Tag: Derek Simpson

Derek Simpson is providing a boost to Rutgers offense

Derek Simpson has had a great season for Rutgers basketball.

During the first few weeks of the college basketball season, Rutgers fans have had plenty of reasons to celebrate. The Scarlet Knights have won four straight and are off to a 4-1 start. While their success has been fueled by familiar faces such as Clifford Omoruyi, Derek Simpson has been a scoring machine.

In five games, the New Jersey native is averaging 10.8 points and 1.2 steals per game. Simpson is also putting his teammates in a position to be successful, averaging a team-leading four assists per game. His play has stood out to Rutgers’ head coach, Steve Pikiell.

 

“He has just been taking command the past couple of games,” Pikiell told reporters about Simpson following a post-game press conference this weekend.

“He’s really shown some tremendous leadership. It starts with his defense. They’re really good guards today to playing against. One is a transfer from Maryland and some all-league type guys, so I think it starts with his defense. He had it going today and is one of the best foul shooters in the country. He’s taking care of his body. He’s practicing the right way, there are great days ahead.”

In Rutgers latest win, Simpson took center stage as the Scarlet Knights reached the 80-point mark for the first time this season. The talented sophomore led the team in scoring with 23 points while making two three-pointers. Along with Omoruyi and Aundre Hyatt, the Scarlet Knights have a trio that frustrates opponents on a nightly basis.

While the season is far from over, Simpson is making an immediate impact and providing a needed boost offensively.

Rutgers men’s basketball improves to 4-0 at home with win over Howard

Rutgers men’s basketball got another win on Saturday night.

Jersey Mike’s Arena is becoming a difficult place for opponents to play. With a win over Howard on Saturday night, the Scarlet Knights improved to 4-0 at home to start the 2023-2024 campaign. In their latest victory, the Scarlet Knights were almost unstoppable offensively and dominated in the second half.

Against Howard, Rutgers’ starters set the tone. Four of their five starters scored more than 10 points, including Derek Simpson, who led both teams with 23. The offensive explosion marked the first time this season that Rutgers scored more than 80 points.

Additionally, Rutgers capitalized on the Bisons’ mistakes. Howard turned the ball over 21 times and committed 22 fouls. As a result, they were unable to gain any momentum.

 

After ending the first half up by eight, Rutgers used the last twenty minutes to pull away. In the second half, they outscored Howard 46-32. That included a 24-8 run, which gave Rutgers a 20-point lead with less than six minutes left.

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For Howard, Bryce Harris continued to be a bright spot as he scored 12 points and added eight rebounds to his resume. Marcus Dockery also had an impressive night for the Bisons, leading the team with 16 points.

After an extended break, Rutgers will look to continue its winning ways when it takes on Saint Peter’s on November 27.

Rutgers beats Georgetown in Gavitt Games, improve to 3-1

Rutgers basketball got a big win on Wednesday against Georgetown.

On Wednesday night, Rutgers men’s basketball continued its winning ways when it welcomed Georgetown to Jersey Mike’s Arena. Freshman guard Derek Simpson shined offensively, and Rutgers took advantage of the Hoyas’ mistakes to improve to 3-1.

After losing to Princeton on opening night, Rutgers has looked like a different team. That was on display Wednesday night. While Rutgers was outrebounded 40-29, they turned 21 Georgetown turnovers into 25 points. Rutgers also got offense from various sources, scoring a season-high 71 points.

Four players scored at least 10 points, including Simpson, who led the way with 15. However, he was not the only one who made an impact offensively, as Noan Fernandes, Aundre Hyatt, and Gavin Griffiths also scored double-digit points. Griffiths’s performance was particularly encouraging, as the talented freshman scored 12 points after only scoring five against Bryant on Sunday.

 

Although the Hoyas kept things close, Rutgers used an 11-0 run early in the second half to put the game out of reach. They never trailed at any point and held off Georgetown’s rally in the second half.

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With the Gavitt Games over, Rutgers will turn its focus to its matchup with Howard on Saturday night. Rutgers will again play in front of their home fans at Jersey Mike’s Arena, where they are is 3-0.

Aundre Hyatt leads Rutgers to win over Bryant

Rutgers basketball is now 2-1 following a win over Bryant.

Aundre Hyatt shined on Sunday afternoon as Rutgers improved to 2-1 with a 66-57 win over Bryant. Rutgers has now won two straight after losing their season opener to Princeton.

During that span, they have scored at least 65 points in both victories.

After scoring 140 points in their previous game, Bryant’s offense struggled on Sunday. Rutgers forced 14 turnovers, while Bryant committed 25 fouls. They also had no answer for Hyatt, who had arguably his best game of the season.

 

The Bronx native scored a team-high 19 points and was a force on the boards with eight rebounds. Only Clifford Omoruyi had more rebounds, finishing the afternoon with 15. Hyatt has been a scoring machine of late, with 39 points in his last two games.

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However, Hyatt was not the only Rutgers player who had a good afternoon. Omoruyi and Derek Simpson both had more than 10 points. The talented duo scored a combined 25 points and dished out five assists against a Bryant defense that struggled all afternoon.

Rutgers will now get two days off before they welcome Georgetown to Jersey Mike’s Arena on Wednesday. The matchup will be the first of the Gavitt Tipoff Games. Georgetown is off to a 1-1 start after losing to Holy Cross on Saturday, 68-67.

