BATON ROUGE – LSU basketball freshman Ben Simmons and Antonio Blakeney are taking part in the inaugural NIKE Basketball Academy in Santa Monica, California.
In this invitation only event, Simmons and Blakeney are the only true freshman who have yet to play a Division I game among the college players invited to participate in the special camp which runs through Monday.
LSU is one of three schools with multiple college players in attendance among the 27 players invited to the event.
The Nike Basketball Academy is taking place at the Santa Monica Airport’s Barker Hangar. Shifting from three skills academies to one, the academy will be a tailor-made experience for guards, wings and bigs all under one roof. By creating a seamless experience, the Nike Basketball Academy’s goal is to allow the best players in the country (both high school and college) to compete against the best competition while receiving guidance from Nike Basketball’s biggest stars — LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis. Additional basketball legends will be on hand to serve as mentors and coaches for the weeklong session with the top high school and college players in the country.
As part of the experience, participants will go through a professional basketball combine, off-court workouts, drills, film sessions and 5-on-5 competition.