Cristo Rey Basketball Phenom Sims Heading To UT Austin
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Jericho Sims is regarded as one the best basketball players in the state, and he plays at a very small Minneapolis school.
He's got game, and he's got a future.
They have a unique philosophy at Cristo Rey High School. Students take one day a week to work in a professional field.
"I got to meet … a lot of people that most high school students wouldn't be able to meet anywhere else. I work at a law firm," Sims said.
But it is in Cristo Rey's gym that Sims has carved out quite a future as a basketball player. He is a rare find; tall, agile and willing.
"Great kid. Potential through the roof," said Coach Stanley Clay. "You know, he reminds me of a poor man's Ben Simmons. He's fell in love with the process of getting better. The weight room, the dedication."
Sims does it all. In some ways it makes a lot of sense. He has two older brothers and a father that played Division I basketball and football.
"They've been with me a lot, every step of the way," Sims said. "They've done it before. Anyone who's done it before is someone that's good to look up to."
But many look up to him right now, with his low-key demeanor. They push him to take it to another level.
"We actually have to light the fire sometimes, because he doesn't know how good he can be," Clay said. "And you know, that's scary talent when you don't know how good you can be."
He caught the attention of the University of Texas, where he will attend next year on a basketball scholarship.
"I really was drawn to Coach [Shaka] Smart, and how that area is down in Austin," Sims said. "They really treated me nice."
They will get a basketball player; one with a focus that is unlike most high school kids.
"A kid with no social media, any type of Twitter, Instagram, nothing. He just wants to play basketball, every day, all day long," Clay said.
