Like many Australian basketball fans, I couldn’t be more excited by the idea of cheering on Ben Simmons in the NBA next season.
We’ve been spoilt with the number of Australians playing on great teams, both in the past and presently, but being able to call the star of a team one of our own isn’t a feeling Australians have experienced.
» Catch every minute of Simmons’ debut season with our Ben Simmons NBA fixtures page
» Learn how you can watch every NBA game this season with our Australian NBA live streaming and TV guide
For once the Australian on the team will be the name all fans want on their jersey, not just that handy bench player everyone’s pretty happy they have when, from time to time, they get the chance to steal the limelight.
Because of this excitement, I’ve been drawn to watch college basketball more than I ever have in the past. To begin with, it was great. I was excited. I was wrapped up in the hype of Simmons.
Now, I’m getting tired and frankly frustrated by the rules in place that force players to go through the motions of a single season in the college system before being able to nominate for the NBA draft.
My frustration is two-fold. It firstly spawns from the fact that Simmons chose, based on a personal relationship, to suit up for the LSU Tigers over one of the powerhouse sides that would have welcomed him with open arms.
This decision has led his games to become an irritating clash of ability. Despite the brilliance he shows, with the minimum of a glimmer of superstar prowess shining through in every match I’ve watched him play, his team is teetering on missing the 68-team cut for the college season’s centerpiece, March Madness.
Because Simmons failed to choose a college that matched his abilities, the reality of the NBA’s No.1 pick missing March Madness is very real. Considering this will be his one and only season in the college system, that’s potentially some extremely valuable experience out the door.
This reality makes me question the requirement for players to spend a minimum of one season in college before entering the NBA. It should either be increased or scrapped altogether.
Personally, I’d be happy to see an increase.
Ben Simmons clearly approached his required college season without the mindset that he’d get all he could from it before entering the NBA. And fair enough. He’s been told he’s ready for the NBA and he’ll be there soon enough, just a pesky year later than he could have been in years gone by. Why not spend the year somewhere you know someone?
So why increase a player’s required years in the college system?
Charles Barkley recently made the point that players need to be forced to remain in college for more than two years, arguing: “We’re bringing guys into the NBA who don’t have any clue how to play basketball or help a team win.”
Barkley’s words loom as a terrifying prediction when applied to Simmons. Watching him play this season, it’s hard to imagine how suiting up alongside inferior teammates for an inferior team, that sits in an inferior conference, will leave him set and ready to make the biggest impact on the NBA since Kevin Durant.
ESPN’s Myron Medcalf has gone as far as comparing the experience of watching Simmons play at LSU to “sipping fine wine at a dive bar”.
It’s hard not to agree.
If Simmons was forced to spend the time that allowed a proper legacy at a college to be forged, he might have chosen his college differently.
He’d most certainly be leading a team deep into March.
And I worry, he’d be a better NBA player one day for it.
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