Simmons Headed to New Orleans
Simmons Pick Ideal Scenario For Hornets
Pack Pride, in conjunction with Fox Sports and MSN, presents some of the top highlights of former NC State center Cedric Simmons. Simmons was recently selected by New Orleans with the No. 15 pick in the 2006 NBA Draft.
Last year's No. 15 pick earned 1,217,800 in 2005-06 with a second-year salary of 1,309,100.
The Hornets finished last season with a 38-44 regular season record and missed the playoffs but improved greatly over the previous year mainly due to super point guard Chris Paul. Paul, the Hornets' first round pick in 2005, won NBA Rookie of the Year honors after averaging 16.1 points and 7.8 assists.
Cedric Simmons Fox Sports Draft Profile
Vital Statistics
Position: C School/Team: North Carolina State
Height: 6-9 Weight: 233 lbs.
Simmons made tremendous strides between his freshman and sophomore seasons with the Wolfpack, dramatically improving his numbers across the board.
"He truly arrived on the collegiate landscape in a dominating performance against Iowa."
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He truly arrived on the collegiate landscape in a dominating performance against Iowa in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge in late November. Despite State's three-point loss, Simmons scored just 13 points, but he blocked eight shots, grabbed 13 rebounds and handing out five assists - all career-highs. Simmons later went on to score a career-high 28 points in a road loss to #1 Duke, adding nine rebounds and seven blocks in the process. Simmons has a great amount of athletic ability for his size with a reported wingspan of 7-foot-4, both attributes helping him terrorize opponents on the defensive end of the court.
He is extremely limited offensively, getting most of his points on put-backs and shots close to the hoop. He has yet to define himself as a post presence, preferring to crash the offensive glass. Despite his offensive limitations, Simmons averaged almost 12 points per game as a sophomore, up from his 3.5 per contest as a freshman. Simmons is a work in progress, and he is refining his shooting touch. After clanking his way to a 54.5-percent from the free throw line in his first season, Simmons shot a respectable 67.8-percent from the charity stripe this past season. Though he barely ranked in the top-20 in the ACC in rebounding, he was able to compete against some of the best big men in the country.
In five games versus future top NBA picks Shelden Williams and Josh McRoberts of Duke, Craig Smith of Boston College and Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina, Simmons averaged nearly 16 points per game. In a draft lacking true big men, raw athletes like Simmons are getting a more serious look in the mid-first round than in past seasons. While he lacks the freakish athleticism that LSU's Tyrus Thomas possesses, Simmons has plenty of potential.
Here's your chance to catch the former Wolfpack star in action!
Cedric Simmons Video Highlights