Aussie Ben Simmons is following the path of illustrious company on his likely journey from college basketball to the NBA.
The Melbourne-born Louisiana Tigers point forward on Monday became just the fourth ever freshman to be named in The Associated Press' pre-season All-America Team, prompting some to compare his rise to that of the great Shaquille O'Neal.
Simmons, 19, joined the Tigers after an impressive high school career in Florida, where he averaged 28 points, 11.9 rebounds and four assists per game in his final year.
The last player to create such headlines out of Florida was O'Neal in the early 1990s, and he went on to score 28,596 points in more than 1200 NBA games.
Adding further credentials to Simmons' selection in the honour squad is the fact the three previous freshman to be selected in the side - Harrison Barnes, Andrew Wiggins and Jahlil Okafor - all went on to be high picks in the NBA draft.
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"It's really quite astonishing," teammate Keith Hornsby told Associated Press.
"Just watching him roam around and people notice him, and just give him attention, and he's really good about it, too.
"He acknowledges everybody, and that's pretty cool. It's fun to walk around him, even to walk about 10 feet behind him. Even when people don't talk to him, they're whispering to each other (about Simmons)."
Simmons though, is just hoping he can draw the same kind of popularity now that he has moved to college.
"If (his team's stadium)'s not sold out, I'll be kind of upset," he said.
"Hopefully everyone comes out. I love seeing fans and them wanting us to win and do well. That really drives me."
Kyle Wiltjer of Gonzaga, Georges Niang of Iowa State, Buddy Hield of Oklahoma and Kris Dunn of Providence were also named in the honour team.
