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06/20/2008: illhoops.com
The Season That Never Ends
“He came here wanting to be better. A lot of kids in AAU think they’re the
answer, they’re the savior. He never had that attitude.”
— Mike Mullins, Illinois Wolves coach
A
ll Dyricus Simms-Edwards had in mind when he turned himself into a gym rat was earning one Division I scholarship offer. Playing college hoops anywhere was his dream. Nearly a year after setting forth toward that goal, Simms-Edwards has a problem – he’s well beyond just one scholarship, and with the July recruiting period right around the corner the Illinois Wolves guard is expected to have many more offers coming his way.
“It’s really exciting,” said Simms-Edwards, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound senior. “Going from what I was to what I am now, it’s been real fun.” What he was a little more than a year ago was a shooting guard attending Peoria Central. Following his sophomore year, he decided to transfer to Washington. After seeing the Panthers play in a sectional game and being impressed by coach Kevin Brown, Simms-Edwards knew that was where he had the best opportunity to become a better student and player.
It was just before Simms-Edwards started the fall at Washington
that Illinois Wolves coach Mike Mullins got his first glimpse of his future star guard. Basketball guru
Bill “Flash” Flanagan drove Simms-Edwards up to the Chicago area to participate in
one of the Wolves’ open
gyms.“He certainly found a gem in Dyricus,” Mullins said of Flanagan.
“I think we saw [his stardom] coming. He was certainly athletic, gifted, a great body, a great work
ethic, super personality. He came here wanting to be better.
A lot of kids in AAU think they’re the answer, they’re
the savior. He never had that attitude.” It was that willingness to do whatever it took to be a college
player that allowed Simms-Edwards to be converted from shooting guard to playing the point. The transition began at Washington under Brown. Moved slowly
into the position, Simms-Edwards learned over time to value the basketball, think pass first, not shoot
first and how to run a team.
As the season progressed, Simms-Edwards began looking more and
more like a real point guard. And off course, having one of the state’s greatest shooters of all- time
in Matt Roth as a teammate helped a bit. “He made it real easy,” Simms-Edwards said. “He made it easy
because other teams would have to commit to him, and it made it real easy for me to get to the basket. He
could shoot from two feet inside half court. It made me a better player. I give him a lot of credit.” With Simms-Edwards running the point and Roth popping 3’s from
everywhere, Washington was nearly unstoppable in Class 3A. One of the two led the team in scoring
in 29 of its 31 games. The Panthers lost three times during the regular season and only once after the Pekin
Holiday Tournament. They ended up taking fourth place at state. At that point, Simms- Edwards had already started developing a
name for himself around Illinois. Scouts, media and college coaches were talking about him.
With little time to rest, Simms-
Edwards took that exposure to a
whole new level as he joined the
Wolves in the spring. After showing
he was capable of playing against
nationally ranked players the same way he did against those from the
Peoria area, his phone began ringing
off the hook.
Simms-Edwards’ consistency was
a big factor in everyone’s interest.
“I think he has a great passion, a
great motor,” Mullins said. “To me,
after watching the NBA Finals, it’s
the difference. There are a lot of
talented players out there that don’t
run it on a consistent basis day in
and day out. He steps on the court to
practice the same way as he does in
the game.”
Having seen the likes of Bryan
Mullins (Southern Illinois), Sam Maniscalco (Bradley) and Demetri
McCamey (Illinois) come through
the Wolves’ program, Mullins has a
certain standard for the players he
allows to run the point for him.
“Playing the point guard, and
we’ve had some great ones in our
program, we think it’s the toughest
position to play in our program
because you’re responsible for both
sides of the ball,” Mullins said.
“Throughout the spring and the fall,
there were times Dyricus was frustrated. For him to become an
extension of me on the floor, he has to know
who I want to get the ball to and why I want him to get the
ball, who to pressure, who we back off on. It’s a
crash course on being a collegiate point guard.”
Simms- Edwards has found one aspect of those expectations to be
particularly tough.
“The most difficult thing when you play the point guard is you
have to be the coach on the floor, you have to
be vocal, you have to be a leader,” he said. “I’m pretty
outgoing, but at the same time I wasn’t the type of
player to get on my teammates too much. Now, I have to do what I
have to do as a point guard.”
As for the offers, he has one from every Missouri Valley school,
except for Drake, and is now starting to get
interest from the Big Ten, Big 12 and Atlantic 10. And here
comes July.
“I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself,” Simms-Edwards
said. “I want to go out there and have
fun. I’m more anxious than anything.”
With more offers than he could ever have imagined, Simms-Edwards certainly
has nothing to worry about.
Players to watch
“Batavia’s David Bryant
is a
guy you can’t win basketball games without. He’s selfless. He’s a tremendous shooters, stretches the defense.
He has tremendous size at 6-5, and he can play multiple position offensively and defensively. He’s all about
winning.
Jacob’s
Conrad Krutwig‘s
just
had a super spring. He’s been a kid who has been a doubledouble guy for us all spring. He’s improved his
face-up game. He’s got a deadlly mid-range game. Probably the best mid-range game on our team. He can score
the basketball in a hurry.”
— Mike Mullins, Illinois Wolves AAU coach
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