Gators Brace for Ben Simmons

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Trivia question.

How many No. 1 overall NBA draft picks have played in the O'Connell Center during the building's 35-season history?

Answer: The number is seven, thanks in great part to the recent run of one-and-done talent at Kentucky, which brought John Wall (2010), Anthony Davis (2012) and Karl Anthony-Towns (2015) to town. Kansas had Andrew Wiggins in 2013. Greg Oden came with Ohio State in 2006. Tim Duncan with Wake Forest in 1995.

And LSU's Shaquille O'Neal in '90, '91 and '92.

Now, Florida is set to welcome LSU and their next great marquee attraction Saturday when the Gators (9-5, 1-1) and Tigers (9-5, 1-1) square up at the O'Dome. Now, as a disclaimer, no one is going to confuse power forward Ben Simmons with "Shaq," the behemoth who went on to terrorize the NBA for 19 years.

Simmons is merely being compared to LeBron James.

"He could be the best player not playing on TNT right now," Florida coach Mike White said. "He's that good."

LSU's Ben Simmons is the best all around player I've seen since LeBron James came out of high school straight to the NBA!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) January 6, 2016

Simmons, the 6-foot-10, 230-pounder out of Montverde (Fla.) Academy by way of Australia, has played 14 college basketball games and is the runaway favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the June NBA Draft. His combination of size and length is coupled with uncanny ball-handling and passing skills that make him a matchup nightmare. He can drive the ball to the goal and finish or on the way there deliver pinpoint passes to talented offensive teammates. Simmons ranks third in the Southeastern Conference in scoring (20.1 points per game), first in rebounding (12.9) and fourth in assists (5.2).

"He doesn't have to score to kill you," said UF assistant coach Jordan Mincey, charged with the duty of putting together the pregame scout on the Tigers and their superstar. "We're talking about a once-every-20-years guy."

Mincey watched all 14 of LSU's games. He already knew Simmons didn't shoot 3-pointers (only three attempts thus far) and often grabs rebounds and takes the ball 94 feet to the rim. But the tape also showed Simmons had taken just seven routine jumpers out of his 167 field-goal attempts (two were airballs) this season. That's because his game is almost exclusively driving the ball (90-plus percent to his left) and finishing with his right (even though he's left-handed).

"Basically, everything is in the paint," Mincey said.

Simmons had 43 points in a win over North Florida last month, 20 rebounds in a loss to Marquette, 10 assists in a loss to North Carolina State.

LSU forward Ben Simmons is third in the SEC at 20.1 points per game, first in rebounding at 12.9 and fourth in assists at 5.2.

Last week, after a narrow defeat to Wake Forest that ended the Tigers' non-conference season, Coach Johnny Jones and several LSU players encouraged Simmons to start being more aggressive on offense and taking more shots. The next game, a win at Vanderbilt, he went for 36 points, 14 rebounds and four assists.

And just four nights ago, Simmons sat for the better part of the first half against Kentucky in foul trouble, only to emerge in the second half and lead his team to a 85-67 victory. He stuffed the box score again by finishing with 14 points, making all five of his field-goal attempts, grabbing 14 rebounds and dishing four assists.

"He is a [6-10] point guard-ish guy that will go inside, score next to the basket, makes free throws so you can't foul him," Kentucky coach John Calipari said. "And in transition when he brings it up, he's a great playmaker."

Plus, Simmons is surrounded by guys who can score too, which will be the challenge for the Gators. They'll have to lock in on top Tiger, but not at the expense of letting Tim Quarterman or Craig Victor II or Keith Hornsby -- all accomplished offensive teammates -- have a day.

Just how good or bad the timing of Simmons' house call is for Florida is something that figures to be evident from the jump. On Wednesday night, the Gators went to Tennessee and went through the motions -- no energy, no passion, no defense -- and were promptly eviscerated by an undersized team that figures to finish near the bottom of the league standings.

White was beside himself at one of the most embarrassing performance by the UF program in the last 20 years. He let them know it after the game and in the two days of practice and meetings since.

"It's a disappointing feeling because we know we're a lot better than what we showed," junior forward Justin Leon said. "We're disappointed because we didn't come out strong."

Added senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith: "We have to come with more effort against LSU. We have to."

If not, the result will be predictable. It'll look like it did at Tennessee, only with the best player on the planet on the floor.

So maybe worse.

"It's like I told our guys," White said. "If you're not up to this challenge, then something's wrong with you."

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