Ben Simmons withdrew from all classes after LSU season ended

[Fafnir]

"All Simmons cared about was basketball..."

Good. If we draft him, I'm glad to know that (which is better than the next bit, "sometimes as he looks lazy on the court").

He didn't want to be in college to begin with. The only reason he went was because he had to. What do I care what he did? I'm guessing that the demographics of CB are such that many of us can't imagine not going to college. As much as I like my bubble, not everyone feels that way.

Mike

Sounds like a quote that could be used to describe a lot of great players.

He didn't go to college for the classes.

It doesn't matter. It is part of the rules and condition to be able to play games.

Even if a prospect does not plan to obtain a degree it is sure nice to know they tried to be a good student (start to finish).    Courses were completed.

He didn't break any rules by withdrawing from classes.

He merely broke your strangely specific expectations for a person declaring for the draft. FWIW this is an extremely common move for projected lottery picks.

[sdceltsfan]

School isn't going anywhere for Simmons, if he ever wanted or needed to go through a 4-year university program.

Let's be real. If he had it his way, Simmons would have not played one game of college basketball, and would already have an NBA season under his belt, coming straight out of high school.

The smartest thing he could actually do, is to remove every possible distraction in his life that will take him away from improving his game, and solidifying his position as the #1 overall pick.

There is a very rare breed of true "student athletes," like an Andrew Luck, who excelled in both college athletics and education. 90% or more of the college athletes who actually have a chance to go pro, seem to be forced in to the system that is in place. This is not to say that these 90% are uneducated, illiterate, etc.....just that at this current point in their lives, they have a far greater chance at achieving success through professional sports, rather than going through the undergrad process.

And let's be real again....what exactly is the undergrad process providing for most of its graduates these days? Simmons was 75-80% done with one year. The dude has the rest of his life to go back to school and finish. I think it's awful for the writer to have portrayed this as an isolated incident, like Simmons is the only draft prospect who has ever done this....pretty much just a hater, IMO.

If I were Simmons agent, knowing that he were in a neck and neck race for #1 overall with Brandon Ingram....I would yank him out of school too, explain to him, that this time in his life is unique to most other people his age, and that if he puts all his effort in to basketball, conditioning, and understanding/researching the game of basketball, that could make all the difference in separating him from #1 and #2 pick, which is worth millions of dollars.

That amount of money would likely take him a decade or more, if ever to make.

Anyone who questions his commitment, or suggests he's a quitter, is not really thinking about the situation from the proper perspective.

[Rakulp]

I don't like it, but a lot of guys do the same thing. It's the nature of the business.

He's not an intellectually curious kid. That doesn't disqualify him from the NBA. Time will tell if he's got the BBIQ and work ethic to excel in the NBA.

Honestly I think its the most responsible thing to do. He's about to start a NBA career and whatever entry level classes he was enrolled in are irrelevant to his upcoming profession.

Better to prep for workouts, work on basketball skills, and get ready for all the noise that comes with being a lottery pick with a lot of money coming your way.

This, I can get behind.

While I'm normally the type of person who likes to see people finish what they started, the sad truth is that few basketball players will get their four year degree and THEN play in the NBA.  Sure it happens, but we're really starting to see the pendulum swing in the other direction, and it will only do so more in the coming years.

That being said, IF he uses the time to better prepare himself for the next stage of his life and to be the best he can be...then it will be time worth served.

If they find him at home surrounded by empty Mountain Dew bottles playing Grand Theft Auto...all bets are off!



Rak

[Evantime34]

I'd rather have him use his time to work on his jumpshot, than finish his classes.

No draft commentator is going to say "he hasn't really improved, but at least he finished his classes"

[Tr1boy]

I'd rather have him use his time to work on his jumpshot, than finish his classes.

No draft commentator is going to say "he hasn't really improved, but at least he finished his classes"

He could of just taken the mudiay route

[Jon]

I don't like it, but a lot of guys do the same thing. It's the nature of the business.

He's not an intellectually curious kid. That doesn't disqualify him from the NBA. Time will tell if he's got the BBIQ and work ethic to excel in the NBA.

Honestly I think its the most responsible thing to do. He's about to start a NBA career and whatever entry level classes he was enrolled in are irrelevant to his upcoming profession.

Better to prep for workouts, work on basketball skills, and get ready for all the noise that comes with being a lottery pick with a lot of money coming your way.

This, I can get behind.

While I'm normally the type of person who likes to see people finish what they started, the sad truth is that few basketball players will get their four year degree and THEN play in the NBA.  Sure it happens, but we're really starting to see the pendulum swing in the other direction, and it will only do so more in the coming years.

That being said, IF he uses the time to better prepare himself for the next stage of his life and to be the best he can be...then it will be time worth served.

If they find him at home surrounded by empty Mountain Dew bottles playing Grand Theft Auto...all bets are off!



Rak

But how many players who are staying in classes until the end are really sitting in their dorm rooms surrounded by Mountain Dew cans playing Grand Theft Auto while they're being given Gentlemen Cs in B.S. classes? I think that's what the Simmons bashing contingent is forgetting. Not only do most pro prospects not finish their degrees, often the classes these guys take are a complete sham.

[chambers]

I'd rather have him use his time to work on his jumpshot, than finish his classes.

No draft commentator is going to say "he hasn't really improved, but at least he finished his classes"

He could of just taken the mudiay route

Mudiay chose the money of China over the NCAA.

Simmons is doing what hundreds of NBA players have done before.
Do you honestly believe that all the other NCAA players keep going to class for a degree they'll never finish once the season is over?

He was still at the school, he just went to play basketball instead of academic classes.
I went to Indiana University and was friends with some of the players on the team (they had two Australian players and I am Australian). They barely ever went to class. They had special classes because they all took the same degree (communications) which were held in the basketball stadium's group conference room and their teacher would just mark them all as 'in attendance'.

This happens every day/year in the NCAA, this reporter is just bringing it up because he doesn't like Ben Simmons for some reason.

[Snakehead]

If people react to this and not all the other stories of schools fudging all their players grades or players not ever going to class they are just picking and choosing.  Plus as Faf and others have said, this is common for lottery players.  He wouldn't get a degree for finishing out his freshman year.

[dannyboy35]

This thread is pretty weird. Like many have said already, the guy should be working on his game. Working on his jumper, ball handling, diet, defensive slides, hitting the weight room. He'll likely be in his late 30's and have millions and millions in the bank . The Nba will be his CAREER . If he WANTS to still pursue a college education when he's 39 he certainly won't need a loan. But maybe he'll want to be a coach, an assistant, a GM too. Who knows.
  It's an insult to Sommons and others who have dropped out of college. Many others have dropped out and one shouldn't just assume it's a character flaw.

[LarBrd33]

I already said it, but every time I come to this forum and see the headline "Ben Simmons withdrew", for a microsecond I mildly panic that he withdrew from the draft - even though that makes no sense.   It literally just happened to me a second time just now. 

Anyways, he withdrew from his classes?   Does this concern anyone?  The whole trip to College was silly anyways.  Players should be able to jump straight to the pros from high school.