Ben Simmons and the LSU Tigers were blown out by Texas A&M in the SEC tournament, thus ending any their chances of making the NCAA tournament, and according to LSUsport.net, the team has decided not to participate in any other postseason tournaments. This decision effectively ends the Ben Simmons’ college career.
Here is the story:
“LSU men’s basketball coach Johnny Jones announced late Sunday afternoon that the Tigers will not participate in a postseason tournament this year.
“We will be able to utilize this time to get better and start preparations for next season. We fell short of the mark of getting to the NCAA Tournament; I take full responsibility for this team, and will do the things necessary to make sure we are able to reach one of our main goals at LSU in the future,” said LSU Head Coach Johnny Jones.
Jones consulted with his staff and met with the team earlier on Sunday before announcing his decision.
The Tigers would have gone into the post-season without the services of senior leader Keith Hornsby, who had season-ending surgery on Tuesday after reaggravating an internal injury suffered in November that caused him to miss the entire first month of the season. Freshman guard Antonio Blakeney played the two SEC Tournament games under the weather and would have been listed as questionable at best for any games this coming week.
“That also factored into our decision, but it is primarily now my responsibility to begin working and preparing our players for the prospects that lie ahead,” said Jones.
The Tigers finished 19-14 on the year, 11-7 and in a tie for third in the Southeastern Conference for the second-straight year. LSU advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament and played on the final day of the regular season with a chance to tie for the regular season title.”
Ben Simmons will still almost certainly be the number one pick in the upcoming NBA draft, but it is odd that his talents were not enough to propel his team into the NCAA tournament. Once he moves to the next level, we will find out if he will reach his full potential.