While the talk of the Blue Ridge School basketball program last year was of Mamadi Diakite, now a redshirting freshman at the University of Virginia, the most consistent producer that the Barons showcased on the floor over the past two years has actually been Aamir Simms. A 6-foot-8 forward who plays with a giant chip on his shoulder, Simms again was a man amongst boys in the paint on Sunday and afterward, he gave insight on where his recruitment stands.

Running with the Team Loaded bunch this past summer, Simms is now back with the talented Blue Ridge program playing alongside Clemson signee Scott Spencer and Canisius signee Malik Johnson. Simms is the menacing presence at the power forward spot as he possesses a college ready body and is more than willing to bang around down low in pursuit of the loose ball, rebound, or positioning near the basket.

A high level rebounder of the ball and an elite passer of it out of the power forward spot, Simms produces because of a sturdy motor, physical tenacity to him, and an improving skillset as he can put the ball on the floor and has a go-to hook over his left shoulder within the paint. With this all in mind, it gives good reason for why Georgetown head coach John Thompson III, Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon, along with a litany of others assistants from Maryland, Vanderbilt, Penn State, Cincinnati, George Washington, and Miami were all in attendance for the junior forward on Sunday morning.

On the recruiting front, things seem to be picking up steam. With his most recent offers in hand from Georgetown and Miami, Simms spoke on where things currently stand. “Mainly I am hearing the most from Clemson, Georgetown, UCF, Miami, Penn State, Xavier, Virginia Tech, Cincinnati, and Maryland just started texting me again,” the Virginia native said. “Now that I can start taking official visits next month, I am going to go back home over Christmas break and sit down with my mom and decide what schools that I want to visit.”

While some prospects play the waiting game, it would seem that Simms is ready to pounce on those that are pursuing him the hardest and speed up the process a bit in taking some of his five allotted official visits at the turn of the calendar year, which might lead to an earlier commitment compared to most others within his 2017 class.