Clemson basketball: Aamir Simms good college career coming to an end

Clemson basketball forward Aamir Simms career in a Tigers uniform coming to an end.

After four years, Clemson basketball forward Aamir Simms only has two more guaranteed games left in a Tigers uniform. While he could come back for another year, it is clear that he is not going to do that.

A year ago, Simms announced that he was declaring for the 2020 NBA draft in order to go through the pre-draft process. After going through the process and being told by NBA teams that he more than likely was not going to be drafted he made the wise decision to return for his senior year.

While every Clemson fan and alumnus should be proud of how Simms has represented the Tigers on and off the floor that does not mean that people need to say things like he is one of the greatest Clemson players ever.

This seems to be a new phenomenon that started in the NBA and is making its way down to college basketball.

Every time an NBA player returns to a former team, they now get a highlight video and a standing ovation, no matter how little they played. The Houston Rockets took it a step further when they announced a week ago that they would be retiring James Harden’s jersey.

Prisoner of the moment statements takes away from the past elite.

Aamir Simms signed with Clemson basketball in 2017 as a 4-star recruit out of Virginia and was the 26th best player at his position coming out of high school.

He will leave Clemson after 120 games that saw him have a good career – not an elite career and not a bad career.

Through his first 120 games, he scored 2 or fewer points in 22 games while scoring 20 points or more just 10 times. He recorded just eight double-doubles but never had a career double-double where he scored 20 or more points. He will not be among the Top 10 in any career or season statistic.

This isn’t meant to take shots at Aamir Simms because he has been a joy to watch and root for over the last four years but that also doesn’t mean that we need to say things like his jersey should be retired.

Simms will have a chance to leave his mark over the next few weeks in his final ACC and NCAA tournament of his career. Hopefully, he will take advantage of those opportunities.