By just about every metric, LSU freshman Ben Simmons is one of the best college basketball players in America.
But Simmons reportedly won’t be a finalist for the Wooden Award, given annually to the best player in college basketball.
This is according to a report by ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, who writes that Simmons did not qualify due to an academic-related issue.
Part of the criteria is that a player needs to have at least a 2.00 GPA. The rest of the requirements are related to performance on the court—save for actually being enrolled in a school.
The 15 finalists for the award will be announced on Saturday.
More from ESPN:
LSU freshman Ben Simmons has not been certified by his school in order to be eligible for the Wooden Award with a source telling ESPN on Saturday that it’s for academic-related reasons.
“From what I was told, he didn’t meet all of the requirements,” Tigers coach Johnny Jones told ESPN. “He wasn’t certified by the school to be on the ballot.”
The 6-foot-10 Simmons, who is averaging 19.7 points, 11.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists this season, was benched for the start of the Tennessee game Feb. 20 for an academic issue.
