According to a Tweet by Adrian Wojnarowski, IMG Academy guard Anfernee Simons has decided to forgo his collegiate eligibility and declare for the 2018 NBA Draft. While this is newsworthy in and of itself, another piece of information is what stands out. The shooting guard has signed with agents Bobby Petriella and Drew Rosenhaus. Yes, that Drew Rosenhaus.
This “Woj-Bomb” seemed to throw that information in there under-the-radar, but the NFL super-agent is now trying his hand at NBA representation. We reported the addition of a basketball division to Rosenhaus Sports Representation back in July, but until now not much has been announced considering the frenzy that has been NFL free agency thus far. While primarily known for its football prowess, representing more than 100 players, RSR has built a baseball division as well led by Dennis Wyrick.
With Petriella tasked with building the basketball division from the ground up, his signing of Simons signals progress. The 6’4” shooting guard originally committed to play college basketball at Louisville, but withdrew his commitment after the FBI probe into the program. Instead he attended IMG Academy as a post-graduate and has decided to forgo his collegiate eligibility. Since he will turn 19 and be one year removed from high school by the time of this summer’s draft, he is eligible to turn pro.
Ranked as a 5-star recruit and the number seven overall player and number one combo guard in the 2018 class, college programs were lining up to recruit him to their team and school. Although he is passing on the opportunity to play collegiate basketball, he is not the first player to skirt the system. Most recently, Milwaukee Bucks center Thon Maker did something similar (a post-grad year at Orangeville Prep) to enter the 2016 NBA Draft.
According to Wojnarowksi and ESPN’s most-recent 2018 NBA mock draft, Simons was selected 19th overall. The 2018 NBA Draft is already loaded with talent and many prospects whose teams were bounced from the NCAA Tournament early have declared including Trae Young, Deandre Ayton and Mo Bamba.