Stephen Weigh
July 23, 2020
Diamon Simpson
- Nationality: USA
- Date of Birth: 8/09/87
- Place of Birth: Los Angeles County, California (USA)
- Position: PF
- Height (CM): 201
- Weight (KG): 104
- Junior Assoc: None
- College: Saint Mary's (2005–2009)
- NBL DEBUT: 16/10/11
- AGE AT DEBUT: 24
- LAST NBL GAME: 25/03/12
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 24
- NBL History: Adelaide 2012
- Championships: 0
- None
BIO: Simpson was born in Los Angeles County, California, Simpson grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Hayward and graduated from Hayward High School in 2005.
NBL EXPERIENCE
Diamon Simpson made his NBL debut with the Adelaide 36ers at 24 years of age. He scored 15 points in his first game.
Things didn’t get any better for the 36ers or coach Marty Clarke in the 2011/12 season. A complete roster rebuild saw only four of last season’s squad, Daniel Johnson, Darren Ng, Mitchell Creek and the injured Adam Ballinger returning. Adelaide’s backcourt had been a huge question mark last season and guards Nathan Crosswell (via Victoria) and Everard Bartlett (via NZNBL) were added to remedy that, while Nathan Herbert returned to the court after missing the entire 2010/11 season with a ACL injury. Imports Chris Warren and John Williamson were signed to finalise the roster, but a injury to import Williamson during the pre-season saw the 36ers play their opening game with one import, resulting in Adelaide’s largest opening night loss in team history to Perth (69-102).
Simpson, a college teammate Patty Mills, replaced Williamson and joined the 36ers in time for their second game. Simpson recorded his best game of the year in Adelaide’s 12 point victory over Perth (Dec 4 2011) when Simpson filled the box score with 22 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block in 26 minutes. Perhaps the most impressive thing about this feat is the fact he did it against the incredible front-line defence of the Wildcats, something which happened only four times that season (Adelaide being responsible for two of them).
Simpson (14.3 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks) posted 12 double-doubles in his 27 games while leading Adelaide in scoring and finishing second in the league in rebounding.
Injury woes continued when new signing Nathan Crosswell saw his season cut short due to a Achilles tendon injury suffered in round 10 against New Zealand and despite gaining Adam Ballinger (5.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 0.9 assists) for the last half of the season, injuries kept him from being anywhere close to his former self, forcing him to play a role off the bench for the first time in his NBL career.
Adelaide finished the season in last place (8–20), including a club record losing streak of eight games.
While 36ers fans didn’t have much to cheer about besides the rapid improvement of Daniel Johnson. Johnson (16.5 points and 7.7 rebounds) boosted his numbers from 10.0 points and 4.0 rebounds to become the 36ers’ second-highest scorer, earning him the NBL Most Improved Player award at season’s end.
Diamon Simpson played one season in the NBL. He averaged 14.3 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 27 NBL games.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-12 | 24 | Adelaide | 8-20 (9) | 27 | 665.0 | 387 | 233 | 24 | 100 | 133 | 23 | 41 | 49 | 73 | 155 | 262 | 59% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 77 | 142 | 54% | 59% | 59% | 23 | Totals | 27 | 665 | 387 | 233 | 24 | 100 | 133 | 23 | 41 | 49 | 73 | 155 | 262 | 59.2% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 77 | 142 | 54.2% | 60% | 59% | 23 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-12 | 24 | Adelaide | 8-20 (9) | 27 | 24.6 | 14.3 | 8.6 | 0.9 | 3.7 | 4.9 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 2.7 | 5.7 | 9.7 | 59% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 2.9 | 5.3 | 54% | 59% | 59% | 23 | Total | 27 | 24.6 | 14.3 | 8.6 | 0.9 | 3.7 | 4.9 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 2.7 | 5.7 | 9.7 | 59.2% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0% | 54.2% | 60% | 59% | 23 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 23 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
|---|
NBA EXPERIENCE
The Rockets signed Simpson to a guaranteed contract for the last eight games of the NBA season. This included a non-guaranteed contract for the 2012/13 season which Houston opted not to take up.
