<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">This was almost eerie. We knew Billy King, the 76ers president/general manager, wanted to change the culture of the franchise, but how did it suddenly get to be December 1997? This was just a predraft workout for four college players, so why did one of them look so much like a young Theo Ratliff? "I walked in and said, 'When did Theo come back?' " King said yesterday after the session at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, the team's practice site. If 6-9 Cedric Simmons, after two seasons at North Carolina State, can rise to the level of Ratliff, the comparison would be the highest form of a compliment. Simmons does more than merely resemble Ratliff, now with the Portland Trail Blazers, facially. His mannerisms and body type are equally similar. He heard the same comparison Tuesday from (at least for now) New York Knicks coach Larry Brown, who had Ratliff with the Sixers. Simmons averaged 11.8 points and 6.3 rebounds as a sophomore and, after initially saying he was entering the draft as an underclassman to test the waters, has decided to remain draft-eligible. He finalized that by first getting the blessing of his mother, Mae, then signing with agent Andy Miller. He worked out yesterday with 6-9 Shawne Williams, of Memphis, Michigan State guard Shannon Brown, and 4-year Indiana guard Marshal Strickland. The second wave of prospects will be in Saturday morning: Villanova's Randy Foye, Temple's Mardy Collins, Michigan State's Maurice Ager, and Brazilian Marcus Vinicius. Simmons said he isn't leaving NC State because of the coaching change, Sidney Lowe succeeding Herb Sendek. It's more because, he said, "Sources told me I was a first-round pick, and that was enough for me... I just decided it was time for me to go to the next challenge." That was what Memphis coach John Calipari, a former Sixers assistant, told Williams after a freshman season in which he averaged 13.3 points and 6.2 rebounds for a 33-4 team, the best record in the school's history. "He told me during the season, that's his time, and after the season, it's my time," Williams said. "So we thought about over, like, a 2-day process, and coach told me to leave. He was, like, this is the best thing for me. He said he felt like this was the best year I should come out. "He told me to get ready to play because nobody's going to help me on the court. It's going to be me, by myself. He told me it's going to be tough mentally. I'm so young, I have to get plenty of rest and keep my body regenerated." There wasn't much time for that yesterday. Coming from Chicago Tuesday, he said his plane sat for 6 hours on the runway, delaying his arrival in Philadelphia until 2 a.m. yesterday. So how did the workout, beginning at 10 a.m., go? "On a scale of 1-to-10, I judge an 8 ? because I had a long night," Williams said. "I feel like I did good. I didn't quit. I stepped up. I'm probably the youngest player in here and held my own." About those 6 hours on the runway... "We watched 'King Kong' two times and that's a 3-hour-long movie," Williams said, laughing. "I don't want no more 'King Kong'... I felt like I wanted to get 7, 8 hours of sleep, but I couldn't. I just had to suck it up, because that'll probably happen two more times during the process." He described himself as having been "real weak and scrawny" coming out of high school, even though his Laurinburg (N.C.) Prep team finished 40-0 in 2004-05 and won the prep-school national championship. He said his college experience helped him develop his footwork, agility, strength and mental preparation. The NBA? "It's a bigger challenge," he said, "and I feel like I can step up to a challenge." </div> link: http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/sports/14712971.htm
I've rarely seen enough of Simmons to say he's like Theo, so I'll probably hold my opinion until I see more of him.
I can’t shake the feeling that King is going to make a pick, that is going to leave all of us scratching our heads for answers. I have a feeling he is going to take a player that is flying way under the radar right now. He has done well in the recent drafts, but something is giving me an uneasy feeling about this one.
Simmons shot-blocking ability can be compared to Ratliff's, but I believe Simmons is going to be the better overall player before his career is through. Simmons is very raw offensively and definitely has the potential to turn into a solid post-player...he's already got a few solid offensive moves in his reputar, so if a team that already has a quality center drafts him, then I think he will turn out alright...and Philly has Samuel Dalembert, so Simmons seems to be a perfect fit.
