Markelle Fultz is Ben Simmons 2.0 (and not in a good way)

Washington point guard Markelle Fultz is really, really good at basketball and will probably the first pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. What’s the problem? He’s stuck on a terrible team that probably won’t make the NCAA Tournament. Last night, Washington lost to Nevada, their fourth straight loss this season, also the fourth game in a row Fultz has scored 21 or more points and it didn’t matter. Like Ben Simmons at LSU last year, Fultz is primed to be the next great college basketball star on a horrible team that we probably won’t get to enjoy in the postseason, which is a shame.

Don’t get me wrong, Fultz will still go first or in the top three of the draft and make millions of dollars and be just fine, but, like Johnny Jones at LSU, Washington’s struggles despite having one of the best players in the game really exposes Lorenzo Romar as a coach. Washington is 4-5 this season, hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2011, and probably won’t this season unless Fultz pulls off a miracle. Yet, Romar still signed Michael Porter, Jr., one of the most coveted players in the 2017 class. Of course, it helps that Porter’s father joined Romar’s staff over the summer, but even so, Washington’s struggles this season should serve as another cautionary tale for top recruits to stop taking chances on schools without a proven history of winning and sending kids to the pros. Sure, you’ll probably still get to the league if you’re good enough, but wouldn’t it be more fun to win along the way?