NCAA president: Simmons' complaints are about the NBA's rule
After blasting the NCAA and calling it "really f----d up" in a documentary to be aired Friday, former LSU star and 2016 NBA No. 1 draft pick Ben Simmons' comments reached NCAA president Mark Emmert.
"I was reading today where someone who played basketball at LSU was very unhappy with the one-and-done rule," Emmert said, according to Scott Rabalais of The Advocate. "That’s not our rule. That’s the NBA’s rule. But (he says) it’s another stupid NCAA rule."
Speaking at LSU's inaugural Sports Communication Summit, the president agreed with Simmons on the frustration of having to go to school for one year, but said there are other options.
"The one-and-done rule is something I’ve made no secret about how much I dislike it," Emmert said. "It makes a farce of going to school. But if you just want to play in the NBA, you can do that. You can go to Europe or play at a prep school until you're 19.
"I’d love nothing more than for the NBA to get rid of that rule. We’ve made it really clear to the (NBA) players union and the leadership of the NBA that we very much would like it changed."
Emmert is referring to the NBA's age minimum, which is set at 19. League commissioner Adam Silver wants to bump it up to 20, but it looks set to remain at 19 in the next collective bargaining agreement.
The NCAA president said any player who wants to turn professional but chooses to go the college route needs to be committed to focusing on academics just as much as their sport.
"If someone wants to be a pro basketball player and doesn't want to go to college, don't go to college," he said. "We don't put a gun to your head. First and foremost, it's about being a student at a university. ...
"Those kids have to be students. Philosophically, they have to be representatives of the university, so what we can and should be doing, which what we are doing today, is provide them with everything they possibly need to make them successful students and athletes."
Simmons admitted he didn't attend a single class during second semester.
The documentary about Simmons, "One and Done," will be broadcast on Showtime.