St. John's University Athletics
Justin Simon Declares for NBA Draft
4/10/2019 3:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball
St. John’s 6-foot-5 guard became third player in program history to win BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
QUEENS, N.Y. – After becoming just the third individual in program history to be named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, redshirt junior Justin Simon announced that he will enter the 2019 NBA Draft.
Simon, who spent three years at St. John's after transferring from Arizona, is on track to graduate before beginning his professional career.
"All I needed was an opportunity and St. John's gave me that," said Simon. "I'd like to thank the staff and all my teammates here at St. John's that have believed and helped me be the player I am today and moving forward. St. John's will always have a special place in my heart."
A native of Temecula, Calif., Simon appeared in 67 games, 66 of which were starts, in two seasons playing with Johnnies. He poured in 754 points in red and white, good enough for an average of 11.3 per outing. Simon reached double figures 41 times with three 20-point games, highlighted by a career-best 28 points at Xavier as a redshirt sophomore.
Also a premier facilitator, Simon dished out 4.1 assists per game as a member of the Red Storm, including a 5.1 average that ranked second in the league in 2017-18.
A solid, often times explosive, offense talent, Simon shined most on the defensive end of the floor. Last month, Simon became just the third player in program history alongside Mark Jackson (1987) and Sir'Dominic Pointer (2015) to be named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year. Always drawing the other team's toughest assignment, Simon often did well to shut that player down. In two regular season games against Marquette in 2018-19, Simon helped limit All-American and BIG EAST Player of the Year Markus Howard to 25 total points. Howard averaged 25 per game over the course of the campaign.
As a redshirt sophomore in 2017-18, he led the league and ranked eighth nationally in steals with 2.5 per game. He also finished second in the BIG EAST in assists (5.1 apg) and fifth in rebounding (7.1 rpg). This past season, he ranked seventh in steals with 1.5 per outing.
Simon, who spent three years at St. John's after transferring from Arizona, is on track to graduate before beginning his professional career.
"All I needed was an opportunity and St. John's gave me that," said Simon. "I'd like to thank the staff and all my teammates here at St. John's that have believed and helped me be the player I am today and moving forward. St. John's will always have a special place in my heart."
A native of Temecula, Calif., Simon appeared in 67 games, 66 of which were starts, in two seasons playing with Johnnies. He poured in 754 points in red and white, good enough for an average of 11.3 per outing. Simon reached double figures 41 times with three 20-point games, highlighted by a career-best 28 points at Xavier as a redshirt sophomore.
Also a premier facilitator, Simon dished out 4.1 assists per game as a member of the Red Storm, including a 5.1 average that ranked second in the league in 2017-18.
A solid, often times explosive, offense talent, Simon shined most on the defensive end of the floor. Last month, Simon became just the third player in program history alongside Mark Jackson (1987) and Sir'Dominic Pointer (2015) to be named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year. Always drawing the other team's toughest assignment, Simon often did well to shut that player down. In two regular season games against Marquette in 2018-19, Simon helped limit All-American and BIG EAST Player of the Year Markus Howard to 25 total points. Howard averaged 25 per game over the course of the campaign.
As a redshirt sophomore in 2017-18, he led the league and ranked eighth nationally in steals with 2.5 per game. He also finished second in the BIG EAST in assists (5.1 apg) and fifth in rebounding (7.1 rpg). This past season, he ranked seventh in steals with 1.5 per outing.
Players Mentioned
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