Anfernee Simons has officially declared for the NBA Draft and will hire an agent. The five-star combo guard from IMG Academy was originally committed to the Louisville Cardinals, but decomitted after the FBI Investigation announcement and the firing of Head Coach Rick Pitino. Simons was considering testing the draft waters and then selecting a new school, but has now fully declared for the NBA Draft. Simons is allowed to forgo a year in college because he is a post-high school student at IMG Academy.
Guard Anfernee Simons of IMG Academy is entering the NBA Draft, his agents Drew Rosenhaus and Bobby Petriella tell ESPN. Simons is No. 19 in ESPN’s most recent mock draft.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 22, 2018
Simons is a phenomenal talent and could find himself being taken in the late lottery or slightly later in the first round. NBA teams typically judge based on talent, so skipping one year in college shouldn’t affect his standing with too many teams in the draft. Simons was previously being recruited by Tennesse, North Carolina State, South Carolina, Florida, and others. He was initially just going to test the draft waters and then make a decision, but the minds of young prospects can change over the course of a few months.
Anfernee Simons Scouting Video https://t.co/a03d6mAgtx
— Mike Schmitz (@Mike_Schmitz) March 22, 2018
The NBA has considered revising the one and done rule, so players like Simons skipping their mandatory one year in college could be coming to an end soon enough. The NBA and NCAA will have some serious questions to answer after the pay-for-play scandal rocked the organization last fall. If they fail to address the problem then college basketball will continue to lose talented prospects like Simons to the other avenues to the NBA. Simons should be able to develop into a solid NBA prospect for a guard needy team.
