The hype surrounding Simmons seems to be a lot closer to Lebron hype than any of the players
Yeah, but they were just recent examples.. But it's basically every year, really
To name a few more recently Cliff Alexander, Shabazz Muhammad, Kyle Anderson and the list goes on.
Austin Rivers
The hype surrounding Simmons seems to be a lot more like Lebron protege type hype than the others you mentioned. Who were all blue chip HS prospects, no doubt, but not at that kind of level. Most NBA scouts seem to think that Simmons might be the next in line to be the best player in the league some day.
Not to say that will happen necessarily, a lot can happen between now and then. But I dont foresee it to be likely that this kid ends up like Shabazz or Cliff or Kyle. And as a NJ native, Kyle Anderson was and still is one of my favorite prospects. I think he has a very bright future ahead of him, especially as he develops within the Spurs organization. But Simmons seems to be the entire package. Probably the most cant miss high school prospect in recent years. Again, I will fully acknowledge that sometimes hype is just hype, but Simmons seems to be more at a Lebron level protege status, RIGHT NOW, not quite as much as Lebron was, but closer to him than any of the players you mentioned.
People knew that the Harrison twins were flawed. No mocks had them going near #1 in the draft when they were in HS. Although Andrew was getting some Derrick Rose comparisons at the time.
Kyle was never really considered a one and done candidate and it was no surprise to anyone when he decided to stay for a sophomore season at UCLA.
People definitely had Cliff Alexander ranked a lot higher in mocks coming into Kansas before he failed to live up to expectations and then got injured, but he was never considered to be a #1 overall pick kind of player. He was very good, but people knew what he was. A 6'8 high motor power forward with a very limited offensive game. Those kinds of players dont come with such a high ceiling in today's league. At his highest, I used to see him somewhere from like the 6-10 range in mocks, before things went south for him.
I guess out of all these guys you mentioned, Shabazz could be the closest to what Simmons is right now. But that was before the whole age scandal thing really hurt his stock as well as his poor shooting at UCLA. And even before that whole thing happened, he was losing his #1 prospect in the country status to Nerlens after Nerlens joined their HS class. It was pretty much split between the 2, but by the end of the year most evaluators had Nerlens as the #1 prospect in the country.
Simmons has been the consensus cant miss #1 high school prospect in an extremely talented class. His height has blossomed to about 6'10, but he still has a guards feel for the game and I believe he will play guard at the next level, which could make him a mismatch nightmare in the league. He has a very complete offensive game, which gives him a sky high ceiling. He also produces. He didnt shy away from expectations at all this year, consistently remaining the #1 prospect in the nation while leading the best HS team in the nation. I dont think any of the players yall mentioned were ever at that level. I predict he will have a great season at LSU and be the consensus #1 pick next summer.
Again, its still very early. But I cant remember any HS players in recent memory who have had the kind of cant miss/protege hype that Simmons has right now. I definitely dont think that Okafor or Towns did. Mudiay might have actually been the closest to that in this class, but obviously the hype kind of died down when he went to China. But people forget that most people had Mudiay as the top high school prospect and probable #1 pick in this draft at this time last year.
The last player I can think of with a similar kind of hype in high school to Simmons probably goes back to Greg Oden, who I still think would have been an absolute force in the league if it were not for his injuries. Before Oden, there probably wasnt a prospect touted like Simmons since Lebron and Dwight, and Simmons' game has a lot of similarities to Lebron, without getting too carried away.
