The big question now surrounds whether or not we should be discussing Simmons lack of attention to detail when it comes to the classroom.
The voter for the Wooden Award will catch a ton of flak for this — but the fact remains that Simmons as a student/athlete — isn’t carrying his weight as a student.
According to ESPN.com, Simmons — the top player in all of college basketball — didn’t meet academic requirements to make himself eligible to win the Wooden Award.
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.”
LSU spokesman Kent Lowe confirmed to ESPN that Simmons “did not have the necessary criteria to be eligible.”
Simmons is averaging 19.7 points, 11.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists this season — yet was benched for the start of the Tennessee game Feb. 20 for an academic issue — and was initially on the award watch list — meaning his grades may have deteriorated more since February.
The Wooden Award criteria calls for a candidate to have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00 since the start of his enrollment.