Keenan’s Simmons to play senior season in North Carolina

For the second time this summer, Tariq Simmons announced he will be playing his senior season elsewhere.

This time, it appears Simmons will go through with it. The Keenan guard said Friday he is transferring to Quality Education Academy in Winston-Salem, N.C.

In June, Simmons announced he and Lower Richland’s Carlos Nuttry would be attending Forest Trail Academy in North Carolina. But after talking more about it with his parents, Simmons decided to stay.

“I’m 100 percent positive this time and I feel like it’s a better opportunity to show everybody how good I really am, and it will prepare me more for college,” Simmons said. “It was the toughest decision ever. I didn’t want to leave my young boys on Keenan team honestly, but I had to do what’s best for me.”

Simmons was an all-state selection and averaged 16.7 points and 4.7 rebounds last season for the Raiders, who advanced to the Class 2A upper state final. As a sophomore, he led the team in scoring at 18.6 points per game as Keenan won the 2014 2A state championship. The 6-foot-2 Simmons has offers from Maryland Eastern Shore, Charleston Southern, Stephen F. Austin and College of Charleston.