Sizzling Sims Has Iowa Energized
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Terrence Vaccaro/NBAE/Getty Images |
By Mark Bodenrader, D-League.com
Orem, Utah, January 7, 2009 - Iowa’s Courtney Sims has been racking up the accolades this season. He posted the first triple-double of the 2008-09 NBA D-League season back on November 28 against Sioux Falls with 22 points, 17 rebounds and 11 blocks. He was named NBA D-League Player of the Month for December after averaging 24.3 points and 13.0 rebounds, shooting 62 percent from the floor and leading Iowa to a 6-1 record. He’s currently tied for the league lead in double-doubles with 10.
And that’s just skimming the surface of what the 6-11 center out of Michigan has accomplished in such a brief span of basketball time (13 games).
After two more strong performances at the 2009 D-League Showcase, Sims now owns overall averages of 22.8 points, 12.7 boards and 2.7 blocks per game (all team-bests), which are up from 15.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg and 0.8 bpg last season.
What’s the reason for his drastic improvement? Sims claims it’s the result of a lot of hard work, but it seems his modest personality prevents him from going into more detail. Instead, he’s quick to deflect attention away from himself and put the focus on his teammates.
“I just play hard every minute,” said Sims. “I’m patient. I let the game come to me. I have great teammates that help me out with my scoring and everything I do.”
Winning does do a lot for the spirits of players, and the Energy are an impressive 10-3 on the season, which currently leads the Central Division. But you could easily point to Sims' dominance in the early part of the season as the main cause of the Energy's success.
Iowa head coach Nick Nurse sees a couple reasons why Sims has made such a leap this season.
“He’s just come back a lot more athletic,” said Nurse. “He’s quicker to the ball. He’s quicker to blocking shots. He’s quicker to defensive rebounds. That’s the first thing. And the second thing is his skills have improved. From being a kind of a dribble up once and shoot a right-handed jumper to shooting turnarounds, hitting face-up and even taking it off the dribble a little bit. He’s really improved his overall conditioning and his skill work.”
At the level he’s currently playing, Sims no doubt has to be on the shortlist of players who could get that next call-up to the NBA, which is saying something in a league filled with talent. Nurse agrees, but notes there are still aspects of his game he can work on to better his chances.
“I just think he needs to keep improving his conditioning,” said Nurse. “Their concern (at the next level) is can he score at that level and get a bucket or two here or there. And the biggest thing is can he defend at that level. He’s got to be able to move his feet and play the screen-and-rolls. He’s got to be big and tough enough down there to not get planted in the lane.”
However, it’s getting tougher for Sims to improve on the stat sheet. Nurse says that Sims has been so effective that opposing teams are now concentrating on stopping him, which could cause his numbers to dip a bit. But it still doesn’t diminish the impact he’s having in the D-League and could have at the next level.
“He’s a good quality big,” said Nurse. “He’s very smart. Defensively, he knows where he’s supposed to be at. I think he could probably help somebody.”
That somebody could be Houston. Just prior the Showcase, Sims traveled there for a demanding workout for the Rockets with a former D-League standout.
“It was me and Pops Mensah-Bonsu,” said Sims. “It was hard. It was an hour and 15 minutes. We went hard at each other. I think I impressed them a little bit.”
Sims has impressed those that have witnessed his talents all season. Hopefully, he’ll get a chance to turn the heads of NBA fans sometime soon.
“I just have to keep playing, doing what I’m doing,” said Sims. “My team is winning. My teammates are playing well. I’m getting accolades because of my teammates and our success as a team. If I continue to do that, everything will work out.”