Penn State collapses in second half to lose heartbreaker against Rutgers

Bubble burst? Penn State’s second-half collapse vs. Rutgers was a bad look for tournament hopes.

The loud popping sound coming from State College was Penn State’s March Madness bubble bursting. At the final buzzer Sunday night, the chances of getting an outright bid vanished.

Up 19 at one point in the second half, Penn State fell to Rutgers 59-56.

This game was extremely important for the Nittany Lions. They started to play their best basketball at the most important time of the season in the past couple of weeks. Coming into this game, they were riding a three-game winning streak, including two on the road.

Early on, it looked like Penn State was well on its way to a fourth in a row. They used a 22-4 run to take a 26-9 lead with five minutes left in the first half.

Everything was rolling in the first half. [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag] had 11 points and [autotag]Camren Wynter[/autotag] 10 points. They went into the locker room up 31-21.

Then, wheels fell off the wagon in the second half.

After starting with a 9-0 run to push the lead to 19 points, it was all downhill from there. The offense, which is normally so good at home, was dreadful.

Penn State finished the game shooting 37.0% from the field and 27.6% from three. Only seven field goals were made the entire second half, three of which came during the early 9-0 run.

After scoring 11 points in the first half, Pickett was held scoreless the rest of the way. Senior guards [autotag]Seth Lundy[/autotag] and [autotag]Andrew Funk[/autotag] went a combined 2-23 from the floor and 1-18 from three.

Penn State went nine minutes down the stretch without a made field goal, missing the last 14 shots they attempted. The cold stretch was enough for Rutgers to close the gap and escape State College with a win.

Freshman guard [autotag]Derek Simpson[/autotag] led the way for Rutgers with 16 points off the bench. Senior guards [autotag]Cam Spencer[/autotag] and [autotag]Caleb McConnell[/autotag] were also in double figures with 13 and 12 points respectively.

Wynter finished with a team high 16 points for Penn State. Pickett was the only other person in double figures with 11.

It was the worst time of the year to have one of the worst performances all season. Putting it frankly, it was also an unacceptable loss.

Coming off a stretch that put him in All-American contention, Pickett can’t go scoreless in the second half of one of the most important games of the year. He didn’t attempt a shot in the second half. Lundy can’t go 0-11 from three at home in this type of game.

The best players are supposed to step up and make plays when things are difficult. That didn’t happen for this Penn State team on Sunday.

Now, by most accounts, the hopes for an at large bid is almost all but gone.

Head coach [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] said in the postgame press conference that he’s not worried about his team for the remainder of the season, citing the fact there are more games to play.

We’ll see how Penn State responds Wednesday night when they go on the road to face second place Northwestern.

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Watch: Rutgers basketball as getting the complete package in three-star Derek Simpson

Rutgers basketball signee Derek Simpson brings a complete game to the Scarlet Knights.

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Rutgers men’s basketball landed two players on Wednesday’s signing day, the most heralded of which is Derek Simpson. The guard, a three-star according to Rivals, was under-recruited coming out of Lenape High School (Medford, N.J.).

But the player has a tremendous upside, is a good defender, boasts length, a nice handle, can drive to the hoop effectively and has a nice mid-range game.

He had some big games last year, including 29 points for Lenape against Camden, a squad that features D.J. Wagner (the top player in the nation in the 2023 recruiting class.

Simpson has a big upside despite not coming from one of the traditional powerhouse programs in New Jersey. He held offers from Rutgers and Arizona State along with the likes of Delaware, Fairfield, Northeastern and Ridger among others.

He joins Rutgers along with forward Antoine Woolfolk, a football player who is beginning to scratch the surface as a basketball player.

Remembering the time that Rutgers signee Derek Simpson bested the nation’s No. 1 basketball recruit

Rutgers basketball guard Derek Simpson once outshone D.J. Wagner on the court.

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Derek Simpson signed with Rutgers on Wednesday, the three-star guard becoming another important addition for the Scarlet Knights basketball team. Under-recruited, Simpson is a really solid player with all the tools that make him fit a Steve Pikiell coached team.

To that point, there was a time in February when Simpson was the best player on the court in a game against DJ, the consensus top player in New Jersey and the No. 1 recruit in the country for the class of 2023.

Late last February in a 78-56 loss to Camden, Simpson’s Lenape battled against the top boys basketball program in the state. Simpson scored a game-high 29 points in the loss for Lenape. But watching him in that game, he was the best player on the court and that says something given Wagner’s stature as an elite prep recruit.

Ranked the No. 8 player in New Jersey according to 247 Sports, Simpson certainly falls under the classification of being under-recruited, holding offers from Arizona State and Rutgers to go along with Albany, Fairfield, Northeastern and Old Dominion among other mid-major offers.

In a video entitled “WHAT DOES A DIVISION 1 BASKETBALL PLAYER LOOK LIKE?” Camden Elite founder and president Antoine Miller broke down the game between Wagner and Simpson.

At one point, Miller remarks about Simpson in the game that“the court awareness and reaction time of that kid – that’s a Division I basketball player – just seeing the floor 10 times better than anyone else.”

Wagner finished with 20 points in the win over Lenape. He holds offers from the likes of Kentucky, Memphis and Syracuse among others.