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Report: Ben Simmons, No. 6 is the Class of 2015, commits to LSU

BenSimmonsSS

Ball is Life

St. Mary’s is the most notable program to tap into what is becoming a more and more fertile Australian hoops pipeline, but they certainly won’t be the last school to head to Oceania to find themselves a basketball star.

The Gaels brought in Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova. Pitt plucked Steven Adams out of New Zealand. North Carolina, Indiana and, well, everyone tried to secure a commitment from Australian point guard Dante Exum, who looks more and more likely to be headed straight for the NBA Draft’s lottery.

The latest is Ben Simmons, a 6-foot-8 forward that is currently at Monteverde Academy in Florida. He made the move in January. Simmons is the No. 6 recruit in the Class of 2015, according to Rivals, and on Monday morning, he made the somewhat surprising decision to commit to LSU. Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and everyone else that is usually in the mix for top ten recruits was in the mix for Simmons, and that didn’t matter.

“I know a lot of people will be struck by me deciding to go to LSU, but that’s where I felt most comfortable,” Simmons told ESPN.com. “I feel I can progress a lot there, and I feel blessed to have offers from all those schools.”

Ben is the son of Dave Simmons, who spent a decade playing pro ball in Australia. One of his teammates down under was David Patrick, who is not only the younger Simmons’ godfather, but is an assistant coach at -- you guessed it -- LSU. Patrick’s first job was at Nicholls State, where Liam Tribe-Simmons, Ben’s brother, was recently hired as an assistant. Jalyn Patterson, Ben’s high school teammate, committed to LSU this weekend as the pair visited the school.

Simmons is the latest in an impressive recruiting run by head coach Johnny Jones. Last week, he landed center Elbert Robertson, a four-star recruit in the Class of 2014. This year’s recruiting class includes five-star Jarell Martin and four-stars Tim Quarterman and Jordan Mickey.

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