C Jericho Sims – Texas

Not many centers participated in events at the NBA Combine, but one center prospect that really needed to show out and did was Jericho Sims from the University of Texas. In four seasons at Texas, Sims was a guy that was always talked about on his team’s scouting report by opponents, but he never really cemented himself as one of the best centers in the country. 

He was really good in his role with the Longhorns, but entering the pre-draft process, nothing really stood out about Sims other than that he was an above-average athlete for his size. Sims only measured in at 6’10” with shoes, the smallest out of all centers at the combine, but his 7’3.25” wingspan drew some attention early on. 

Not to mention, he recorded a 37” vertical leap, a 44.5” max vertical leap, a lane agility time of 11.59 seconds and a three quarter court sprint time of 3.05 seconds, all ranked the best out of all centers at the combine. His vertical leaps also ranked 2nd out of all players at the combine. 

On his team for the scrimmages, Jericho Sims was overshadowed by guys like Matt Hurt, Josh Primo, David Duke and Nah’Shon Hyland, all guys that scouts wanted to get to know more about, but Sims really stood out and made a name for himself in these scrimmages. 

In two scrimmages at the combine, Jericho Sims scored 29 points on 14-19 shooting, grabbed 10 rebounds and had 2 steals on the defensive-end of the floor. His leaping and scoring abilities in the paint stood out during the scrimmages and helped elevate Sims’ draft stock ahead of July’s draft. 

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He may not be the best center prospect in the draft and has some work to do in terms of adding muscle mass to his body, but Jericho Sims is definitely not a “project” heading into the NBA. There is work to be done with his game, but overall, Sims is a guy that can be a plug-and-play big man early on in his career. 

For a guy that was listed as an end of the second-round/undrafted heading into the NBA Draft Combine, Sims now finds himself as a guy that is expected to be a lock for the second-round and could potentially move up towards the first-half of the second-round. 

Jericho Sims put some teams on notice with his play at the combine this past week and for any team looking for an athletic big man who is not afraid to take on the challenge of scoring in the paint, Sims is your guy!