Justin Simon

Gotta admit, this kid fascinates me. I cant recall another player- not just at SJU but on any other team- with the combination of really good and really bad in their game that this kid has. Last night he was awesome and horrible IN THE SAME DAMN GAME.

The athleticism, the physicality, the ability to rebound from the backcourt, the share-the-ball attitude, the defense, the motor...all off the charts. Good enough to give him a shot at coming off someones bench for 12-15 minutes a night in the NBA someday even if the bad stuff doesnt significantly improve IMO

On the other hand, the jumper (and calling it that is being charitable) is one of the worst I've ever seen and I've never seen someone with the ball in his hand so often make so many bad decisions. The latter could improve I suppose, although he's not a freshman, he's a redshirt soph and any "rust" from his layoff last year should be gone by now. As for the shooting, I'm not as optimistic but if he could even get to average or just below he'd a beast.

I really like the kid, warts and all, and I'm fascinated to see how he turns out.

Make this kid a forward and he will dominate the BE. Just have Clark play the perimeter on offense (3) and Simon inside the arc (4). On defensive  end they can switch. He will be a monster playing from the elbow and the baseline.

I agree with most of your analysis. I’m hoping that he will work on his shooting in the off season. I think the decision making is just rust from not playing the point guard position for awhile.

I’m curious to see if this team can make some noise next week and upset a few teams but I think Mullin needs to be smart and open up the rotation that first game if they want to stay fresh  for the following game(s).

Make this kid a forward and he will dominate the BE. Just have Clark play the perimeter on offense (3) and Simon inside the arc (4). On defensive  end they can switch. He will be a monster playing from the elbow and the baseline.

Mase
SImon is excelling at the guard spot because of his size at the guard spot. He does not shoot well and playing against guys his size or bigger will make him less effective. The same with Ponds off the ball. He is not a good enough shooter and is too small to be as effective at the two. The reason we are where we are can be blamed on a lot of different things but changing Ponds / Simon roles are not two of them. For Ponds especially his only entrance into NBA is going to be as a point guard.

Make this kid a forward and he will dominate the BE. Just have Clark play the perimeter on offense (3) and Simon inside the arc (4). On defensive  end they can switch. He will be a monster playing from the elbow and the baseline.

+1

As weird as it sounds, I think he's got better NBA prospects than Ponds.

He should be working on his jump shot all off-season.

Quote from: Amaseinyourface2 on March 01, 2018, 10:59:44 AM

Make this kid a forward and he will dominate the BE. Just have Clark play the perimeter on offense (3) and Simon inside the arc (4). On defensive  end they can switch. He will be a monster playing from the elbow and the baseline.

Mase
SImon is excelling at the guard spot because of his size at the guard spot. He does not shoot well and playing against guys his size or bigger will make him less effective. The same with Ponds off the ball. He is not a good enough shooter and is too small to be as effective at the two. The reason we are where we are can be blamed on a lot of different things but changing Ponds / Simon roles are not two of them. For Ponds especially his only entrance into NBA is going to be as a point guard.

I want ponds to be the point guard for majority of minutes. . Because of that I definitely don’t want Simon playing around on the perimeter. Doesn’t need to be guarded there. He is not a drive and kick player. He is a great passer because of his size and vision. We obviously just disagree on this. Just because he is playing well doesn’t mean he can’t play better.

If you agree that ponds needs to be playing point than what position is Simon playing?

If Simon did not have “warts” like shooting form, he would not have left Zona. Idon’t expect that stroke to get much better, but I think he’ll  cut down on this unforced errors he tends to commit. All in all, he and Marv are great additions on a number of levels.

How does the saying go-he is a mystery inside an enigma wrapped around a conundrum-or something to that affect? 

If Simon did not have “warts” like shooting form, he would not have left Zona. Idon’t expect that stroke to get much better, but I think he’ll  cut down on this unforced errors he tends to commit. All in all, he and Marv are great additions on a number of levels.

Especially w/o Ponds but even with Ponds he tries to do too much.
Bottom line is I don't think he will ever be even a decent outside shooter but he is a very unique talent, I really like his game and he is fun to watch. Outside of the coach ST. John's has never had a perfect player.  If Simon can pick his spots a little better I don't mind the to's. Again too much time dissecting Simon. Not a problem but a positive.

Simon is a combo forward and we can be really good once the staff uses him as such. He is not a guard. He makes up his mind about what he's going to do before his first step and he doesn't have the skill to adjust to what the defender does. Sometimes he can pull it off because of his physical talent, but it's hideous when he can't.

He should be used like Dom in his senior year, and I think he can be much better due to his strength and reach advantage over Dom. Give me one kid to defend the post one-on-one against Bagley or Spellman in a tie game late and I choose Simon all day long.

Maybe Marillac has a point. I thought Dom was too small to be a 4 and he was great there. Simon is about the same size. the 3 would probably be his ideal college position. Ponds at PG, Dixon at SG and Simon at SF seems like a nice lineup next year.

I'd love to see him, Shamorie, and Marvin taking turns flashing to the foul line against zones.....I think they'd be unstoppable.

