Donald Sims, SoCon player of the year
Memories of what Stephen Curry did for Southern Conference basketball, most notably his amazing scoring prowess and leading Davidson to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, will linger for a long time to come.
But Donald Sims of Appalachian State did what he could this season to, at least in part, offset the SoCon’s loss of such a dynamic player.
Curry certainly did more overall and for a longer period, but Sims’ season has been rather amazing in its own right. And some similarities in Sims’ style of play to Curry’s in terms of offensive proficiency don’t make comparisons totally null.
In fact, references to Curry by SoCon coaches – from UNCG’s Mike Dement, Samford’s Jimmy Tillette to Davidson’s Bob McKillop – after witnessing Sims’ performances were frequent this season.
Sims displayed similar confidence and shooting ability.
“It’s definitely humbling to hear some of those comparisons, considering the things (Curry) did in our conference and with what he’s doing now,” said Sims, who followed two-time winner Curry by being named the SoCon’s player of the year by media today.
“To be mentioned in the same breath is humbling. I’m not saying I’m the same type of player he is, but I’ve always had confidence in my game and can do some of the same things. He definitely inspired me to work hard and be the kind of player I am.”
His 44 points at Davidson earlier this season certainly conjured up some images of Curry.
Sims, nearing school records for 3-pointers in a season and career, is averaging 20.4 points this year. His 95-percent accuracy from the free-throw line (151 of 159) leads all Division I players, as does his 102 3-pointers made. Sims is shooting 43 percent from 3-point range.
Curry, a catalyst for his team leading the Wildcats to 75 wins in three seasons as well as two SoCon titles and the memorable NCAA Tournament run, led the SoCon in scoring all three of his seasons and he also piled up an impressive number of steals.
His peaks: 28.6 points a game as a junior; 251 free-throw attempts as a sophomore, and an 89.4-percent accuracy rate; and 44 percent from 3-point range as a sophomore when he set an NCAA record with 162 3-pointers. He also led the SoCon in assists as a junior.
Sims has one season left to play.
“That’s huge,” Sims said. “Of course, now I’ve set the bar for myself. It will be challenging for me to go into next season having the type of year I’ve had this year. The bar has definitely been raised.”