Chip Simms was a first team all-city guard in New Orleans in the spring of 1988, but chose to attend Georgetown as an accounting major. He walked on to the squad as a junior, seeing action in seven games during the 1990-91 season.

"The single biggest factor in my decision [to walk-on] was the chance to learn from Coach Thompson," Simms told the Washington Times in 2003. "His gym always was a classroom. Maybe I could have played more at other schools, but playing for Coach Thompson was a tremendous learning experience."

Following graduation, Simms worked for Ernst & Young and the New Orleans Times-Picayune before moving into coaching, where he spent two seasons on the staff at New Orleans (1995-97), two seasons at Memphis (1997-99), and four years at Georgetown (1999-03). He returned to the New Orleans area thereafter.