouble, and just being a complete all-around player night in and night out. Being more of a prospect for the 2007 or 2008 draft, there are a lot of reasons to continue to follow him throughout this tournament and see if NC State can manage to tap into his immense potential already in March of 2006.

In Case You Missed It...the Top Weekly Performers, 1/16-1/23

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Watters
Jonathan Watters
Jan 24, 2006, 02:14 am
In arguably the most impressive performance of the week considering the stage and who he did it against, Cedric Simmons came up with an impressive 28 points, 9 rebounds and 7 blocks against one of the most solid big men in the country in Shelden Williams.

Simmons started off extremely hot and did not quiet down the entire game. He did it in a variety of ways, mostly with his back to the basket, off of offensive rebounds and running the floor in transition, keeping Shelden Williams on his heels the entire game. Simmons blocked his shot numerous times both straight up and from the weak-side, and altered countless others.

Despite playing for a team that seemingly does not fit his style at all with their Princeton style of offense that feature multiple ball-handlers at all positions and perimeter shooting big men, Simmons showed that NC State is a team that can do more than just hurt you by playing a stifling zone and knocking down threes. The reason this was possible was that Duke’s strategy coming into this game appeared to be to not sag up their perimeter defense no matter what and instead leave Shelden Williams all by himself on an island in the post. Simmons took advantage of him multiple times in one and one situations thanks to his size, quickness and length, and the help defense never came. He was more assertive and decisive than we’ve ever seen him, spinning towards the basket knowing exactly what he wanted to do, attacking Williams relentlessly on every possession with a jump-hook or baby hook shot, not backing down and showing surprisingly good touch around the rim that we ordinarily aren’t used to seeing.

Despite this one excellent game, though, Simmons is still far from being a perfect prospect and needs to find a way to add consistency and plenty of polish to his game. He’s still figuring out what he is capable of doing on the offensive end outside of 5 feet, learning how to use his left hand, staying out of foul trouble, and just being a complete all-around player night in and night out. Being more of a prospect for the 2007 or 2008 draft, there are a lot of reasons to continue to follow him and check up on his progress. He certainly raised the bar telling us what we can expect from him in the future.

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