St. John’s Signs Justin Simon
QUEENS, N. Y (April 21, 2016) – St. John’s head coach Chris Mullin received a commitment from Justin Simon (Temecula, Calif.), who will transfer to the Red Storm men’s basketball program. Simon is a 6-foot-5 guard who played in 24 games as a freshman last season at Arizona. Per NCAA transfer regulations, Simon must complete one full academic year of residency before competing for the Red Storm.
“Justin is an explosive player who we believe will develop well in our program,” said Mullin. “He’s an instinctive playmaker with good court vision and he distributes the ball well. We are glad Justin chose St. John’s for the next chapter of his basketball career.”
Simon averaged 7.5 minutes last season for the Wildcats, recording 2.3 points and 1.2 rebounds per game. A consensus top-40 prospect in the class of 2015, Simon played in 13 Pac-12 games and had his best conference performance against Washington, posting nine points and four rebounds. He also registered a season-high 10 points and three steals to help lift Arizona to a victory over Missouri.
“Having the opportunity to play for a Hall of Famer who has surrounded himself with an incredible staff that is all about getting their guys better was a huge draw in my decision to continue my college career at St. John’s,” said Simon. “I feel like I can be myself at St. John’s and reach my full basketball potential.”
Rated as high as the No. 24 overall recruit and No. 5 point guard coming out of high school, Simon was a first-team All-NEPSAC Class AAA selection as a senior in 2015 at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire. The former five-star prospect averaged 12.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists to help lead Brewster to a 34-1 overall record, the National Prep Championship and the NEPSAC Class AAA titles.
Before transferring to Brewster, Simon averaged 17.5 points, 8.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game as a junior at Temecula Valley High School. He received MaxPreps Junior All-American recognition, while also being named all-state underclass first team and first team Division II all-state by Cal-Hi Sports. Simon was also the Southwestern League MVP and named to the first team All-CIF in 2013-14.
In 2014, Simon was invited to the Men’s U18 National Team training camp and participated in adidas Nations camp where he ranked ninth in scoring with 14.0 points per game.
Simon complements a highly touted group of newcomers that will join the program in 2016-17. Simon and fellow transfer Marvin Clark Jr. (Kansas City, Mo.) bolster an incoming class rated 21st in the nation according to CBS 247Sports.com that features freshmen Shamorie Ponds (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Richard Freudenberg (Heidelberg, Germany) and junior college transfer Bashir Ahmed (Bronx, N.Y.).