As far back as he can remember, basketball has been a large part of J.R. Sims’ life. Sims, now a redshirt sophomore guard for Eastern Michigan University, grew up with a dad who coached basketball and a brother who played it. So, you could say it runs in his blood.
“I started playing basketball probably first grade maybe,” Sims said. “As long as I can remember actually, my dad was actually a basketball coach so I was always interested in it. I had an older brother, he was always playing so I wanted to be like him kind of.”
The 6-foot-3, 180 pound native from Fort Wayne, Ind. graduated from Snider High School after earning four letters in basketball while playing for his father, Ray Sims.
Having a father as a coach was a major factor in Sims’ decision to play basketball. Of course, it ultimately came down to his love for the game.
“My dad was a basketball coach so I was not forced into it, but that’s what I wanted to do,” Sims said. “It was the sport that I liked. I played baseball for a while, but I enjoyed basketball more, it’s more competitive. That’s why I chose basketball.”
In his four years at Snider, Sims recorded the best free throw percentage in school history at 85 percent (85-of-100), he became second in school history for three-point field goals in a season (48-of-110) for 43.6 percent and dished out the most assists in a single season in school history with 100.
Every player has his or her own reason for choosing, and sticking with, a particular sport. For, Sims, the feeling that comes along with playing in front of larger crowds and the opportunity to play in important games is what draws him to basketball.
“I like big games, I like big crowds, big important games,” Sims said. “I just live for that so that’s what I really like about basketball.”
In his senior season at Snider, he led the team to the state finals in Conseco Field House where they lost to Bloomington South. He was named first-team All-Summit Conference after averaging 16 points and was voted one of the top 15 seniors in the state by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.
In making his decision about where to continue his education and basketball season, Eastern stood out to Sims for a number of reasons. With a brother who played for Bowling Green – he later transferred to the University of Indianapolis – Sims had an established relationship with one of the coaches at EMU. Not to mention, the proximity of Ypsilanti allows for the Sims family to attend the Eagles’ games, and the support of his family is very important to him.
“I had a real good relationship with one of the coaches on the old coaching staff,” Sims said when asked why he chose EMU. “He actually recruited my brother to go play basketball at different school, so I just became close. It’s close to home, my parents can make it to a lot of games. That’s very important to me so that’s why I chose to come here.”
Sims was redshirted his freshman season with the Eagles, however, he did practice with the team to earn his first varsity letter. Sims was also named one of two Dan Hoff Scholar-Athlete Award winners with a 3.78 GPA that year.
According to his teammate, junior forward Jamell Harris, Sims is a help to teammates, not only off of the court, but his intelligence and his ability to shoot the basketball and spread out defenses is what makes him a special piece to the EMU puzzle.
“He’s smart in the classroom, and he makes smart plays,” Harris said of Sims. “He’s from a family of basketball players so he knows the sport very well.”
In his second season with the Eagles, Sims played in 23 of the team’s games while making 11 starts in the final 12 games. He scored 3.4 points per game while averaging 1.6 rebounds on the season. He put a career-best 13 points against Miami (Feb. 5), hitting 5-of-7 field goals and going 2-of-3 from the perimeter.
Since coming to EMU, Sims has and continues to make strides toward becoming a better basketball player. One of his improvements has been in communication.
“Probably being more vocal,” Sims said when asked what his greatest improvement has been. “I came in as a quiet guy, didn’t really say much on the court or communicate well but I think I became a better communicator.”
In his spare time, J.R. likes to watch movies and play video games. He also enjoys spending time hanging out with his teammates.
“Everybody’s a comedian on this team it seems like,” Sims said. “You’ve got a lot of funny guys, you’re guaranteed to laugh just about everyday you come in. But they do work hard though, everybody works hard but they know when to joke, they know when not to. Just a good combination.”
Sims is pursuing a degree in broadcast journalism at EMU. Upon graduation he would like to play overseas for the experience before taking on a career in coaching collegiate basketball.
