Ben Simmons requests ref give him a hard pass before he’ll shoot this free throw

Ben Simmons dominated his SEC debut — 36 points and 14 rebounds — and if you want to look at some dunks, click here.

This is the best part of the night though. The referee two-hops a weak pass to Simmons at the free throw line, who returns the ball to him and gestures for some oomph on a return pass.

There’s nothing rude or condescending about it either. It’s an encouraging gesture — he believes in the ref, and watching the GIF it feels like he believes in me. Gonna put some zip on everything I do today for Ben Simmons.