D’Marcus Simonds knew it was time to leave Georgia State and declare for the draft when he walked into the gym in August. He would play one final season for the Panthers, but after his junior season, he would move on to the NBA. He had the support of former Georgia State coach Ron Hunter, who encouraged him to declare, and his teammates knew this was his plan all along.
On April 8, he officially announced his decision to enter the draft and sign with an agent in a tweet.
“I just felt like it was definitely time for me to move on with my career,” Simonds said. “I felt like I did a lot of good things at Georgia State, but it was time for me to become a professional in what I do.”
Simonds, who played Gainesville High School, said he has been preparing for the draft ever since by continuing his training and working out in the gym to develop himself and demonstrate his professionalism. He said he focused on becoming a better all-around player by working on shooting and handling the ball.
He participated in his first pre-draft workout with a team Friday with the Hawks. His workout did not last long, however. Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk said Simonds sprained his ankle in the opening minutes of the workout, so he was not able to show off his skill set as much as possible. Simonds said the ankle will be ready to go for his next workouts next week with Cleveland and San Antonio.
Having seen him play before, though, Schlenk recognized the skills Simonds could bring to an organization.
“Extremely athletic kid, kind of a sneaky athlete, doesn’t really look like it, but he’s got good bounce, good quickness,” Schlenk said. “He can handle the ball, he can make plays and he can score. So as we talk about the guys that succeed in the NBA today, he’s kind of got that package.”
Simonds finished his junior season averaging 18.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks in 35.7 minutes. He was a staple among the Panthers’ five men on the court.
He earned the accolades as well. He was named to the first Team All-Sun Belt and First Team All-Sun Belt Tournament for his junior season. He also earned the 2017-18 Sun Belt Player of the Year for his sophomore year when he averaged 21.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists.
Simonds said he needed his junior season to mature both as a person and as a basketball player. He used his final time at Georgia State to learn about himself and develop the maturity level he knew would be expected of him.
He spoke with family and close friends about the decision to enter as an early-entry candidate. They all said after his junior season that it was time for him to pursue the NBA. He agreed, thinking his game had evolved to that point where he would succeed on the professional level.
He accomplished all of his goals in his final year with the Panthers. He helped bring Georgia State another Sun Belt championship, and he achieved the maturity level he set out to find. He said he is ready to take the next step and become a professional basketball player.
“I’m completely confident in my abilities, just like I always have been,” Simonds said. “I think that I can make an impact on any team, whether they want me to play defense, play on the ball, off the ball, pass the ball. You know just coming here every day and just go crazy in practice and work hard, whatever it is. I’m ready to do it for anybody.”
In their third session, the Hawks also worked out William and Mary forward/center Nathan Knight, Vermont forward Anthony Lamb, Florida guard Andrew Nembhard, TCU forward Kouat Noi and Gonzaga forward Killian Tillie. All of the participants are early-entry candidates.
