Simeon Wilcher (4) of Roselle Catholic soars up to the basket during the NJSIAA North, Non-Public B Final between Roselle Catholic and Montclair Immaculate in Franklin in March. Photo courtesy of NJ Advance Media

Before his junior year at Roselle Catholic High School, Simeon Wilcher was presented with a potentially life-altering choice.

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 semi-professional 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.”

In October 2021, two months after the Overtime Elite offer, Wilcher, an honor roll student with a 3.3 GPA, committed to the University of North Carolina. This past November, during a signing day celebration at his high school that included his parents and Roselle Catholic coach Dave Boff, he signed his Letter of Intent to play for the Tar Heels beginning next season.

Simeon Wilcher (4) of Roselle Catholic celebrates during the Union County Tournament Final between Roselle Catholic and Linden at Kean University in Union in February. Photo courtesy of NJ Advance Media

What is Overtime Elite?

Announced in March 2021, Overtime Elite initially raised $140 million in funding from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, hip hop star Drake and more than 25 current and former NBA players, including Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony.

The semi-pro league — aimed at 16- to 18-year-olds — was an outgrowth of Overtime, which was founded in 2016, has over 250 employees and distributes original sports content to a community of over 75 million fans and followers.

After a slow start, Overtime Elite signed 15 players from the U.S. and overseas for its inaugural season in 2021-22. The league said every player received a minimum salary of $100,000.

But ahead of the league’s second season in 2022-23,  Overtime changed course by allowing what it calls a scholarship option, whereby players do not get paid but retain their college eligibility while still being able to earn income through endorsement deals, the same way college athletes have been able to do through so-called Name, Image and Likeness deals.

Another New Jersey prep star, Naasir Cunningham, in consultation with his father, chose that option and joined Overtime Elite after his sophomore season at Gill St. Bernard’s in Gladstone.

“The skill development, being able to play against top players every day, it’s like there’s no room for slacking, there’s no room to goof off,” Cunningham said in January when Overtime Elite played exhibitions against high school all-star teams, including one that featured Wilcher, at Roselle Catholic. “You’re always going to be working, you’re always getting better.”

Many of the league’s players hope they will wind up in the NBA, just like Dominick Barlow, a 6-10 forward from Dumont, who played for Overtime Elite last season and is now with the San Antonio Spurs. Among the league’s current players are the 20-year-old twins Ausar and Amen Thompson, who are both projected to be lottery picks in this year’s NBA draft.

Simeon Wilcher (4) of Roselle Catholic goes up for a dunk during the NJSIAA Non-Public B boys basketball final between Roselle Catholic and St. Rose at Jersey Mike’s Arena at Rutgers University in Piscataway in March. Photo courtesy of NJ Advance Media

“I Get To Play With My Brothers’

For his part, Wilcher dreams of playing in the NBA, but understands that there are different paths for different people. His path has worked out well for him.

As a junior, he helped lead the Lions to their fourth New Jersey Tournament of Champions title, beating D.J. Wagner, the No. 1 prospect in the class of 2023, and Camden High School in the final. (They also beat Cunningham and his Gill St. Bernard’s team along the way.) It was the final Tournament of Champions in New Jersey history because the event was discontinued after more than 30 years.

For his senior season, Wilcher teamed up with Mackenze Mgbako and Arizona State signee Akil Watson to lead the Lions to the program’s seventh Non-Public state title — North or South — in the last 11 years. He averaged 15.4 points, 5.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds for a team that went 22-5. Three of their losses came to teams ranked No. 1 in various national polls. Wilcher went 17-0 in the state tournament during his high school career.

“It’s amazing,” he said March 3 after the Lions beat St. Rose in the Non-Public B championship game at Rutgers. “Not that many people can say they won three state championships, so I’m excited and I’m happy about it.”

Asked if he felt he made the right choice by turning down the money from Overtime Elite, Wilcher didn’t hesitate.

“Oh yes, most definitely,” he said. “I get to play with my brothers, I was able to build a great relationship with all of them throughout the years that I’ve been here so stepping away from them wasn’t something that I wanted to do. And being able to finish it this year, especially with a state ‘chip’, like we all planned to from the beginning, is just amazing.”

His season wasn’t over, either. The Lions competed in the State Champions Invitational from April 6-8 at Georgetown University, an event that brought together state champions from a variety of states. Wilcher went for 29 points and 5 assists in an 84-82 quarterfinal win over Curtis (WA) before he ended his career in a semifinal loss to Wheeler (GA).

Wilcher will finish out high school with the prom on May 15 and then graduation June 3.

He wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything.

Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter who covers Seton Hall and New Jersey college basketball for NJ Advance Media. You may follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and check out his website at ZAGSBLOG.com.