He's definitely been the key in some of the wins and the next step for him is to be more consistent as he's been poor in some of the losses. I'm not sure he knows how to play with Ponds yet as the things he excelled at last night should be easier to do with Ponds on the court rather than on the bench. If he cuts out the preventable turnovers and improves his shot a little he'll be a huge matchup problem. He doesn't even need to make 3s just make that 15-18 footer enough for teams to have to respect it instead of really sagging into the middle of the lane

He's definitely been the key in some of the wins and the next step for him is to be more consistent as he's been poor in some of the losses. I'm not sure he knows how to play with Ponds yet as the things he excelled at last night should be easier to do with Ponds on the court rather than on the bench. If he cuts out the preventable turnovers and improves his shot a little he'll be a huge matchup problem. He doesn't even need to make 3s just make that 15-18 footer enough for teams to have to respect it instead of really sagging into the middle of the lane

His stand still jumper is actually alright. At least it goes in at a reasonable clip. It’s his pull up jumpers that are bad. He probably has as many air balls as he does makes in that departments.

Quote from: goredmen on March 01, 2018, 12:56:03 PM

He's definitely been the key in some of the wins and the next step for him is to be more consistent as he's been poor in some of the losses. I'm not sure he knows how to play with Ponds yet as the things he excelled at last night should be easier to do with Ponds on the court rather than on the bench. If he cuts out the preventable turnovers and improves his shot a little he'll be a huge matchup problem. He doesn't even need to make 3s just make that 15-18 footer enough for teams to have to respect it instead of really sagging into the middle of the lane

His stand still jumper is actually alright. At least it goes in at a reasonable clip. It’s his pull up jumpers that are bad. He probably has as many air balls as he does makes in that departments.

It sometimes seems like he's measuring the distance of the shot on his pull up jumpers.  He ends up pulling the string where it falls short or it's a brick.  Overall, I like him as a player because he can do so, many things on the court.  As, mentioned by tnice....  He can be good and bad all in the same game.

Quote from: goredmen on March 01, 2018, 12:56:03 PM

He's definitely been the key in some of the wins and the next step for him is to be more consistent as he's been poor in some of the losses. I'm not sure he knows how to play with Ponds yet as the things he excelled at last night should be easier to do with Ponds on the court rather than on the bench. If he cuts out the preventable turnovers and improves his shot a little he'll be a huge matchup problem. He doesn't even need to make 3s just make that 15-18 footer enough for teams to have to respect it instead of really sagging into the middle of the lane

His stand still jumper is actually alright. At least it goes in at a reasonable clip. It’s his pull up jumpers that are bad. He probably has as many air balls as he does makes in that departments.

Yeah it's been decent but teams are still willing to give him that jumper from the elbow. He now has to make it enough for them to have to guard him there which would make it easier for him to get to the basket

Quote from: Amaseinyourface2 on March 01, 2018, 12:59:33 PM

Quote from: goredmen on March 01, 2018, 12:56:03 PM

He's definitely been the key in some of the wins and the next step for him is to be more consistent as he's been poor in some of the losses. I'm not sure he knows how to play with Ponds yet as the things he excelled at last night should be easier to do with Ponds on the court rather than on the bench. If he cuts out the preventable turnovers and improves his shot a little he'll be a huge matchup problem. He doesn't even need to make 3s just make that 15-18 footer enough for teams to have to respect it instead of really sagging into the middle of the lane

His stand still jumper is actually alright. At least it goes in at a reasonable clip. It’s his pull up jumpers that are bad. He probably has as many air balls as he does makes in that departments.

Yeah it's been decent but teams are still willing to give him that jumper from the elbow. He now has to make it enough for them to have to guard him there which would make it easier for him to get to the basket

I missed last night game. But up to this point in the season I can’t remember much of any catch and shoot opportunities from him inside the arc,  around the elbow etc. It’s either stand still 3, pull up jumpers , or floaters.

Maybe Marillac has a point. I thought Dom was too small to be a 4 and he was great there. Simon is about the same size. the 3 would probably be his ideal college position. Ponds at PG, Dixon at SG and Simon at SF seems like a nice lineup next year.

With what we have now, I think the best lineup next year is Dixon-Ponds-Williams-Simon-Clark.
Let's get Simon up to 225 and run some offense through him in the high and low post.

Justin has good and bad points to his game BUT the good far out weigh the bad.  He is not a point guard but was forced into that role last night.  His kickback to Clark with us down by 5 was excellent choice.  I Thought his first half block was one of tremendous ability and seeing stills am amazed at how up there he was-a real "Skywalker".  I agree about his outside shooting as something that needs to improve but I believe he realizes it as he does takes very few from 3 (about one a game).  If he can develop an outside shot, it will open up his ability to score off the drive. 

I watched him in warm ups last night and he and Trimble were paired in shooting. Trimble was unconscious especially from the corners when he made 9 in a row.  Trimble is very smooth in stroke and his feet/legs are under control.  Justin has a jerkiness to his shot and his legs a wide spread as he goes up.  If he can correct this he will be desired at the next level.

One additional positive from last night was his FT's--6/7, not bad for a 60% shooter (and Bash going 5/5 was unreal)