According to "The Hoop" blog, Ced Simmons is on the move to Greece to join Peristeri. Simmons left NC State after his Sophomore season to jump to the NBA, where he was drafted 15th overall by the New Orleans Hornets. After not being able to find a true role with New Orleans, he moved around, landing in Cleveland, Chicago and finally Sacramento. After fighting through an ankle injury last season, Ced was looking to catch on some place this summer. With basketball growing like crazy overseas, and the opportunity to make some good money while getting some good exposure, the move to Greece would be a no-brainer for Simmons, who is still young enough to make his way back to the NBA at some point. Peristeri is in the A1 League this season, which is the top league in Greece. We'll keep you updated on his progress and hopefully be able to catch up with him and get his thoughts on the move overseas.
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9 Responses to "Ced Simmons to Greece?"i hope peristeri has a good front office because i've heard a lot of teams in greece are notorious for not paying their players on time.
stay up ced. have fun over in europe.
A player I knew from UVM, Taylor Coppenwrath, played or still plays in Greece. Apparently the atmosphere at some of the games goes insane- very exciting style of play.
One negative I've heard is that as of a couple years ago there were plenty of smokers in attendance.
Grundy plays in Greece as well.
Saw a guy wearing a Wolfpackhoops Shirt at Cary's lazy dayz today.
Anonymous You caught me trying out my new white WPH shirt!! Guilty has charged!!!
Simmons should have stayed in school and developed some offensive punch before turning pro. He's a terrific athlete who can rebound and defend, but he struggles to score.
It's Sunday, it's dreary and raining, and I have kids who are a little under the weather. So, my humble apologies in advance, but here's a little rant for you...
I must be weird, because when I see this write up about Cedric Simmons, it basically just ticks me off. It just reminds me of back when he was being ADVISED and openly encouraged to make that early leap, and back when I was saying that Cedric Simmons was no where close to being ready for the NBA. I also remember being called several choice names for saying what I did back then also.
Not that Cedric didn't get a considerable chunk of change for leaving when he did, that being TOO EARLY. AND, we all know that his AGENT absolutely loves him for his decision to go when he did. To me though, this is just another example of the NBA's unfettered ability to reach down into what used be to our own "developmental" league right here in the good old US of A, a league we like to call the NCAA or COLLEGE BASKETBALL, and their unrestricted rush to pluck it clean of anyone who remotely shows even a glimmer of potential on a collegiate BB court.
The NBA shows a total disregard for the NCAA in doing that, they can certainly afford it tough, and no one is putting up any resistance to it anyway. They don't mind speculating or paying a hefty salary for a kid to just sit several years in hopes that he will further develop while riding the NBA's pine. They have the money, because they have worked to where the entire playing field is slanted in their favor. This, in my mind anyway, is essentially robbing the NCAA, and college BB fans everywhere, of their own interests and investments in some of the nation’s very best young BB players.
My point is, in a case like Cedric Simmons' particularly, he made that leap of faith to the NBA because some people THOUGHT they saw something in a kid that MIGHT, or MIGHT NOT, be there, the jury is still out on that determination. But either way, there is NO DENYING that Cedric Simmons needed more time to develop his skills in a league that involved a lower level of competition FIRST. But instead of doing that, the NBA rushed in and scooped him out early, so therefore, and instead of doing his "developing" on a collegiate BB court right here in the US like once was the norm, and where the college BB fans everywhere could have enjoyed watching that development, and since the NBA rushed to judgment and can't use his services at present, he's now forced to ship off to do his DELAYED development over in Europe, in front of a bunch of Europeans. You know, kind of like having money waved in your face and foregoing your college eligibility, going pro, and then having to step back DOWN to a league that is somewhere above the level college BB in the US, but still not the NBA.
That's right, the NBA has been the major contributor to the decline of collegiate basketball in the US forever, so let's open the floodgates further and give the European leagues that same kind of access to our young kids. Better yet, let's give the Europeans a leg up on the NBA even, and allow them to come over and grab our kids right out of HS. Why not??? It's a global market, and we wouldn't want to be thought of as selfish for not allowing the rest of the world free access to the best of everything that has been nurtured and developed right here on our own soil. Why would BB be any different?
the end.
one less wolfpack representative in the pros
Ced's situation was a little different in that he really needed to leave early to help support his family. My understanding is they had some seroius financial problems and maybe some health issues as well. Hard to fault him.
Hopefully Lowe can change our NBA situation. When was the last time NC State had a great NBA player?
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