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 17, 2024
Saint Joseph’s Derek Simpson is our pick for Big 5 Player of the Week in a difficult choice with no less than eight strong candidates. In Big 5 wins over Villanova and Penn this week, Simpson, the junior transfer from Rutgers, showed why he was so coveted on Hawk Hill out of Lenape High School before choosing the Big Ten for his first two seasons.
In Tuesday’s 83-76 win over the Wildcats over Hagan, Simpson filled up the box score with 16 points, six rebounds, and four assists. He followed that up at the Palestra in Friday’s 86-69 rout of Penn with 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a highlight-reel dunk (pictured above).
Below is a look at the top performers last week and much more about another fun week in the Big 5.
FIVE Big 5 Stars
1) Derek Simpson, St. Joe’s: Simpson filled up the box score with 16 points, six rebounds, and four assists. He followed that up at the Palestra in Friday’s 86-69 rout of Penn with 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a highlight-reel dunk
2) Demetrius Lilley, La Salle: Lilley totaled 34 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists in wins over Cornell and Drexel.
3) Eric Dixon, Villanova: Though the Wildcats dropped both games last week, at Saint Joseph’s and to Virginia in Baltimore, Dixon still produced at an elite level ,with 44 points and 17 rebounds in the losses.
4) Jamal Mashburn Jr., Temple: The Big 5’s scoring leader, Mashburn scored 43 points in Temple’s two games, a win over Drexel and close loss to Boston College.
5) Cole Hargrove, Drexel: The Big 5’s rebounding leader, Hargrove had 25 points and 27 rebounds last week when the Dragons lost a pair of close Big 5 games, at Temple and home versus La Salle.
Honorable mentions
All three of these players really deserve to be among the stars of the week, but I can only pick five. An argument can be made to include each above, but I have recognized them here as honorable mentions.
1) Corey McKeithan, La Salle: The Rider transfer continues to shine for La Salle, making 45.9 percent of his shots (17 of 37) and scoring 42 points to help the Explorers beat Cornell and Drexel. Not in the box score was his key hustle play, chasing down his own miss, late against the Dragons that I plan to write more about soon.
2) Rasheer Fleming, St. Joe’s: Fleming looked like a surefire NBA draft pick in Tuesday’s win over Villanova, with 19 points, five rebounds, and two blocks in just 21 minutes, and followed that up with 15 points, six rebounds, two blocks, and two steals against Penn on Friday.
3) Xzayvier Brown, St. Joe’s: The reigning Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year had 29 points, 17 assists, and 13 rebounds in the victories over Villanova and Penn. Talk about filling up a box score!
Big5Hoops.com Coverage Rewind
I wasn’t able to write as much last week, as I worked on the final proofs review of my upcoming book, A Soaring Season: The Incredible, Inspiring Story of the 2003-04 Saint Joseph’s Hawks, but I did manage a few stories.
-On Saturday, I wrote about Derek Simpson’s highlight reel dunk.
-On Friday, I published Dan Baker’s review of my book.
Stay tuned for more Big 5 coverage this week!
Hello, Pal
A trip to the Palestra wouldn’t be complete without saying hello to my mentor and pal, Jack Scheuer, at “his gym.” I did so on Friday night when St. Joe’s beat Penn 86-69 to clinch its spot in the Big 5 Classic Championship Game for the second straight season.
Big 5 Hoops is on Social!
Big 5 Hoops now has its own social media handle! Come find us on Blue Sky by clicking HERE.
Big 5 Records
(Through 11/16/24 games)
La Salle 4-0
Saint Joseph’s 3-1
Temple 3-1
Drexel 2-2
Penn 2-2
Villanova 2-3
Big 5 Scoring Leaders
(Through 11/16/24)
1. Eric Dixon, Villanova, 24.8
2. Jamal Mashburn Jr., Temple, 23.5
3. Corey McKeithan, La Salle, 18.0
4. Kobe MaGee, Drexel, 17.3
5. Xzayvier Brown, St. Joe’s, 16.8
6. Ethan Roberts, Penn, 15.3
7. Erik Reynolds III, St. Joe’s, 14.5
8. Jahlil White La Salle, 14.0
9. Rasheer Fleming, St. Joe’s, 13.8
10. Steve Settle III, Temple, 13.3
Big 5 Rebounding Leaders
(Through 11/16/24)
1. Cole Hargrove, Drexel, 11.0
2. Demetrius Lilley, La Salle, 9.0
3. Steve Settle III, Temple, 8.8
4. Eric Dixon, Villanova, 8.3
5. Rasheer Fleming, St. Joe’s, 7.8
6. Jahlil White, La Salle, 7.3
7. Wooga Poplar, Villanova, 7.2
8. Nick Spinoso, Penn, 6.3
9. Enoch Boakye, Villanova, 6.2
10. Babatunde Durodola, Temple, 6.0
Last Week’s Results
Tuesday, Nov. 12
Saint Joseph’s 83, Villanova 76
La Salle 93, Cornell 77
Temple 69, Drexel 61
Lafayette 65, Penn 63
Friday, Nov. 15
Virginia 70, Villanova 60
Boston College 72, Temple 69
Saint Joseph’s 86, Penn 69
Saturday, Nov. 16
La Salle 71, Drexel 68
This Week’s Schedule
Tuesday, Nov. 19
Drexel at Fairfield, 7 pm
Penn at Villanova, 7 pm, Peacock
Thursday, Nov. 21
La Salle vs. UC San Diego, Daytona Beach, Fla., 1 pm
Saint Joseph’s vs. Texas Tech, Legends Classic, Brooklyn, 9 pm, ESPN2
Friday, Nov. 22
La Salle vs. TBA, Daytona Beach, Fla.
Saint Joseph’s vs. Syracuse/Texas, Legends Classic, Brooklyn, TBA, ESPNU
Temple vs. Florida State, Uncasville, Conn., 5 pm
Drexel at Fordham, 7 pm
Saturday, Nov. 23
La Salle vs. TBA, Daytona Beach, Fla.
Temple vs. UMass, Uncasville, Conn., 5 pm
Sunday, Nov. 24
Villanova vs. Maryland, Newark, NJ, 1 pm, ESPN
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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.