re: Charles Barkley says Ben Simmons isn't ready for the NBA

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Buddy won't be drafted that high. He's the type of player you put around a potential star

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I agree here. He will be a sharp-shooter in the league... And may end up becoming a creater as far as getting own shot... I say he goes top 5.... Simmons will go #1 and Ingram will go #2, even though Valentine is a better overall player....

He's Right !!

The sad thing about it ...

.. the College basketball rules , are Killing College basketball.

1 and done is a Joke!!

Simmons is gone, he's going to get paid. Nobody can argue with a 100 million dollar payday.

But I don't think Barkley is wrong. Simmons' game isn't ready for the NBA yet.

Stats, you say? Go back and look at the way this team plays. Ben plays every minute, he is by far the primary ball handler, and every time he brings the ball up the court, he does one of two things:
1) he drives for a layup and/or foul. He leads the team in shots and FT attempts by a wide margin, and none of his shots are jumpers.
2) he passes, to a jump shooter. Quarterman, Patterson, Blakeney, Hornsby and Sampson all shot at least half of their FG attempts as 3 pt shots. They stand around, Simmons passes them the ball, they jack up a shot. If they hit, he gets an assist.

His rebound total- nobody else on the team even gets 6 a game, Victor is the only one over 5. Simmons is 6'10, plays every minute, and is the only guy getting any boards for this team.

If Simmons went to a power program, his production would be WAY down due to being in a rotation (and not being the defacto point guard doing an isolation play all the time), and his lack of offensive skills would merit a legit discussion about returning.

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"No, he's not ready for the NBA. [His team is] not even going to make March Madness."

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I've been saying this and totally agree with Barkkey.

Think of it like this:
LSU, WITH Ben Simmons, is still not even good enough to play the worst team in the tourney. You know why I can say this? Because we didn't even qualify for the Tourney!!
Now just let that sink in...

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well, if he would get drafted high enough, he wouldn't return to college, just based on money.

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That's my point. Scouts will see a guy that is nearly 7 feet tall that can run like a gazelle and has unbelievable court vision and jump at the opportunity to draft him, regardless of who he plays for and what kind of numbers he puts up.

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But you're just a blind homer if you can't see that his offensive game (outside of great ball-handling and layups) is severely limited. And I mean severely.

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I'm well aware it's limited. But severely? For a guy who is 6'10"? No. Just no. Obviously his jumper needs work. No one with eyes will deny that. But how can you just dismiss his ball-handling and court-vision/passing ability? Those skills are off the charts for someone his size. Also, he is 19 years old.

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I'm well aware it's limited. But severely? For a guy who is 6'10"? No. Just no. Obviously his jumper needs work. No one with eyes will deny that.

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He has nothing but a drive. Most players have something, a hook, a turnaround, something. Hell, Victor has the jumper from the elbow.

So he's 6'10... so what? You realize he averages less than 1 block a game, despite being on the court forever and usually being the tallest kid out there? He doesn't play like a big man. He doesn't have a post game. He doesn't have defensive presence. That's fine, he can be an agile swingman... but then he has to be able to score the damn ball. Who cares what he is doing 15 ft from the basket, you absolutely know he can't shoot from there.

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He has nothing but a drive.

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And unbelievable court vision, athleticism and passing ability for someone standing 6'10". I've already conceded he needs to develop a jumper and he'll have time to do that while making millions in the NBA the next couple of yearas.

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So he's 6'10... so what?

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He doesn't have a post game.

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Yes he does. But our team, completely lacking in any fundamentals, just didn't know how to get the ball to him on the block 99% of the time.

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He doesn't have defensive presence.

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I'll agree with that. He needs to step up his defensive intensity at the next level in terms of using his body. He does have phenomenal hands, which is something you can't teach.

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That's fine, he can be an agile swingman... but then he has to be able to score the damn ball. Who cares what he is doing 15 ft from the basket, you absolutely know he can't shoot from there.

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Again, he's 19 and will have ample time to work on a jumper or something similar.

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Sure, "he can learn in the NBA", but why the hell did he not work on it before?

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yes, that's what so strange to me. Hell, I only played basketball through the high school level, and I must've shot tens of thousands of jump shots. Dribbling and shooting is what kids spend hours on, every day.

And Ben has a father that is a former pro basketball player, so you have to assume his dad worked with him on his game for many years. How can he get to this point in his career and have NO offensive moves, and I mean NONE - other than driving all the way to the rim.

That's what scares me the most about Ben - that even with all his talent, his pro father, and coming to the US to play high school ball at an elite basketball school, he still has NO jump shot. I mean NONE.

It's true that many players develop a BETTER jumper in the NBA, but they generally have a decent jumper in college. Ben has ZERO.

How can this happen???

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I'm well aware it's limited. But severely? For a guy who is 6'10"? No. Just no. Obviously his jumper needs work. No one with eyes will deny that. But how can you just dismiss his ball-handling and court-vision/passing ability? Those skills are off the charts for someone his size. Also, he is 19 years old.

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He will go #1 overall.. It will take a couple years in the league to polish his game... He will be playing with ALOT better players next year than he was this year... Well maybe not the 76ers.lol.To be honest the sixers aren't going anywhere with the talent they have. They should trade the #1 pick and get some veteran leadership on that team...