Ben Simmons came into the NCAA as the number one prospect in the nation. It was all but officially-official that he’d be a one-and-done-guy. He chose to go to LSU where he could be the guy and get his numbers to impress pro teams. But we’re here in the midst of March Madness and Ben Simmons stopped playing basketball two weeks ago. Duke’s Brandon Ingram has crept up to Simmons’ draft stock level, even replacing him as the number one pick on some big boards. And Ingram is still playing. So where did Simmons go wrong?

Many observers point to attitude, laziness, work ethic, and whatever other intangibles they can bring up for Simmons’ so-called decline. But according to Fox Sports’ Tim Brando, Simmons is going to be a better pro player than he was in college. Speaking to Rob Ellis and Harry Mayes a little earlier today, Brando said that Simmons’ choice of LSU had as much to do with the school allowing a documentary to be filmed about him as anything else. “I don’t think Calapari [and] Coach K would have allowed that,” Brando said.

The one and done idea, in Brando’s eyes, is really only bad when players like Simmons don’t want to “embrace the college experience.” And that’s a fair point. Simmons probably would have fared better – though he’s still a top two pick no matter what – going the Emmanuel Mudiay route of playing professionally overseas for a year and then going to the NBA. He wouldn’t have the stage to be the “Next LeBron,” but the concerns some analysts/teams have about him likely wouldn’t exist. But Ben Simmons was at LSU to get his, and he got it.

Brando still told Ellis and Mayes that Simmons will be “a great pro” who has “got the goods.” But his analysis of the one-and-done concept, not just Simmons, is worth hearing.