Jaaron Simmons Withdraws From NBA Draft, Ready To Enroll At U-M
Former Ohio U. point guard and Michigan grad transfer Jaaron Simmons has withdrawn from the NBA Draft and is ready to arrive at Michigan.
There was never much doubt, but Simmons left the door open while he went through the process of enrolling at U-M.
"I plan on getting up there as soon as possible," Simmons told TheWolverine.com today. "I've already gone through the application process with the school."
Simmons called the decision to leave Ohio U. "one of the toughest decisions I've ever had to make."
Michigan loses Derrick Walton Jr. and wing Zak Irvin ... Simmons will compete with sophomore point guard Xavier Simpson for time at the one next year. Senior guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and freshman guards Eli Brooks and Jordan Poole are also on the roster.
Simmons played at Archbishop Alter High School in Dayton, finishing as the program's all-time leading scorer and ranking second in career assists. He played for All-Ohio Red AAU, the same program to produce former Wolverines Trey Burke, Caris LeVert and current U-M guard Ibi Watson.
The 6-1 guard played at Houston in the 2013-14 season, and he's picked up his game each year. Simmons averaged 15.9 points and 6.5 assists per game, including a 17.2 points per game average in conference play, last season. He notched seven or more assists in 40 games, and his 7.9 assists per game as a redshirt sophomore in 2015-16 ranked third in the nation.
In the final 16 games without fellow standout Antonio Campbell, Simmons averaged 20.3 points per game, carrying the team on his back.
Simmons's Ohio career will end after just two seasons in which he averaged 15.7 points per game and 7.2 assists. He shot 41 percent from three-point range as a redshirt sophomore, 46.5 overall in averaging 15.5 points per game, and he shot 34.6 percent from long range and 43.3 overall last season.
"The Michigan coaching staff … they’ve got a good coaching staff, good history, tradition. Coach Beilein, he’s proven," he said after committing. "They’ve just got a lot of good pieces for a point guard to play with. With the potential of D.J. [Wilson] and Moe [Wagner] coming back and the guys that are already set to come back, that’s a lot of good pieces around me.”
Simmons did everything a prep would do on his April 15 weekend official visit, including hanging with the players on the Michigan team. He meshed well with them, he said, and toured the facilities, met with analysts and counselors and watched some of the spring football game.
His good friend, Mike McCray, is a fifth-year senior linebacker on the football team.
“Mike McCray is like family, really my God brother,” he said. “His mom is my God mom, so we’re really close.”
Simmons is outstanding in ball screen heavy offense, which is Michigan’s offense of choice the last few years. He’s an elite passer and can really score it, as well, describing himself as a ‘playmaker.’
“I’d like to think of myself as a balanced point guard, a scorer,” he said. “I attack the paint and make plays for my teammates. I’m just a point guard trying to do whatever it takes to win, really … I just want to win. I’ve got one year left and I want to win at a high level, get to the NCAA Tournament and do the best we can do.”
Simmons scored 20 or more points in 20 games and handed out seven or more assists in 40 games in his 66 contests at Ohio U. He’ll compete with another Ohioan, Xavier Simpson, at point guard, and took notice of how the coaches used Trey Burke in the offense. Both played for the All-Ohio Red AAU program.
Soon, Simmons will follow in his footsteps as a Michigan point guard.
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