BATON ROUGE, La. – Ben Simmons has already drawn comparisons to LeBron James and Magic Johnson less than a month into his college career. So does LSU basketball coach Johnny Jones have any hope his talented freshman will wait on the NBA and return for his sophomore season?

"Absolutely not," Jones told Yahoo Sports.

With the college basketball season now in full swing, Simmons has become the latest one-and-done darling and is expected to be the top overall pick in next year's NBA draft.

A 6-foot-10 forward, Simmons has wasted little time showing off his versatility and unselfishness. He can pass, rebound and physically dominate. He had 43 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, five steals and three blocks in a victory over North Florida on Wednesday night. He also had 16 assists against South Alabama and nearly recorded a triple-double with 21 points, 20 assists and seven rebounds versus Marquette.

And Simmons, 19, has played in only seven games.

View photos Ben Simmons (right) often brings the ball up the floor after a rebound. (AP) More

"We're embracing the time we have with him," Jones told Yahoo Sports. "He's like a Shaquille O'Neal. Those guys don't come around often."

One NBA general manager who watched Simmons at the Legends Classic in New York last week described him as a franchise-altering prospect.

"He's a tremendous talent. There is so much he can do," the GM told Yahoo Sports. "He fits into the modern NBA as far as a big who can handle, pass and rebound. High basketball IQ. He has a few things he could work on, but he is a foundation player.

"He just makes everyone better. It's hard to find players who make everyone better. He is unique in that way. Growth needs to occur, but he has a lot of skills. A lot of tools."

There isn't much that Simmons can't do. But while the Australian may beg to differ, he does need to improve his jump shot. He's taken only two 3-pointers, making one. He also doesn't regret twice deferring to teammates and not taking a potentially game-winning shot in the final seconds of an 81-80 loss to Marquette.

"If I don't need to shoot the ball, I won't do it," Simmons said. "I don't think I took one three against Marquette and I had [21 points]. Once I start shooting that jumper, I feel like I will be one of those guys that is hard to stop."

Simmons and Jones laugh at talk that he might be too unselfish.

"His main concern is trying to make other people better and to create opportunities for others because his main focus is winning, whether it's him scoring, them scoring or creating an opportunity," Jones told Yahoo Sports. "He has a great balance of that."

Simmons said his father Dave has always preached playing for the benefit of the team over individual statistics. Ben Simmons doesn't plan on changing from that mentality. Dave Simmons played collegiately at Oklahoma City University and played professionally in Central America, South America and Australia.

"They tell me to shoot the ball [outside] a little bit," Ben Simmons told Yahoo Sports. "I have guys on my team who could do that. And that's their jobs, specifically. I feel I can win the game without scoring 30 points.

"Growing up in Australia and the way I was raised, my dad told me to play as a team and to be a team player. You have five guys on the court. It's easy for five guys to defend one guy. It's hard to guard five. It's just a natural thing to do."

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