Derek Simpson rose high above the Palestra floor for this dunk in Saint Joseph's 86-69 Big 5 win over Penn on Friday night. (Photo courtesy of Josh Verlin/COBL)
By AARON BRACY
November 16, 2024
PHILADELPHIA – It was the kind of play, with instincts and athleticism, generally reserved for power conference players.
Derek Simpson was one of those recently.
On Friday night, he showed off the high-major talent that made him coveted in the Big Ten by Rutgers, where Simpson spent the last two seasons before transferring to Saint Joseph’s after last season. Simpson helped the Hawks to an impressively easy 86-69 Big 5 victory over Penn at the Palestra on Friday night in so many ways.
But it was that one play, more than the others, that Simpson did the most damage, both demoralizing the Quakers, energizing the Hawks, and opening everyone’s eyes wide as to what both he and these Hawks can be in the 2024-25 season. The play—and Simpson’s overall performance—helped St. Joe’s clinch its second straight berth in the Big 5 Classic Championship Game, where they will play either La Salle or Temple in the culmination of the one-day tripleheader at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday, December 7.
It was one play. But it was so much more.
Crafty Penn forward Nick Spinoso held the ball away from the basket, likely plotting his next pass—Spinoso, a 6-foot-9 forward, led the Quakers in assists in each of the last two seasons with 200 total—or his patented lefty power move to the basket. But Spinoso held still too long for Simpson. The 6-foot-3 Hawks guard, like a hawk seizing its prey with beautifully dangerous speed and aggression, pounced on the ball. Spinoso, like an unsuspecting field mouse, had no chance.
Then, Simpson batted the ball ahead of everyone with a dribble that was more of a push than a bounce, allowing his startling foot speed to break free from the pack. Now, all alone, leaving nine players in the dust, including five hustling Quakers, Simpson took a controlling left-handed dribble. Two no-sweat right-handed dribbles followed, these calm bounces done to gather his footwork, now looking not like a hawk ready to pounce but a 747 ready for liftoff.
Simpson corralled the ball in both hands, then sprang off his left foot like it were a pogo stick, elevating high into the night as only most ballers can dream about—including yours truly—raised his right knee for more force and lift, reached back for more momentum and power, and then threw down a right-handed dunk, his fingers like a sledgehammer jacking a poor nail, the ball splashing through the net with beauty and ease. After defying human logic in flight, Simpson finally stuck the landing with both feet touching down on the hallowed hardwood.
Wow.
It was just one play, but it told you so much about Simpson’s game. Instincts. Speed. Athleticism. Power. So much more that words can’t describe, that only your eyes can explain.
“It was a cool play,” Simpson said when I asked him about it afterward.
Cool. Yeah, that too. For him, for Hawks fans, for basketball lovers, for casual observers, for his teammates.
“He brings energy, aggressiveness, and just a dog of a competitor,” Hawks senior star Erik Reynolds II said of Simpson.
It was just one play. Just two points on the scoreboard. But it was so much more. Two points aren’t always two points. These two digits, which put the Hawks up 19-11 with 13 minutes, 30 seconds remaining in the first half meant more, indicating to the Quakers that Simpson and Saint Joseph’s were on another level.
Simpson didn’t stop just there. Oh no. There was the so-calm, pull-up three-pointer 4 ½ minutes later, followed by a sheer hustle play in the final seconds of the first half to grab a rebound and score after a Rasheer Fleming miss. Another three early in the second half was backed by a tip-back rebound, a play that was so athletic and so important to a team’s success.
All totaled, Simpson finished with 15 points. He had five of the Hawks’ 43 rebounds, an area of dominance for the visitors who outrebounded Penn 43-26 overall and 20-8 on the offensive glass. Simpson made 5 of 10 field goals and 3 of 4 three-pointers, capping an eye-opening week in a pair of Big 5 games against Villanova (an 83-76 Hawks win on Tuesday at Hagan Arena) and Penn in which he averaged 15.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists while shooting 50 percent (10 of 20) from the field, including 62.5 percent (5 of 8) from the arc.
The numbers are impressive. The steal and dunk even more so.
It was just one play. But it told you so much more.
About Simpson’s game.
And about the promise of the Hawks’ season.
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Aaron Bracy has been covering Philadelphia sports since 1996. His byline regularly appears on Associated Press stories. Follow Bracy on X: @Aaron_Bracy and like his Facebook and Instagram pages. His book on the 2003-04 Saint Joseph’s men’s basketball team is expected to be published on March 1, 2025. Read a summary and preorder it by clicking HERE. Contact him at aaron@big5hoops.com.