Marcus Jermaine Simmons (born January 28, 1988) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...

High school career

Born in

Alexandria, Louisiana Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the prin ...

, Simmons attended local

Peabody Magnet High School Peabody Magnet High School is a public magnet high school located in the South Alexandria subdivision of Alexandria, Louisiana, United States, the seat of Rapides Parish and the largest city in central Louisiana. The school is named for one of it ...

where he averaged 18 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists per game as a junior, leading Peabody to a 34-5 record and a No. 2 ranking in the state of Louisiana. As a senior, he averaged 18.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game, leading Peabody to a 37-4 record and the 2006-07 4-A Louisiana state championship while winning their last 17. He was selected to the All-District 4-A team and earned All-State honors and was ranked as the No. 47 small forward in the 2007 recruiting class by Rivals.com.

College career

After graduating high school, Simmons attended

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

. During 4 years with the Trojans, he played on 105 games, starting 46, with averages 3.1 points, 2 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 0.5 steals, playing mostly as a defensive specialist being named during his senior season, the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year and made the All-Defensive team.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

2011 NBA draft The 2011 NBA draft was held on June 23, 2011, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The draft started at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (23:00 UTC), and was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. Kia Motors was the presenting sponsor ...

, Simmons signed with Yokohama B-Corsairs of the Japanese

bj league The was a professional basketball league in Japan that began in November 2005 as a six-team league. The league was operated as a competitor to the established Japan Super League which was run by the Japan Basketball Association, the official go ...

on September 27, 2011. After a year in Japan, Simmons was selected on the sixth round of the 2012 NBA Development League Draft by the

Texas Legends The Texas Legends are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Frisco, Texas, and are affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks. The Legends play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team began as the Colorado 14 ...

on November 2, 2012, and three days later, was traded to the

Canton Charge The Cleveland Charge are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cleveland, Ohio, and are affiliated with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team plays its home games at the Wolstein Center in downtown Cleveland. The f ...

. He was later waived by the Charge November 15 prior to the start of the regular season. On December 16, 2013, after a year off, Simmons re-signed with the B-Corsairs where he averaged 12.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.2 steals in 34 games during the 2013–14 season. On November 1, 2014, Simmons returned to the D-League, this time via the

Fort Wayne Mad Ants The Fort Wayne Mad Ants are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and are affiliated with the Indiana Pacers. The team plays their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. The M ...

' training camp, making it to the opening night roster on November 14. In 47 games for Fort Wayne in 2014–15, he averaged 4.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. On September 28, 2015, Simmons signed with the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

However, he was later waived by the Bulls on October 22 after appearing in two preseason games. A week later, he was reacquired by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. On June 26, 2016, Simmons was signed by

Phoenix Fuel Masters The Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters is a professional basketball team owned by Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc., which debuted in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in the 2016 Commissioner's Cup. The franchise began after the comp ...

of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

as the team's import for the

2016 PBA Governors' Cup The 2015–16 PBA season, 2016 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) PBA Governors' Cup, Governors' Cup, also known as the 2016 Oppo Electronics, Oppo-PBA Governors' Cup for sponsor (commercial), sponsorship reasons, was the third and last confe ...

. On October 31, he was reacquired by Fort Wayne, but was waived on November 10. On January 16, 2017, Simmons was acquired by the

Grand Rapids Drive The Grand Rapids Gold are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and are affiliated with the Denver Nuggets. The Gold play their home games at Van Andel Arena. They began play as the Anaheim ...

of the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

References

External links

USC bio

RealGM profile

USBasket profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Marcus 1988 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines African-American basketball players Basketball players from Louisiana Fort Wayne Mad Ants players Grand Rapids Drive players Philippine Basketball Association imports Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Louisiana USC Trojans men's basketball players American men's basketball players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people