Ben Simmons on LSU: ‘I Don’t Even Know What I Learned Financially or Just Being a Person at LSU’
Sixers point guard Ben Simmons made a documentary about his lone season at LSU, called One and Done. Simmons held no punches in the film when he criticized the NCAA’s rules that restricted him from jumping right to the NBA as an 18-year-old. Throughout the film, he repeatedly referenced his frustration with the NCAA, saying “The NCAA is really f—ed up.” He caught the eye of the NCAA president Mark Emmert who said that “no one forced” Simmons to go to college.
Simmons, now 21, has gotten off to a great start in his official rookie season. He’s averaging 18 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists for the Sixers. The ROY-favorite sat down with Maverick Carter for an interview and doubled-down on his distain for the NCAA. Peep his quotes below:
“If we didn’t, a lot of people would be losing money, so I think that’s the main reason. If the NCAA didn’t have the stars coming through then people wouldn’t be watching.”
“I think I would have learned a lot more by being around professional athletes. Looking at it now, I don’t even know what I learned financially or just being a person at LSU. I think I’ve learned a lot more with this last year being in Philly and being a pro, than I did at LSU.”
“When they started asking more of me, like more photos shoots and meeting with them and things I had to do throughout the day. I’d have class and then I would go lift, have practice, then ‘Oh Ben, you have to stay and do media and the photo shoot. I would be kind of annoyed, like ‘What am I getting out of this?’”
“It’s a dirty business… You have to put up with it, but at the same time it taught me a lot. I have an image and people use it, but now I have the opportunity to control that, what I do and who I work with. It helped me, but at the same time I felt it was very sneaky.”
Besides sharing his feelings about the NCAA, Simmons also spoke about transitioning from Australia to America and his Savannah cats. Watch the video above.
h/t Uninterrupted
