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Posted on Sun, Apr 11, 2010 : 5:02 p.m.

DeShawn Sims calls the Portsmouth Invitational "a great experience"

By Michael Rothstein

DeShawn Sims knew he’d be in a position to show off his skills and by the end of the three-game Portsmouth Invitational this week, it was evident the former Michigan forward had done just that.

He led his team, Portsmouth Sports Club, in scoring. He started two out of the three games his team played and often, he felt like guards were looking for him either on a fast break or in the half court. Overall, he deemed it “a great experience.”

Early on, he got the feeling it could be a good week.

“There was a sequence in the first game, just running the floor, beating guys up the floor, fast breaking and they threw it to me on the run and I was able to dunk it,” Sims said by cell phone from Portsmouth, Va. after the last game of his three-game stint at the Portsmouth Invitational. “Just having guys with the ball look for me and kind of see me as the guy they wanted to shoot.”

The numbers proved it, as he averaged 18 points and 7.7 rebounds for Portsmouth
Sports Club, which went 1-2 for the week.

Sims’ team was hampered early by injuries to Da’Sean Butler (West Virginia) and Omar Samhan (St. Mary’s), both frontcourt players who pulled out of Portsmouth right before the tournament.

That hurt Sims’ team - Portsmouth Sports Club - but it didn’t hurt the 6-foot-8 forward’s game.

He didn’t sense his stock rose during the camp, but many NBA scouts and agents made contact with the Detroit native during his time in Virginia. Sims declined to go into specifics about his process with selecting an agent Saturday other than to say he had yet to pick one.

Right now, improving his game is more important.

“I just got the feeling to keep working,” Sims said. “It’s not about stock getting up, it’s about getting better for me. As long as I’m getting better and in the gym every day and have good people around me, that’s all that matters.”

Sims said he plans to return to Michigan on Sunday and attend the Wolverines' year-end banquet Monday evening. After that, it’ll be continuing to work out as he waits to hear from teams that would want to bring him in for individual workouts.

That was his plan entering Portsmouth and it hasn’t changed. He said he didn’t particularly try to prove one portion of his game in Virginia, but just that he can fit in and play well in general.

“That’s how you end up going,” Sims said. “You do what you’re good at doing and the things that you come out and try to do, just because I worked on some things doesn’t mean I was going to do those things.

“Being productive is the key.”

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.