LSU’s Ben Simmons has been named the Freshman of the Year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. The 6-foot-10 Aussie’s 19.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game made him the overwhelming choice for the Integris Wayman Tisdale Award.
Here’s the rest of the USBWA’s Freshman All-America team.
| 2016 USBWA FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICA TEAM | |||||
| Pos. | Player, School | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. | Hometown |
| F | Jaylen Brown, California | 6-7 | 225 | Fr. | Marietta, Ga. |
| F | Henry Ellenson, Marquette | 6-11 | 245 | Fr. | Rice Lake, Wis. |
| G/F | Brandon Ingram, Duke | 6-9 | 190 | Fr. | Kinston, N.C. |
| G | Jamal Murray, Kentucky | 6-4 | 207 | Fr. | Kitchener, Ont. |
| G | Ben Simmons, LSU | 6-10 | 240 | Fr. | Melbourne, Australia |
Simmons had a better rebound average than any freshman, and his 22 double-doubles were among the most in college basketball. He shot 56 percent from the field and played his way to likely being a top-two draft pick come June.
The award comes just days after LSU announced, amid its disappointing 19-14 season, it would decline any invitations to any postseason tournaments. Simmons’ consistent performance was juxtaposed against a team that could not put together an NCAA Tournament resume.
The USBWA began voting on a Freshman of the Year in 1989. Here is the full list of winners.
| ALL-TIME USBWA NATIONAL FRESHMEN OF THE YEAR | |
| 1989 Chris Jackson, LSU 1990 Kenny Anderson, Georgia Tech 1991 Rodney Rogers, Wake Forest 1992 Chris Webber, Michigan 1993 Jason Kidd, California 1994 Joe Smith, Maryland 1995 None selected 1996 None selected 1997 None selected 1998 Larry Hughes, Saint Louis 1999 Quentin Richardson, DePaul 2000 Jason Gardner, Arizona 2001 Eddie Griffin, Seton Hall 2002 T.J. Ford, Texas |
2003 Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse 2004 Luol Deng, Duke 2005 Marvin Williams, North Carolina 2006 Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina 2007 Kevin Durant, Texas 2008 Michael Beasley, Kansas State 2009 Tyreke Evans, Memphis 2010 John Wall, Kentucky 2011 Jared Sullinger, Ohio State 2012 Anthony Davis, Kentucky 2013 Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State 2014 Jabari Parker, Duke 2015 Jahlil Okafor, Duke 2016 Ben Simmons, LSU |
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