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).
Lsu just signed the best player in the world check him out
A photo posted by DR. SHAQUILLE O’NEAL Ed.D. (@shaq) on
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.
Mitch Sabine
Roar Rookie
I always think how much better Bogut's career could have been before that elbow injury. such a shame, even though he's still a good player.
mushi
Roar Guru
I think we need to forget about bogut for the boomers, he just can't stay healthy enough to be relied upon to play internationals in the offseason
Mitch Sabine
Roar Rookie
Ben Simmons will be the real deal. maybe not a superstar at pro-level, but he'll be a good player for years. I remember a quote from a NBA exec saying he was ready for the NBA right now which is a huge compliment. man, I can't wait to see our Boomers team in a few years if it all pans out and Thon stops listening to his crackpot guardian and commits to AUS, and Dante and Ben fill their potential. imagine the starting five - Patty and Dante starting guards, Simmons at the three and Maker and Bogut at the 4 and 5. dellevadova as sixth man and joe ingles as an eight minute role player makes a pretty competitive team.
mushi
Roar Guru
The USA conneciton probably comes from his high school time in Virginia - I tried to track down the source as al lthe draft sites I read have discussions of a game he played in lableeled as USA vs French U/20s. Turns out that it was an Adidas team USA (not a FIBA sancitoned team - again eligible due to his time in the states) sorry to set the cat amongst the pidgeons - the US sites probably don't care about the national elibility to the extent we do
Jayme Markus
Roar Guru
Simmons is definitely an exciting prospect, he is our first real prospect who really plays above the rim. Chad Ford was asked if Simmons would be a top 5 pick in this upcoming draft, and he said that he would before adding 'he's amazing'. Thon Maker is in Canada playing high school ball at the moment and I have heard nothing about him playing for America. Maker is considering reclassifying for this years high school class, meaning he will enter college (and likely the NBA) the same year as Simmons. Imagine Australia with picks 1 & 2 in the draft! Good times ahead :)
Mark Pybus
Roar Guru
Last thing I saw about him said he was meeting with the Boomers to discuss playing with them in the future. I would hope that his mentor in the US would persuade him to opt in to the Boomers.
Mark Pybus
Roar Guru
I see Simmons and Bogut as opposite sides of the same coin. Both talented players but Simmons is a lot flashier and doesn't shy away from the spotlight, something that Bogut was never interested in. This should make Simmons a more marketable player to Australia as there should be a lot more highlight plays to get everyone excited about.
mushi
Roar Guru
On Thon being a future boomer isn't he playing u/20s for the US? I thought that ruled him an American for FIBA play as that was the case with Kyrie
mushi
Roar Guru
Fair enough, I think you probably could have left the Bogut comaprission out as unless Simmons goes #1 (as #1 rnaked recruit =/= #1 draft pick) it's hard to say he's surpassed the college player of the year and #1 pick. Boguts career would be starkly different barring the feak elbow injruy right - he was a 20 PER guy and given he was 25 at a position which ages he was looking at being a pernnenial DPOY contender and a regular all star.
Mark Pybus
Roar Guru
His pre-draft resume included a few FIBA comps, high school basketball in Australia, the Nike Hoops Summit and a few minutes for the Boomers. That is nothing compared to most lottery picks that have gone through the US high school system, at least a year of D1 college ball or several years in Europe.
Mark Pybus
Roar Guru
That did come out a bit wrong guys. I meant that he wasn't billed as the next Shaq or Ewing in terms of putting up big numbers.
mushi
Roar Guru
Yep that characterisation was a bit of a gaffe. You left out the #1 pick in the draft part as well when he wasn't expected to be much of a player in a LOADED draft.
Will
Guest
"Dante Exum didn't play a lot of competitive basketball." So he's not the second youngest Boomers player ever?
RebelRanger
Guest
I've found that high school highlights are generally a bad gauge as a) its only their highlights b) theres very rarely a full court of NCAA level athletes. Can't wait to see how he goes for LSU. Boomers definitely look like they will be a force in the coming years if all pans out well.
Ron Flatter
Guest
"Bogut wasn't a big name in college"? Then how did he win The AP, the Naismith, the NABC, the Robertson & the Wooden awards as National Player of the Year in addition to being a consensus All-America selection?