Jayhawks offer scholarship to New Jersey sophomore guard with ‘unlimited upside’
Simeon Wilcher, a 6-foot-3, 165-pound sophomore point guard from Roselle (New Jersey) Catholic High School, has been offered a basketball scholarship by Kansas, his dad told Zagsblog.com.
Wilcher, the younger brother of Xavier freshman C.J. Wilcher, also has heard from coaches from Iowa, Illinois, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Oregon, UConn, UCLA, Auburn, St. John’s, Miami and others.
“They spoke of all their previous success with point guards,” Wilcher’s dad, Sergio Wilcher, told Zagsblog.com, referring to KU coaches selling the Jayhawk program. “They told him how offensive freedom comes with a price tag of defense and they explained to him the competitive nature of the Big 12 and why they are able to win it regularly.”
Wilcher is ranked No. 8 in the recruiting Class of 2023 by ESPN.com. Rivals.com has not yet put out its rankings for 2023.
“Sim is a tremendous talent with almost unlimited upside,” Roselle Catholic coach Dave Boff told Zagsblog.com. “His skillset combined with his athleticism and positional size is a very rare combination. He is also an extremely hard-worker who is always getting better.”
Wilcher says he tries to play aggressively on both ends of the court.
“I take pride in defense,” he told 247sports.com. “Something my dad always tells me is if I work on the defensive side then it will work for me on the offensive side, whether it’s steals, deflections or anything, always defense first. Then, I take care of the offensive side. I like to play inside the lane, I can shoot it really well but my game is to drive and kick, play defense and to make sure my teammates and myself get the right shots,” Wilcher added.
Arkansas extends offer to Shaw
Aidan Shaw, a 6-7 junior small forward from Blue Valley High School, has been offered a scholarship by Arkansas, he reported Wednesday on Twitter.
Shaw, who is ranked No, 48 in the recruiting Class of 2022 by Rivals.com, was offered a scholarship by KU on Aug. 14. He’s also received scholarship offers from Missouri, Wichita State, Kansas State, Iowa, TCU, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, USC, Creighton, Wake Forest and Iowa State.
“One of the premier athletes in his class, Shaw has been focusing on playing with more energy so he can put his length and athleticism to work,” wrote Eric Bossi of Rivals.com. “He really runs the floor and crashes the glass and his potential as a multi-positional defender is big time. He just keeps getting better each time I see him.”
Shaw’s sister, Aubrey Shaw, has been offered a scholarship by KU, Grind House Basketball reported on Twitter. Aubrey is in the recruiting Class of 2025. She attends Overland Trail Middle School.
Noland hopes to recruit Collins to OU
C.J. Noland, a 6-3 senior combo guard from Waxahachie, Texas, who has committed to Oklahoma over Kansas State and others, says in his own blog on SI.com that he now will try to convince recruit Daimion Collins to join him in Norman, Okla.
Collins, a 6-9 senior power forward from Atlanta (Texas) High School, who is ranked No. 10 in the recruiting Class of 2021 by Rivals.com, is considering KU, OU, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech, Baylor, Alabama, Arkansas, Houston and LSU. Noland is ranked No. 115 in the class by Rivals.com.
“Of course I’m gonna be working hard now to bring some talented guys with me. My No. 1 target is Daimion Collins. I’ve already been working on him a lot anyway so I’m going to keep talking to him to try and get it done,” Noland wrote in his blog at SI.com.
This story was originally published September 24, 2020 at 9:54 AM.
