Confident Sims gives Horns a chance to win inside battles
AUSTIN – Trying to decipher what’s going on in Jericho Sims’ mind is a little like trying to break into a highly secure bank vault with some cut-rate lockpick set. It’s going to take patience, and some better tools, to get in.
Sims remains something of a silent mystery, even to those who have come to know the Texas forward better over the past three years. He’s a whispery, reluctant interviewee in the same vein as Kawhi Leonard, though the Minneapolis native has slowly revealed more of the dry wit and humor reserved for more intimate settings.
He has emerged this year as a more confident, headstrong human. It was an onerous road, one made more so after Sims failed to successfully follow-up on a promising freshman campaign.
“Jericho’s had a very strong summer,” Texas coach Shaka Smart said in September. “He has taken some real steps as of late and some major steps as a person with his personal growth that we’re hoping really translates into him being more aggressive and asserting himself more in a game.”
Sims’ traditional statistics this season aren’t eye-popping. He averages 8.6 points on 69.6 percent shooting (No. 4 among qualified Big 12 players), 6.7 rebounds, 1.1 blocks and one assist in 25.4 minutes per game.
But there’s now a different energy about the reserved 6-foot-9 highflyer. Sims no longer seems afflicted by the identity crisis that torpedoed his second college season.
Sims isn’t battling for minutes with an upstart as he did last year with oneand-done big Jaxson Hayes, which seems to have cleared his mind some. And he has embraced his role as the only legitimate big among UT’s starting five, which features 6-8, 200pound swingman Gerald Liddell at the four and 6-5 Jase Febres at the three.
Smart hasn’t made Sims the nexus of this guard-driven team, but he’s unleashed the springy Sims to a greater degree than ever before and it’s paying off.
Among Big 12 players, Sims is No. 2 in offensive rating (131), No. 3 in true-shooting percentage (72 percent) and No. 18 in defensive rating (86.3). He also grabs 15.9 percent of offensive rebounds and 20.6 percent of defensive rebounds while on the court.
Sims has recorded twoplus assists in three of nine games this year after doing so just twice over his first 69 contests. He’s not exactly Nikola Jokic, but Smart has enabled Sims to operate more out of the high post in order to hit slashers or find shooters on the wings and in the corners.
And he’s not just making the pass that leads to the points, but the pass that leads to the pass that leads to the points. That part of Sims’ game is still in its nascent stages, but the team is pleased with the strides he’s made there.
“Me, Royce (Hamm) and Will (Baker) are really getting the ball up at the top of the key a lot of times on offense,” Sims said during the preseason. “We have the options of going to a dribble handoff or a lot of the time we’ll keep it for ourselves and when someone helps we can kick it out to someone like Jase (Febres).”
Still, much of Sims’ game is predicated on attacking the rim — with violence. A nagging ankle injury sapped much of Sims’ explosiveness during a frustrating sophomore campaign, which in turn had a negative affect on his psyche.
Smart, his staff and Sims’ teammates have all helped restore that confidence. It’s led to a number of jaw-dropping moments, including one alley-oop finish against
Cal where Sims soared, grabbed the pass and threw — not dunked, threw— the ball through the cylinder over 6-8 over Bears forward D.J. Thorpe.
“I think the biggest thing with Jericho is he’s playing with a better motor and more violence, which is something we’ve tried to emphasize in him,” Smart said. “The way that he’s making aggressive plays, whether it’s rebounding, cutting to the basket, certain finishes, I think is a really good sign.
“His overall sturdiness and confidence as a player has grown quite a bit because his sturdiness and confidence as a person has grown. And that is still a work-in-progress. He’s a long, long way away from what he will be.”
Texas (8-1) is off to its best start since 2014-15 in part because Sims has embraced and grown into a specific role. He won’t throw up 20 points a night, but he’ll battle for boards, hammer dunks and whip smart passes with more confidence than ever.
And Sims will need to continue growing as conference play approaches. The Big 12 is populated with some dangerous behemoths, including Kansas 7footer Udoka Azubuike, West Virginia big Derek Culver and Baylor double-double machine Freddie Gillespie.
“As a person, Jericho is night and day from where he was when he first got here,” Smart said. “He deserves a ton of credit for working through some challenging situations on and off the court.”