Wayne Simon didn’t have anything to prove — not to himself, anyway.
As for the packed gym that included Illinois coach Bruce Weber last Saturday at Young, the St. Joseph guard couldn’t help but relish the opportunity to take people by surprise.
Though No. 10 St. Joseph fell a point short of No. 1 Young, 58-57, Simon was the best player on the floor.
The wiry 5-foot-11 senior scored more points (22) than Young’s Division I guard tandem of Ahmad Starks (Oregon State) and Anthony Johnson (Purdue) combined. He also made smarter decisions and got the better of each in one-on-one situations.
“It really felt good,” Simon said. “I felt like I proved something to a lot of people. Maybe I was a little overlooked and maybe I opened some eyes.”
As skinny as he is skilled, Simon is used to being underestimated. He transferred to St. Joseph from Fenwick following his sophomore year, and he had a good junior season for the state’s all-time leader in coaching victories, Gene Pingatore.
Simon followed that with a strong summer on the AAU circuit, drawing scholarship offers from North Dakota, Niagara and Lehigh.
Pingatore backed Simon’s belief that he deserved more, making the decision not to sign early an easy one. That decision seems to look better with each passing week.
He’s averaging 14.8 points — a high number for a St. Joseph player, according to Pingatore — on 47 percent shooting from the field, 36 percent from 3-point range and 75 percent from the line. A strong rebounder despite his 159-pound frame, he grabs four a game while averaging 3.5 assists and just under two steals.
He can play either guard position, though his size likely will limit him to the point at the next level. Interest has picked up significantly of late.
“He is thin and wiry but not weak,” Pingatore said. “He goes to the basket extremely well. He takes it into the land of giants and does fine. If he was frail, that wouldn’t happen. He has been a very, very good player for us. He has improved steadily since he transferred in.
“He’s also a good student. He’s going to end up going somewhere good.”
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Wayne Simon file
School: St. Joseph.
Class: Senior.
Position: Guard.
Height: 5-11.
College: Undecided.
Stats: Averaging 14.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.9 steals. Shooting 47 percent from the field, 36 percent from 3-point range and 75 percent from the free-throw line.
