The 6-foot-5 Plainfield native was offered a high-six-figure salary to leave his high school and join the fledgling Overtime Elite league, a semiprofessional basketball league based in Atlanta. Overtime also has an academy that is an accredited institution with certified teachers, which allows the student-athletes to earn high school diplomas — rather than GEDs — and begin taking college-level courses. In the summer of 2021, league officials communicated the offer to Simeon’s father, Sergio.
But the family decided that Simeon — the fourth of five siblings, and the youngest of the four Wilcher boys (he was 17 at the time) — should stay in high school and enjoy a more traditional experience.
“You always got to love the regular high school stuff, like prom, graduation,” Simeon said earlier this season. “All of that is needed, that’s memories that you’ll never be able to get back.”
Sergio Wilcher, who has four sons with his wife Kim, including, C.J., a 6-5 sophomore guard at Nebraska, said at the time of the Overtime offer: “He’s still a child, a 17-year-old junior, and you’re still learning how to navigate life in itself, all the way around. Last year, we weren’t having dating conversations, now it’s a topic of conversation. ... Yes, I do believe my kids are going to play basketball for money, so you have to have a different type of sense of who you are before you go in the world. You have to learn how to say no because you can’t spread yourself too thin. You have people who are trying to professionally get at you and take what you have and take advantage of that situation.”
Bu hikaye Jersey's Best dergisinin Summer 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Jersey's Best dergisinin Summer 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
COURTROOM COMEBACK
NBC'S 'NIGHT COURT' RETURNS WITH MARLBORO NATIVE MELISSA RAUCH ON THE BENCH
ATHLETE CHOOSES OWN PATH WHEN FOLLOWING HIS HOOP DREAMS
Before his junior year at Roselle Catholic High School, Simeon Wilcher was presented with a potentially life-altering choice.
Raise a glass
‘Slow drinks’ enter the fast lane
A ROYAL REPUTATION
QUALITY, PURITY AND DIVERSITY DEFINE THE FAMILY-OWNED MAKER EIGHTH-GENERATION, OF PREMIUM KOSHER WINES AND BEVERAGES
Stylin' the boards
Imagination is all that’s needed for a perfect charcuterie display
Say Cheese
There's a movement in New Jersey that's not just for turophiles
Bon Appétit
If you have read this far, you may agree that French bakeries deserve their own section for this piece! Many of these do not just offer baked goods, but also an array of lighter fare.
DEVELOPING BONDS THAT UNITE GENERATIONS
Seeing a familiar favorite through the eyes of a child can restore the awestruck wonder that routine sometimes dampens, while also underscoring how a passed-down tradition can be a transformative experience for a parent.
IT DOES THE BODY GOOD
POST-WORKOUT FOOD COMBINATIONS PROMOTE MUSCLE REPAIR
SIMPLE EXTRAORDINARY- A FATHER'S PROMISE
Loren Thomas is unlike any other septuagenarian you will ever meet.