Aug. 18, 2008

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. - St. Bonaventure men's basketball head coach Mark Schmidt announced this afternoon that freshman Marquise Simmons will redshirt the 2008-09 season due to a unforeseen family emergency and is expecting to start classes in January.

A native of Washington, D.C., Simmons is one of nine newcomers on this year's team.

"It's unfortunate that Marquise won't be able to play this season," said Schmidt. "We fully support his decision to report to school for the second semester and we're looking forward to having him join our basketball family."

Simmons' range of abilities was on full display during his senior season at Central in which he averaged 20 points and eight boards per game. For his efforts, he was named to the All-County second team and was an honorable mention All-Met choice by the Washington Post. Simmons capped his high school career by playing for the Capital All-Stars squad in the 35th Annual Under Armour Capital Classic.