City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Derek Simpson picked Rutgers over Saint Joseph’s out of Lenape (N.J.) high school. 

It’s looking like City Ave. is where he belonged all along. 

The former Scarlet Knight, a 6-foot-3 guard from Lenape High (N.J.), has looked like he’s settled in to his new digs this week. He’s played well in a pair of Big 5 wins, including a 15-point, five-rebound outing on Friday night as St. Joe’s raced past Penn, 86-69 at the Palestra. 

“Everything is a humbling experience,” Simpson said. “I’m just glad I made it to Hawk Hill. I’m happy to be here, competing with my guys.”

Simpson spent the last two years at Rutgers, where he played in 66 games with 31 starts in two seasons. He averaged 8.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg and 2.9 apg as a sophomore, though his shooting splits — 30.5% overall, 28.2% from 3-point range — left much to be desired. 

Through four games on Hawk Hill, he’s been much more comfortable with the ball in his hands. His effort against Penn was his third straight in double figures, following a season-high 16 points against Villanova on Tuesday night. Through four games, he’s averaging 11.8 ppg and 4.0 rpg while hitting 44.4% (16-of-36) of his shots and 46.7% (7-of-15) from 3-point range, as well as 8-of-10 from the line. 

Playing alongside established St. Joe’s standouts Xzayvier Brown and Erik Reynolds II, Simpson is playing every bit like the guard Billy Lange needed him to be after Lynn Greer III departed for Temple. An assertive ball-handler, Simpson can get his own shot and create for others at the speed Lange wants out of his players, and he’s getting more familiar with the talent around him. 

“He brings energy, aggressiveness, and is just a dog of a competitor,” Reynolds said. “We can be threats in a lot of different ways.”

Simpson’s offensive output was part of a quite balanced one for St. Joe’s (3-1, 2-0 Big 5), which captured its pod and a spot in the BIg 5 championship game on Dec. 7 at Wells Fargo Center. It'll play either Drexel, La Salle or Temple, depending on the results of Saturday's La Salle/Drexel game and Temple/La Salle on Nov. 30.

The Hawks had five in double figures: Simpson, Reynolds and junior forward Rasheer Fleming all had 15, Brown and freshman Steven Solano with 11 apiece.

St. Joe’s never trailed, breaking the game’s final tie (9-9) less than five minutes in, opening up its first double-digit lead thanks to an 11-0 run before the midpoint of the first half. A 13-point lead hit 20 two minutes after the break, and then 32 with 11:30 remaining after the second of consecutive Brown 3-pointers. 

Lange’s group was clearly feeling good coming off the Holy War win, Hawk bodies flying everywhere after missed shots, generally imposing their will on both ends of the court for large portions of the game. 

“What I’m most proud of was the pitbull attitude that we played with coming out of halftime,” Lange said. “That’s the thing I’ll leave here tonight most impressed with. We’re going to have to do it again moving forward.”

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Quakers go small, Gerhart starts

For the first three games of the season, Donahue had started two posts in senior Nick Spinoso and sophomore Augustus Gerhart. But he changed it up for the St. Joe’s game, with Gerhart in the starting lineup and Spinoso serving as the team’s top reserve. Instead, it was senior wing George Smith in the lineup, his first start of the season and 31st of his career.

“Just kind of trying to see if we can get some better flow to our offense, guys were struggling with that, and just thought we would give that a look with four guards,” Donahue said. “Unfortunately I thought the difference in the game tonight was turnovers and offensive rebounds for us, they were killers.”’

Indeed, St. Joe’s won the rebound battle 43-26, with 20 offensive rebounds — two fewer than it had in its first three games in total — and forced 13 turnovers, nine more than it committed.

Gerhart played only 12 minutes, contributing four points and two rebounds. Spinoso — who had started all but four games since the start of the 2022-23 season — was much more productive with 14 points, three rebounds, and two assists in 19 minutes on 7-of-10 from the floor. Smith added six points and three assists in 24 minutes. 

When Penn made its late push to close the gap from 32 down to its final 17, it was freshman Michaelangelo Oberti (Morris Catholic, N.J.), a 6-10, 230-pound center, who contributed four points and two rebounds in nine minutes. 

“We’re not done with figuring out if we can play two of these bigger guys, including Michelangelo Oberti, we think he’s developed a lot already,” Donahue said, “and we’re trying to figure out what’s the best for us going forward — maybe some with two bigs, and maybe four guards at times.”

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St. Joe's freshman Steven Solano (above) is making an impact early in his college career. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Here comes the Sol(ano)

Coming into the season, it seemed like Harvard grad transfer Justice Ajogbor would be the addition the Hawks needed to man the ‘5’ spot. And while Ajogbor’s had his moments, it’s freshman center Steven Solano who seems to be picking up momentum early in his college career. 

The young center from the Bronx, who graduated from prep powerhouse La Lumiere (Ind.), put together his best game yet against Penn, going for 11 points and four rebounds in 13 minutes of play — all new bests. 

At 7-feet-tall and 260-pounds, he’s a well-proportioned, athletic big man with good length and mobility, with room to add muscle to his frame though by no means a stick figure who gets pushed around. And at 4.3 ppg and 2.0 rpg thus far, his numbers are about the same as Ajogbor’s (4.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg), in less than half the minutes (7.3/game compared to 17.3/game). 

“He is unreasonably confident, and I love that about him,” Lange said. “And when you’re young, that’s what you need, and I say that with affection. He’s like cool, I know I’m going to make a million mistakes, I know you’re going to coach me through them. It’ll just add up. He gives these guys great energy, gives them great swag, He’s had a heckuva week. To play in two Big 5 games like he had is promising.”

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Up Next
Saint Joseph’s (3-1, 2-0 Big 5) plays Texas A&M on Thursday, Nov. 21 in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center, part of the 2024 Legends Classic. The Hawks will play either Syracuse or Texas in Friday’s championship/consolation. 

Penn (2-2, 0-1 Big 5) will travel up Lancaster Ave to face Villanova (2-3, 0-1) on Tuesday night. Last year, the Quakers beat the Wildcats 76-72 at the Palestra.