Brett Brown's link to LSU star Ben Simmons
Sixers coach Brett Brown's foray into professional basketball came in 1989 in Melbourne, Australia. The sport boomed Down Under in the mid-1980s. It was new and it was cool, Brown said.
Sixers coach Brett Brown's foray into professional basketball came in 1989 in Melbourne, Australia. The sport boomed Down Under in the mid-1980s. It was new and it was cool, Brown said.
"It had this street feel. It was urban. It was American," Brown said. "And it had this cool merchandise and funky highlights. The young kids were playing it on the street. There's no snow, so you could play it every day. It had a real American pizzazz."
The country's professional league was stocked with American players, which Brown refers to as "American imports." Brown's first team - the 1988 Melbourne Tigers - was led by Drederick Irving, the father of Cleveland star Kyrie Irving. Brown then coached Cecil Exum, the father of Utah Jazz first-round pick Dante Exum. And Cecil Exum's teammate was David Simmons, whose son Ben is quickly becoming the great hope of Sixers fans.
Ben Simmons, a freshman forward at LSU, is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the June draft, when the team could have as many as four first-round picks. David Simmons played under Brown for four seasons, including a 1993 championship squad. Simmons' No. 25 has been retired by the Tigers. Julie Simmons, Ben's mother, was one of the team's cheerleaders.
"He's from Harlem, New York. He could have been a linebacker. He could have been a prizefighter," Brown said of David Simmons. "He was more of a basketball player out of athletic girth than he was finesse and skill. He was a tough, tough 6-8. Like an Anthony Mason-type player. And his son is finesse . . . Different. Really different."
Ben Simmons was penciled in two summers ago as the top pick of 2016. He spent his final three years of high school in Florida and held offers from almost every school. The nation's No. 1 recruit chose LSU, where his godfather, David Patrick, is the team's top assistant. Patrick played with David Simmons in Australia.
Simmons is averaging 16.5 points, 11 rebounds, and 5.5 assists through the season's first two games. He was named the SEC's preseason player of the year without playing a game. The 6-foot-10 lefty plays great in transition, is a dynamic passer, and can facilitate the offense as a point forward. Almost all of LSU's games this season are on national television, giving Sixers fans a tempting reason to change the channel. It is all but certain that Simmons will jump to the pros after his freshman year. And it would be quite the reunion if the Sixers hit the lottery.
"I'm just a regular student. I tell everybody that," Simmons told reporters last month. "Everybody thinks I'm something else, but I just try and enjoy it. I'm Ben from Melbourne, Australia."
No stitches for Okafor
Jahlil Okafor cut his tongue during practice after being elbowed by Christian Wood as the two competed for a rebound. The team said Okafor will not need stitches and is probable to play on Wednesday night against visiting Indiana.
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