Pitt lands their seventh commitment
#NewToTheZoo #H2P
— Kevin Stallings (@KevinStallings) March 6, 2017
Pitt landed a new recruit for basketball earlier today. Troy Simons, a 6’1” shooting guard from Polk State College committed to the Panthers. Simons is a junior-college transfer, and will have two seasons at Pitt. He is currently leading the nation in scoring in the JC ranks with 26.3 points per game.
Simons was a one-time commitment for Middle Tennessee State. He opened up his recruitment when Pitt and some other bigger schools started showing serious interest. Pitt only offered him on Saturday, and he jumped at the opportunity by officially committing today.
Simons is a native of Pittsburgh, and has a bit of a crazy backstory. He went to five different high schools in four years, and only played one year of organized basketball during that time. Kevin Gorman of the Tribune-Review explains the story in more details in this article.
Polk State is the same junior college where Sheldon Jeter attended for a season. They are coached by Matt Furjanic, who is a Pittsburgh native himself. There appears to be strong connections with the city of Pittsburgh and the school, and has now given Pitt two players in the past few years.
Simons is the seventh recruit in this class of 2017. With an open spot going into this season, four seniors departing, and Justice Kithcart’s dismissal, Pitt has six spots and now seven recruits. It would suggest at least one current player will be moving on after this season, if not more.
Simons should be able to compete for minutes right away next season. He is small for a shooting guard, but Pitt is always in need of perimeter shooting. Simons is shooting 40% from behind the arc this season at Polk State, and that is something Stallings and the coaching staff hopes will translate at the next level.