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Isaiah Briscoe thought LSU freshman Ben Simmons was the best player in the country when he played against him in high school.
“He can do it all, 6-10, he can dribble, pass, shoot. He can do it all. He can run a team. He’s a good player,” Briscoe said Monday.
Kentucky finds out just how good Tuesday night when it plays at LSU, which is coming off a win at Vanderbilt on Saturday.
Assistant coach Kenny Payne said several players had indicated a willingness to guard Simmons but would not say who they were.
Would Briscoe be happy to guard Simmons?
“It is what it is,” Briscoe said.
Briscoe said Kentucky would just “try to contain him” and will treat it like any other game even though Simmons seems to already be a consensus No. 1 pick in the June NBA draft.
Freshman Skal Labissiere calls him a “really good player” and has played against and with Simmons.
“On the court, we had a very good chemistry I would say. He’s a really good passer. His basketball IQ is off the chart. We played really well together on the court,” Labissiere said. “But it’s about our team going against LSU. So it’s about us going to get a win when we go down there. So that’s been the focus for us.”
Kentucky assistant coach says Simmons is unique with his size and skills.
“If you guard him with a big, he has the ability to play like a point guard. If you put a smaller player on him, he has the ability to play like a big. He’ll play great against us. I’m sure he’ll be excited. He’s an excellent rebounder,” Payne said. “He’s a challenge. I’m sure our guys will feel obligated to go at him. He gets a lot of hype. Everybody considers him hands down the best player in the country, so we should be excited to play against him.”
Payne said he thinks Alex Poythress, Marcus Lee and Briscoe have to accept the challenge of stopping, or at least containing, Simmons.
“We want to throw a bunch of players at him that are going to compete, put pressure on him and make everything he does hard,” Payne said. “Players know and respect other players, so when you turn on the TV and you see commentators talking about Ben Simmons you can bet that our guys are watching.”
Payne didn't see Simmons often on the recruiting trail but knew he was gifted and special.
“Didn’t know how long it would take him to get embraced to college basketball because it’s a different pace than high school. But he’s a very talented player. He’s a mismatch problem. You can’t hit him with a steady diet of one player, whether it’s a big or a guard. He’s unique,” Payne said.
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