![Montverde's Ben Simmons #20 soars in for a dunk against St. Benedict's Prep during a high school basketball game on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015, in Kean, NJ. (AP Photo/Gregory Payan)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F02%2F23%2FAP547198565887-674x1011.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
“I was the bruiser inside,” Dave told Bleacher Report. “He’s got the skills. I didn’t have a lot of those skills—the shooting and the understanding of the game. When I became a professional, I just thought I'll coach my kids and make sure they can dribble, pass, shoot, play defense. All the basics.”
Simmons chose LSU in part because of a connection to assistant coach David Patrick but also because he wants to lead the program to greatness.
“I want to go to school where I can help build the start of something new. I know they had great players back in the day, you know, like Shaq and Pistol Pete. I just want to be one of those guys that’s remembered for helping build LSU,” Simmons told NOLA.com.
“At LSU, there’s a bunch of guys that can play the game well and they’re there for one reason and that’s to win. I feel that some guys go to other schools for their personal reasons. I wanted to go somewhere where I could leave a legacy but also play with a great team.”