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Former St. John’s basketball standout Justin Simon signs with NBL

By Michael Szabo

St. John's basketball guard Justin Simon at Madison Square Garden. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
St. John's basketball guard Justin Simon at Madison Square Garden. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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Former St. John’s basketball standout Justin Simon signed a deal with Illawarra Hawks in Australia’s NBL.

It was announced on Thursday that former St. John’s guard Justin Simon is headed to The Land Down Under after he signed a one year deal with the Illawarra Hawks.

Simon joins a Hawks team that notably featured presumptive NBA lottery draft pick Lamelo Ball last season.

The team broke the news of his arrival on their Twitter page.

Soon after the announcement, Simon introduced himself to his new fans saying he’s a “blue-collar guy I’m going to bring it every night and play with a lot of energy…I like to have that be my offense, just getting stops and taking pride in not letting my man score,” something that St. John’s fans are very familiar with.

https://twitter.com/thehawks/status/1294072516256731138?s=20

The 6-foot-5 guard played in the NBA G-League last season for the Windy City Bulls, the affiliate of the Chicago Bulls, averaging 12.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.2 steals in 43 games. Simon was also coached by former Sydney Kings coach Damian Cotter this past season.

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The Temecula, California native transferred to the Red Storm from Arizona after the 2015-16 season. In two seasons with the Red Storm, Simon averaged 11.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.9 steals. He was also named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year in 2019, becoming only the third player in program history to receive the award.

Simon’s defensive presence was immense for the Red Storm as he was charged with guarding the opposition’s best players from Myles Powell to Markus Howard. Simon notably held Howard to 25 points over two regular-season contests in a season in which the now-former Marquette guard averaged 25 points per game in his junior season.

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As Simon continues to take the next steps in his professional career, he will have to wait to make his debut in the NBL as the league will be start later than usual with tipoff coming in December in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.