Editor’s Note: LSU is only allowed to discuss those players who have officially signed letters-of-intent in this story dealing with high school athletes.
CHICAGO – A busy week begins Wednesday night at the United Center when LSU basketball signee Ben Simmons takes his spot on the East Team in the 38th annual McDonald’s High School All-Star game at 8 p.m. The contest will be televised on ESPN.
Simmons becomes the 16th player who has spent at least one season at LSU to play in the McDonald’s All-Star Game. The list is at the bottom of the story:
From there, Simmons will rejoin his Montverde (Fla.) Academy team for the Dick’s Sporting Goods National High School Tournament in New York. Montverde opens play on Thursday at 3 p.m. against Greensboro Day (NC). Montverde is the No. 2 seed in the event. The quarterfinal game will be played at Christ the King High School in Middle Village, New York.
The semifinals are Friday and the Saturday championship in both the boy’s and girl’s brackets will be played at Madison Square Garden in New York City. All games will be televised on the ESPN family of networks.
Simmons has won three major high school POY awards – the Gatorade National Basketball POY, the Naismith High School POY and the Wootten Award for POY. Also on Tuesday, Simmons was named the All-USA Today Boys Basketball POY. He averaged 28 points, 11.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists this season.
A list of LSU’s McDonald’s All-Americans (posted alphabetically):
Jamie Brandon – Martin Luther King HS, Chicago, Ill., 1990
Brandon Bass – Capitol HS, Baton Rouge, La., 2003
Glen Davis – University HS, Baton Rouge, La., 2004
Sylvester “Deuce” Ford – Fairley HS, Memphis, Tenn., 1993
Chris Jackson (Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf) – Gulfport HS, Gulfport, Miss., 1988
Ronnie Henderson – Murrah HS, Jackson, Miss., 1993
Randy Livingston – Newman HS, New Orleans, La., 1993
Jarell Martin – Madison Prep HS, Baton Rouge, La., 2013
Tasmin Mitchell – Denham Springs HS, Denham Springs, La., 2005
Johnny O’Bryant III – Eastside HS, Cleveland, Miss., 2011
Shaquille O’Neal – Robert G. Cole HS, San Antonio, Texas, 1989
Stanley Roberts – Lower Richland HS, Hopkins, S.C., 1988
Ben Simmons – Montverde Academy, Melbourne, Australia, 2015
Duane Spencer – Cohen HS, New Orleans, La., 1992
Stromile Swift – Fair Park HS, Shreveport, La., 1998
John Williams – Crenshaw HS, Los Angeles, Calif., 1984