Michigan Basketball Where Are They Now: DeShawn Sims
By David Cuff
Oct 7, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; (From left to right) Boston Celtics forward/guard MarShon Brooks (12), Chris Babb (52), guard Jordan Crawford (27) and Deshawn Sims (36) before the start of the game against the Toronto Raptors at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
DeShawn Sims came to Michigan as a four star recruit in 2006. He joined a veteran team that won 22 games during his freshman season and narrowly missed playing in the NCAA tournament. After that season the school ended the Tommy Amaker era and brought in John Beilein. Sims was able to excel under Beilein and has gone on to have a solid pro career.
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After playing limited minutes as a freshman, Sims and incoming freshman Manny Harris took over as the teams best players under Beilein. Beilein came into a tough situation losing the top four scorers from the previous season, but Sims and Harris helped make Michigan competitive. After a solid sophomore season, Sims was even better as a junior. He averaged, 15.4 points per game, 6.8 rebounds per game, and helped lead Michigan to their first NCAA Tournament in 11 years. They were victorious in their first round game before losing to Blake Griffin and Oklahoma in the round of 32. In his senior season Michigan took a step backwards as a team, but Sims continued to improve. He averaged 16.8 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game during his final season in Ann Arbor.
Sims went undrafted in the 2010 NBA Draft, but signed a contract with the Boston Celtics. He played for the Celtics in the summer league and then briefly signed with a Greek team. After just a few games overseas he came back to the states to play for the Maine Red Claws of the NBA D-League. Sims had a great rookie season in Maine averaging 20.3 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game. He was a 2011 D-League All Star and was also named the D-League Rookie of the Year in 2011. Over the next few seasons he played all over the map. He spent time playing overseas in Puerto Rico, Korea, Lebanon, and Israel. He also played some NBA Summer League ball for Boston and Phoenix, and spent some of 2012 with the Red Claws. A couple months ago he signed with Champville SC of the Lebanese Basketball League.
Even though he hasn’t yet played in an NBA regular season game, Sims has had a successful pro career overseas. At just 27 years of age the 6-foot-8, 225 pound forward still has a chance to someday play in the league. With the way the NBA has transformed recently to more of a small ball game, Sims definitely fits in. There are plenty of undersized power forwards who can shoot the ball that are currently having success. Whether he makes it to the NBA or not, Sims is a success story who has done the Wolverines proud.