Anfernee Simons is officially off the recruiting board, leaving just one uncommitted five-star guard in the 2018 class, Romeo Langford.
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"Guard Anfernee Simons of IMG Academy is entering the NBA Draft, his agents Drew Rosenhaus and Bobby Petriella tell ESPN," ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted on Thursday morning. "Simons is No. 19 in ESPN's most recent mock draft."
Simons is a 19-year-old fifth-year player at IMG Academy, therefore is eligible to skip college and enter the 2018 NBA Draft, a decision he had been exploring for months. He graduated from Edgewater High School in Orlando last year. The 6-foot-4, 170-pound shooting guard was a five-star prospect and the seventh-ranked player in the class, just two spots behind Langford, a 6-foot-5, 190-pound combo guard from New Albany, Ind.
Langford was already the top available player — and the top backcourt player — in the entire class, so Simons' draft declaration doesn't change that. It does, however, turn up the heat on Langford's already-intense recruitment as we await the final huge backcourt piece to drop.
Langford trimmed his list to three schools months ago: Indiana, Kansas and Vanderbilt. Archie Miller, Bill Self and Bryce Drew — and many of their assistants — have all visited him, watched him play and hosted him for official and unofficial visits. And while it's technically possible a fourth potential suitor may emerge (e.g. Georgia, whose new head coach Tom Crean recruited him while at Indiana), there is nothing to suggest Langford won't play for the Hoosiers, Jayhawks or Commodores next season.
He is the most gifted scorer in the class. He is a long (6-foot-10 wingspan), smooth, assertive and explosive wing who can score from anywhere on the court — though his perimeter shooting is still a work in progress. He has college-ready footwork, which includes a variety of side-steps, spins and pivots, and can fly in transition.
There were rumblings in January that Langford was nearing a decision but that, obviously, didn't happen. And now with Simons off the board, there is even more attention on Romeo Langford.
