Ben Simmons wins MVP of NHSI Tournament and talks LSU

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NEW YORK – To cap the DICK’S Sporting Goods High School National Tournament, Montverde Academy (FL) held off Oak Hill Academy (VA), 71-62, to repeat as champions in what was their third straight finals appearance.

Playing in Madison Square Garden, the mecca of basketball, can be intimidating and cause jitters for some players, but you’d never know it by watching Ben Simmons play on Saturday. The Australian, who won the MVP of the tournament and is heading to LSU after next year, was an absolute monster on the court as he finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.

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“I think he [Simmons] is improving constantly,” Boyle said. “He’s a very bright player, he’s got good instincts and to me, the scary thing is I think he’ll be a lot better next year. He’s really improving his shot. You haven’t seen it so much in games yet, but he’s working on it. He’s got good backspin and I think next year he’ll be taking more jump shots, developing his pull-up jump shot and then his second move when he beats somebody and someone helps. He’s got to get that second move and get by the next guy and when that happens, it’s going to be scary. The sky could be the limit for him. I think he’s starting to get hungrier, understanding how hard these guys work. He’s talking to guys like Kasey Hill and Dakari [Johnson]. He’s getting close to being there.”

With Simmons refining his game and being “very close to that next level,” his upside is tremendously high and it’s not too early to start thinking about where Simmons could be only a few short years from now.

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Simmons also talked with SNY.tv about what the future might look like at LSU.

“They [LSU] already have a lot of great freshmen,” he said. “They’ve got Jarell [Martin], Jordan Mickey and Tim Quarterman, but I’m definitely looking forward to getting there. I’m just trying to help them win as many games as possible, if that’s going to the NCAA Tournament, but I definitely think LSU has a bright future.”

Simmons, who moved from Melbourne, Australia, spoke about the wave of Australian prospects like Dante Exum, whom Simmons grew up with, coming over to the States to find basketball success like Andrew Bogut has in the NBA. Exum is projected as a lottery pick in June.

“It’s kind of different because you’re a part of a certain group that’s evolving, that’s coming over to the States now and showing that Australians are up-and-coming in the basketball world,” he said. “I just think it’s a great opportunity for us to come over here and show the American people what we can do.”

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