[Groundhog]

I watched maybe 70% of LSU's games this year, and although I'm biased, my own report would be:

1) LSU's halfcourt offense was terrible, and didn't seem to generate a lot of scoring opportunities for any player on the court, let alone Simmons. Too many possessions where Simmons either did not get a touch, or was handling it outside the three point line, and far too many possessions that wasted 20 seconds of shot clock only to have a guard drive into traffic or attempt a contested jumper. He doesn't have much of a back to the basket game outside of basic baseline spins, etc. but has pretty good touch on awkward looks around the basket, and I don't think LSU did enough to play him outside of the post, using him more as wing or guard on most possessions, especially as a screener rather than target... the way team's defended LSU most nights, he just wasn't going to get the ball in space inside the key.

2) LSU's transition offense was very good. Unfortunately their defense was not good enough to generate a lot of it, but in the open court Simmons' strengths shine through (mainly his handling and vision), and I think that will translate well to the NBA game.

3) Simmons deserves some knock on his individual defense, in particular his effort. His body language wasn't always great on either end, and he really seemed to check out of sections of games on both sides. This seemed to be a symptom of a bigger issue IMO. Simmons just didn't look very happy after the first month of the season, and seemed to get frustrated by his teammates - I'm basing that more on how he would approach possessions after a couple of trips down the court where his teammates take bad shots or he doesn't see a touch, than any signs of him actually reacting to teammates.

4) Simmons confidence more than stroke is the issue with his J. Potentially not a big deal, depending on question marks over his work ethic, because that's really the only way to fix it - hard work in the gym outside of regular training hours.

I think Ingram is likely to step in and win rookie of the year, but Simmons has the higher ceiling. I think being in the right situation is more important to Simmons than Ingram - ie. I could see Simmons really struggling in a place like Philly, but imagine him in the hands of a Brad Stevens.....