Xavian Rimmer has told University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball coach John Shulman that he’ll play for UTC.
Rimmer is the second high school senior from Mississippi to say he’ll play for UTC beginning next season. Trey Brown of Brandon High School was the first.
And Rimmer’s Piney Woods High School teammate, 6-foot-7 wing Kentwan Smith, could eventually be a third.
“I’ve played with Trey before, and I play with Kentwan almost every day,” said Rimmer, who is a 6-2 point guard. “It would be great if we could be at the same college.”
Rimmer, who chose UTC over Texas-San Antonio, Louisiana-Monroe and Lafayette, is not pressuring his buddy to follow him. Rimmer is just being a friend, who wants a friend to do well.
“I’ve talked to him about it, and he said he likes Chattanooga,” Rimmer said. “But he also likes another school [Lafayette], so I don’t know.
“But I think we can get more a lot of [SoCon] rings if he comes with me and Trey.”
Rimmer averaged about 15.2 points per game last year, but Piney Woods coach Lemuel Jones said he can play shooting-guard because Rimmer shoots so well from the 3-point line.
“Xavian commanded a lot of attention because of how he can handle the ball and shot it well,” Jones said. “He probably shoots the 3-ball better than anything he does.”
Rimmer took an official visit to UTC on the weekend of the UTC-Appalachian State football game, as did Brown and Smith.
“It was a hard decision,” Rimmer said. “I sat down with my parents and thought about it myself. It’s a great decision.
“Now I’ll be able to focus on our season, and our goal is to get a state championship ring.”
Coach Jones has plans for a state championship run for this season with Rimmer and Smith. They worked well together last year but came up short of winning rings.
With a another year of camaraderie on and off the court, perhaps, Piney Woods could put a big trophy in its glass case.
“We get along real well,” Rimmer said. “If I shoot a 3 and miss, he gets it and puts it in. If he wants the ball on the block, I give it to him there. On a fast-break, I’ll give him an alley-oop.”
Rimmer has stated he’ll play for UTC. His teammate is still undecided.
“It could be kind of scary if you have Xavian, who is a big point guard,” Jones said, “and Trey and Kentwan at the 2 and the 3. They could all start something special back at Chattanooga again.”