You may not have heard of Ben Simmons, but clear some room in your household for his name to become a regular visitor from 2016 and beyond.
He plays basketball in America and in short he is very, very good at it.
Simmons, a Melbourne native whose father Dave Simmons played for the Melbourne Tigers during the 1990s, is currently playing high school basketball in Orlando, Florida at Monteverde Academy.
This is his last year at Monteverde before heading to Louisiana State University as their top recruit for the 2015-16 season, and he is making sure everyone knows his name.
That hasn’t been hard recently as praise is coming in thick and fast from all corners of the US for the 6 foot 9 inch lefty.
He is currently ranked as the best high-school player in the country and even has Shaquille O’Neal’s seal of approval, who called him “The greatest player in the world” on Instagram when he signed for the LSU Tigers (his former college).
He has an unfair range of skills that will translate well into the NBA, with dribble moves, athletic dunks, highlight blocks and a decent shooting range.
In his junior year at Monteverde he led the team to a 28-0 record and was MVP in the high school national tournament game against perennial powerhouse Oak Hill Academy, with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
This season he has already led Monteverde Academy to the final game of the City of Palms Classic, with some dominant performances.
His averages over the tournament were 26.3PPG, 11.5RPG, 2.8APG and 3.2SPG, including a monster 37-point and 18-rebound game.
His off-the-backboard dunking exploits in this tournament have been doing the rounds on the internet recently as Simmons draws comparisons to the likes of Tracy McGrady with good reason.
Monteverde Academy don’t post their regular-season box scores for its games but Simmons isn’t shy about retweeting fan accounts of his games.
Stat lines of 30-plus points, 10-plus rebounds and 5-plus assists are not uncommon and it’s really hard not to get excited about his future.
With the growing number of Aussies currently plying their trade in the NBA (seven o far in 2014-15), Simmons presents an opportunity to have a truly elite talent who could be one of the top-ten players in the league during his career.
What sets Simmons apart from current Australian players in the NBA is he is going to through the US system as an alpha-dog player from high school through college and then hopefully onto the NBA.
I don’t think there has been an Australian player who has had that kind of experience (Kyrie Irving doesn’t count).
Patty Mills and Matthew Dellevedova both played for Saint Mary’s but were hardly top recruits coming out of high school or college, instead relying on their outstanding work ethic and determination to make an impact in the NBA.
Dante Exum and Andrew Bogut were lottery picks but Bogut wasn’t a big name in college or expected to be a big-numbers superstar and Exum landed at number five on hype and potential alone, without much competitive basketball behind him.
If he doesn’t get injured playing for LSU (touch wood) he is a very good chance at being selected number one in the 2016 NBA Draft and making an impact from day one.
Simmons, along with his close friend Exum, Thon Maker and Issac Humphries represent the next generation of Boomers with the potential to be world beaters.
It’s an exciting time for Australian basketball now and into the next decade with so many talented young players coming through the ranks.
Following Simmons on Twitter and Instagram, the kid certainly has a healthy amount of self-confidence that is refreshing compared to the culture of playing down your achievements so often associated with Australian sportspeople.
Playing his high school basketball in America has made the difference and I hope he never loses that confidence.
If this is your first introduction to Ben Simmons then make sure you give him a follow on Twitter (@BenSimmons25) or Instagram (@bensimmons20) and sit back and enjoy the ride.
This kid will be a revelation when he hits college and the NBA and I look forward to his first season as an LSU Tiger and then the NBA in 2016 and beyond.
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