Da’Ron Sims: On and off the court

By Bontã Hill
Sports Editor

Imagine growing up and living in a city where homicides and robberies occur regularly. Throw in the hardship of not getting parental guidance and the odds of rising above the low standards that surround you are extremely slim.

For sophomore basketball player Da’Ron Sims, 22, these were just a few trials he had to best before stepping onto a City College campus and becoming one of the greatest success stories of the men’s basketball program.

“I was basically around a lot of people who were in the same situation I was in, some people worse,” Sims said. “In West Oakland, it seemed like people were using drugs, selling drugs or playing sports.”

With the help of Brandon Brooks, his former assistant coach at MyClymonds High School, Sims has steered clear of the threats of the streets in West Oakland and put himself in a position to earn a basketball scholarship at the end of this season. Last season, he was awarded Conference Player of the Year and named to the all-state team.

“It was the best experience by far. I hadn’t been involved in organized ball since high school,” Sims said. “It really opened my eyes and told me I can play at this level.”

These accomplishments came despite Sims’ four-year absence from basketball, which included a three-year stretch in which Sims had to overcome life on the streets as well as numerous run-ins with the law.

While attending MyClymonds, Sims continued to deal with the misfortune of not having parents, whom he lost in the fifth grade due to drug abuse. In 2005, he dropped out of school, ventured to the streets and became a regular visitor of the Oakland County Jail.

“I played about two years of high school basketball, but I was in and out of the classroom,” Sims said. “I was in the streets because that’s what was taking care of me. I was lost and I didn’t know what I wanted out of life.”

Brooks, who is in his 15th year of coaching at MyClymonds, first met Sims during his freshman year. He noticed that Sims had talent and potential on the basketball court, but was quiet and kept to himself.

“He wasn’t real talkative, and he was kind of a loner,” Brooks said. “I don’t believe he believed in himself enough to unlock his talent and realize he had the tools to be successful.”

Sims often heard from people in his neighborhood about how good a ballplayer he was, but he was falling behind in school and getting closer to the drug game. At the time, he was more concerned with feeding himself on a daily basis.

“Right after high school in ‘05, hoops was on my mind because a lot of people were telling me I could’ve been this, and I could’ve been that,” Sims said. “But people really didn’t try to stop me because they knew the streets was the only thing feeding me. I just couldn’t go to school with no support.”

A jail visit without an option for bail in early 2007 became the turning point of his life. Sims got out, reunited with his three older brothers and two younger sisters and felt family love for the first time in his young life. Brooks, who owns property in West Oakland, saw Sims walking around still searching for a way out of his struggle.

Brooks offered support and extended his hand to help Sims turn his life around.

“I always told him that he was family and just because you don’t go to school at MyClymonds, doesn’t mean we’re not here to help,” Brooks said. “It took him awhile to come around, but he finally got tired of the street life, and I’m very proud that he did.”

Brooks became Sims’ mentor and arranged a schedule in which he could come into MyClymonds gym and work out every day of the week for three hours per day. Sims shortly rediscovered his talent and gained a confidence he didn’t have in high school.

Brooks came up with a plan for Sims to get back on the basketball court. He told Sims he would call the coaching staff at City College and put in a good word for him, but not until he was serious about school and staying off the streets.

“We just worked on developing different skill sets and getting his basketball legs back,” Brooks said. “It was hard work, but I didn’t doubt him once. I really started to see him turn the corner. He started to believe and became hungry for another opportunity to thrive on the court.”

As Sims was working out and holding his own against future college players, he was still looking for a chance to join a junior college team. City College men’s basketball head coach Justin Labagh had known Sims when he was in high school, but didn’t think he would fit at City College.

“We didn’t recruit him. He was a long, skinny wing player who had athleticism, but his shot wasn’t that great,” Labagh said. “My assistant coach wanted me to recruit him, but I didn’t think he was good enough.”

When the Ram’s coaching staff looked at Sims again in early 2008, he had changed positions and became a post player. Labagh noticed that he gained weight and had potential to become a solid player for his team. Labagh didn’t concern himself with the off-court issues that once burdened Sims.

“I didn’t really investigate the off-court stuff too much because when you get a kid who shows up in the summer of 2008, focused on making something of himself, I had no worries,” Labagh said. “Once Brooks and Dwight Nathaniel, former coach at McClymonds, told me that he turned his life around, I trusted them. That’s all I needed to hear from those guys.”

By the time the last season began, Sims had become the leader and the glue of the highly ranked basketball team. It was no surprise to both Brooks and Labagh that he quickly established himself as one of the top players in California.

Sims has begun progressing in the classroom and continues to work on raising his grade point average. Labagh is optimistic about Sims staying off the streets and maintaining the focus that has kept him out of trouble.

“He manages himself and is totally self-sufficient,” Labagh said. “There is no doubt with the maturity that he has, he’s going to be a successful human being.”
“It’s all about becoming a better man, that’s it, that’s all,” Sims said.

As he gears up for another big season at City College, the leader of the Rams has triumphed in an adverse situation.

To many who know Sims, he has already cleared his biggest obstacles and is simply scratching the surface. This is just the beginning.