Simms spent his early childhood in East Orange, New Jersey but moved to Palmyra, Virginia in 2008 after his mother, Lateasha Jones, decided East Orange was too dangerous. Simms spent hours on the basketball court near the family's home, often playing deep into the night. Simms scored 377 points as a freshman at Fluvanna County High School. At an AAU Tournament, Simms' performance drew the attention of Cade Lemcke, coach at the Blue Ridge School, and Simms decided to attend the school after getting a scholarship. He helped the team win a state championship as a sophomore. As a senior at Blue Ridge, Simms averaged 13.0 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. He helped the team win a second state title, contributing 16 points and 10 rebounds in the championship game against Miller. Simms was named the Central VirginiaPlayer of the Year. He committed to playing college basketball at Clemson over offers from more than a dozen schools.
College career
Simms averaged 4.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks per game as a freshman. He helped Clemson reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Kansas 80-76. As a sophomore, Simms averaged 8.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. On November 5, 2019, Simms had his first double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds in a 67-60 loss to Virginia Tech. He was named ACC Co-Player of the Week on January 13, 2020, after leading Clemson in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals in Clemson's first-ever win at North Carolina, and hit a three-pointer with 3.5 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime. On January 14, Simms scored a career-high 25 pointsto go along with nine rebounds in a 79-72 win over third-ranked Duke. As a junior, Simms averaged 13.0 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game, earning Third-Team All-ACC honors. Following the season he declared for the 2020 NBA draft. Simms withdrew from the draft on June 1, returning for his senior season.
National team career
Simms was a part of the Clemson team chosen to represent the United States in the 2019 Summer Universiade in Italy. The U.S. received a gold medal after defeating Ukraine in the title game behind 12 points from Simms. Simms played in all six games and led the team in scoring and rebounding with 15.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.
