SEC: Is LSU's Ben Simmons Destined To Save the SEC?

When it comes to basketball everything that you’ve heard about Ben Simmons is true.

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He’s gifted, talented, athletic, intelligent, and aggressive. As of today the native Australian from Melbourne is the No. 1 player in the high school class, and he’s steadily on his way to becoming the No. 1 prospect in college basketball.

You know who else was a from Melbourne? Kyrie Irving. Similar to Irving, Simmons right now is good enough to become the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft in front of Jahlil Okafor and or Karl-Anthony Towns.

Thanks to the silly age constraints with the drafting process, Simmons isn’t eligible to play professional basketball yet, so the next time we’ll get to see him play organized basketball domestically will be in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center with the LSU Tigers.

Can Simmons help make the SEC more than a one-team league to watch?

Will LSU be more fun to watch than Kentucky?

Outside of the Kentucky Wildcats and the Florida Gators take a second and think about the last time a person thought to themselves, “Damn, SEC basketball is a lot of fun to watch?”… Yeah, me too. The point is, they don’t.

Now that Simmons will be playing for one of the up-and-coming teams in the conference, he’s going to make LSU must-see television because of the way that he plays the game.

Remember when Giannis Antetokounmpo told the Milwaukee Bucks and head coach Jason Kidd that he wanted to play point guard? Well, Simmons is a living version of Antetokounmpo’s dreams. Simmons stands at 6’10” and 225 pounds and he’s listed as a power forward, but he’s the furthest thing from a traditional back-to-the-basket player.

Unlike Antetokounmpo, Simmons will be playing the point forward position because one of his greatest attributes is the ability to handle the basketball, and make great decisions when it’s in his hands.

In addition to his passing ability Simmons also has elite level athleticism and he’s only a consistent jump shot away from being a dominant 30-point scorer (I say 30 because it’ll be a surprise if he’s not averaging close to 22 points a game next season).

Because of his all-around game, it’s easy to throw around the LeBron James comparisons, as that is what the standard’s been for every No. 1 high school prospect in the country since 2005. However, Simmons’ game reminds people of another left-handed great that came before him, a young, talented and more athletic Lamar Odom.

Like Odom did at Rhode Island, one of the biggest reasons why Simmons is going to help save SEC basketball is because of the way that he operates when the game speeds up. The greatest attribute of Simmons’ game is that he’s excellent when it comes to the transition game. Next season that’s where he’s going to leave his biggest mark when he plays for LSU.

With shooters like Antonio Blakeney and Paul Hornsby trailing, and players like Jalyn Patterson and Tim Quarterman running with him they are going to create a lot of excitement in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Let’s just say that LSU next season will be a lot of fun to watch.

Last week, playing in front of family in Odom’s stomping grounds of New York City in front of a Madison Square Garden crowd for the high school national championship game Simmons put on a show.

Simmons played against Oak Hill Academy in the last high school game of his career and almost messed around and got a triple-double finishing with 20 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in a 70-61 win.

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The win helped his high school team, Montverde Academy (Fla.), to their third straight Dick’s Sporting Goods high school national championship in a row.

Even with accomplishing so much, including being named the Naismith Player of the Year, the prep star’s career wasn’t completely over as he competed in the 2015 Nike Hoop Summit.

Simmons took over the Hoop Summit, which was played inside of the Moda Center (home of the Portland Trail Blazers), and once again almost got a triple-double as he finished with 13 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists in a 103-101 win.

After observing Simmons in practice during the Hoop Summit in an interview with Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports an unnamed NBA scout said this:

“He can play on any NBA team right now. He’s big and sees the game like a point guard. He can guard shooting guards, small forwards and power forwards. That’s real talent. He looks 7-footers in the eye. Just skip him and go on to evaluate the next guy.”

Simmons eventually will be on his way to saving the NBA but for now we should all enjoy his time playing in Baton Rouge, La.

Next: SEC: Thank You Kentucky Wildcats For This College Basketball Season

SEC: Is LSU’s Ben Simmons Destined To Save The SEC?

By DJoumbarey A. Moreau | Apr 12, 2015

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