Simmons Shines at USJN Battle of Programs

October 3, 2018

Written by Tony Bleill / www.bluestarmedia.org / October 3, 2018

PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. — Perhaps the top 2020 prospect at USJN’s 14th annual Battle of the Programs and Elite Oktoberfest was 5-foot-9 guard Jaddan Simmons of the Wisconsin Purple Aces. And if you’re a Green Bay Packers fan, that name might already seem familiar. Her father is Jason Simmons, a 10-year NFL veteran who is now in his eighth season as a Packers coach.

“She comes from a coaching household, so she’s a real disciplined, hard-working kid,” Aces coach Cordero Barkley said. “A pleasure to coach. I wish I had 10 of her.”

Simmons has the obvious physical traits to play at a high level. She is athletic, an adept facilitator and creator, and a supremely talented defender.

“She is, to me, the best two-way player in her class in the state of Wisconsin,” said Cordero, whose wife coaches her at Green Bay Southwest High. “She’s a point guard who can score the basketball, is a great defender, very disruptive and a high IQ kid.”

That’s a high IQ both on and off the court. Barkley said she already has offers from “most of the Ivy League,” to go along with offers from a bevy of high-majors including Arizona State, Illinois, Wisconsin and Nebraska. Simmons has a handful of unofficial visits coming up but will most likely take most of her visits in the spring, Barkley said.

Simmons spent a chunk of her summer season recuperating from a pulled hamstring she suffered during track season.

“But she worked on tightening up her handle, and we watched a lot of film while she was hurt,” Barkley said. “Instead of just being fast all the time, we worked on changing speeds and direction. And then shooting – pulling up from three off the dribble, and creating space in her midrange game.”

https://www.bluestarmedia.org/14th-usjn-battle-of-the-programs-elite-oktoberfest/

Click here for more information. »