Former LSU basketball player Wayne Sims dead at 54

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU says former basketball player Wayne “Big Daddy” Sims has died at age 54. Sims died Wednesday, according to LSU’s athletic department, and the cause of death was not disclosed. Sims played in four NCAA Tournaments with LSU from 1987-1991. Sims’ coach was Dale Brown, and his teammates included Shaquille O’Neal, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and Vernel Singleton. Sims is one of 21 LSU players to reach 1,000 career points and 500 rebounds, and one of nine players in program history to appear in four NCAA Tournaments. He played in 1,107 games for LSU and finished his career with 1,107 points and 603 rebounds. Sims’ son, Wayde, also played for LSU for two seasons before he was fatally shot in 2018 during an off-campus altercation.