LSU currently boasts a group of athletes who are among the best—if not the best—players in four college sports.
As 225 details in a cover story from its March issue, a superstar basketball player, highly-touted pitcher, a No. 1 golf recruit and a likely Heisman Trophy candidate all call the school home.
Freshman basketball player Ben Simmons will likely will be the No. 1 pick in June’s NBA Draft, 225 says, while running back Leonard Fournette of New Orleans is surely among the top few favorites to win the Heisman Trophy in 2016.
Sam Burns of Shreveport is the nation’s No. 1 golf recruit, and pitcher Alex Lange stunned the college baseball world by going 12-0 as a freshman.
“Being even considered in with those guys is awesome,” Lange says, perhaps selling himself short.
“Just the way Leonard conducts himself on and off the field, Ben the same way, with class, there’s something to be learned from that. With all the success they’ve had, I can’t even put myself on that pedestal with them. It’s pretty awesome to be here in school while they’re doing their thing and to be around them while they’re here.”
The magazine likens the four to a musical called Million Dollar Quartet, featuring a 1956 jam session among Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash.
“Fast forward almost 60 years, and you have LSU’s version,” 225 says. “You can rest assured that this quartet will make way, way more than a million once they’re pros.”
For example, if Simmons is the No. 1 draft pick, he would earn nearly $5 million next year in the NBA. But money, just like fame, doesn’t seem to faze the 6-foot-10 do-everything player. A morning appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter, a gaggle of local media surrounding him in the afternoon, with a national writer or two sprinkled into the mix—that was a typical day for Simmons during the season.
He has become a household hoops name, but he says he doesn’t think of himself as famous. Simmons figures it was about three years ago when he seemed to become a regular on either SportsCenter or ESPN broadcasts of his high-school games.
“It’s been so different for me growing up,” says Simmons, 19. “Now it’s on a different level.”
Different? When President Barack Obama came to Baton Rouge in January, Simmons was not only in the McKinley High School crowd, he got a shout-out from the president. On campus, he doesn’t even try to hide.
“It’s cool,” Simmons says. “Everyone says hi, and everyone’s friendly, and I love that part of it.”
Read the full story and learn more about LSU’s star athletes. Send your comments to editor@225batonrouge.com.
