Australian teenager Ben Simmons has been named the top high-school basketball player in the United States.

Simmons, who just missed the final cut for the Boomers' FIBA World Cup team last year, was named winner of the Morgan Wootten Player of the Year award on Wednesday (AEDT), awarded to the best player from the all-American squads.

The 18-year-old forward led his Florida school, Montverde, to back-to-back national titles and averaged 29 points, 12 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game this season.

"It's definitely a big honour," Simmons said.

"And when you look at some of the former winners, such as LeBron James and the other great players, it just motivates me to work even harder."

James, a two-time NBA champion and four-time MVP who currently plays alongside Australian guard Matthew Dellavedova for the Cleveland Cavaliers, won the award in 2003, just three months before being drafted first overall.

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There will be no such fast track for Simmons with NBA eligibility rules having changed in the interim, making at least one year of college basketball mandatory for all prospective draftees.

He has already committed to Louisiana State University in the next college season and is being touted as a top NBA draft pick in 2016.

Simmons is the son of US-born former NBL player Dave Simmons and the award completes a long journey from an overmatched freshman in 2012 to becoming a star senior.

"My first game against Oak Hill ... was a bit overwhelming from a physical standpoint," Simmons said.

"I remember (current Indiana Hoosiers forward) Troy Williams going in for a dunk, and I just got out of the way.

"I knew I had an understanding of how to play and I was athletic, but I did not understand how to put it all together."

AAP/ABC