COLLEGE
Diamon Simpson attended the Saint Mary's College of California and played for the Saint Mary's Gaels in the NCAA's West Coast Conference (WCC) between 2005 and when he graduated in 2009, appearing in a school-record 128 games during a four-year stretch in which the Gaels went 87–41 overall.
As a freshman in 2005–06, Simpson played 29 games (one start) and averaged 8.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.5 blocks in 21.6 minutes per game while shooting 48.6% from the field and 56.4% at the line, earning West Coast Conference All-Freshman Team recognition and finishing in the WCC’s top five in rebounding (6.9 per game) while ranking among the league leaders in blocked shots (45).
In that 2005–06 season he logged 217 points and 201 rebounds, produced two double-doubles, grabbed a freshman-best 16 rebounds against San Francisco (including 10 offensive boards in the first half), and set single-game freshman highs of five steals and four blocks against San Diego while also hitting 12 free throws against Pepperdine (including 10 straight).
As a sophomore in 2006–07, Simpson started all 32 games and became Saint Mary’s leading scorer and rebounder at 14.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, adding 0.9 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 48.3% from the floor and earning All-WCC First Team honors, WCC Player of the Month for January, three WCC Player of the Week awards, and Shamrock Office Solutions Classic MVP after a season in which he totaled 452 points, 245 rebounds, 79 blocks and 43 steals.
That 2006–07 season included a career-high 29 points and 11 rebounds in an 80–75 win over Gonzaga (Jan. 15), five 20-point games, a career-high eight blocks against Pepperdine (Jan. 27), and national placement among the country’s blocked-shot leaders as his 79 rejections accounted for nearly half of Saint Mary’s team blocks (174).
As a junior in 2007–08, Simpson again started every game (32) and averaged 13.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.8 blocks in 30.8 minutes per night while shooting 54.5% from the field, and he was named WCC Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-WCC as Saint Mary’s surged to a 25–7 record (12–2 WCC) and reached the NCAA tournament as a No. 10 seed before falling 78–64 to No. 7 seed Miami in the first round.
Across that 2007–08 campaign he posted 13 double-doubles, scored in double figures in 25 of 32 games, and delivered a season-best all-around line against Kent State with 24 points, 15 rebounds, three steals and three blocks, while also recording 18 points and 12 rebounds against then-No. 11 Oregon and matching a then-career best of 16 rebounds against San Diego State.
As a senior in 2008–09, Simpson was a teammate of Australian and Portland Trail Blazers backup point guard Patrick Mills when playing for the Gaels from 2007–2009, and he started all 35 games to finish as a three-time First Team All-WCC selection while repeating as WCC Defensive Player of the Year, collecting NABC All-District 9 Second Team recognition, earning CollegeHoops.net Fourth Team High Mid-Major honors, and compiling a double-double average of 13.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game (377 total rebounds) while shooting 50.5% from the field and adding 0.6 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.6 blocks per game.
During that 2008–09 season he was one of 18 players nationally to average a double-double and his 10.8 rebounds per game ranked 11th in the country, he was WCC Player of the Month for November, he won tournament MVP at the Shamrock Office Solutions Classic after averaging 18.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 6.0 blocks and 2.5 steals across the event, and he was twice named WCC Player of the Week (Dec. 15 and Dec. 29), giving him seven career WCC weekly awards (second all-time in league history).
Simpson’s senior-year peaks included a season-high 24 points on 7-of-9 shooting against Pepperdine (Jan. 17), a career-best 18 rebounds against Oregon, a season-high seven blocks against Morgan State, and a career-high six steals against Portland in the WCC tournament semifinals, and on Jan. 2, 2009 he broke Saint Mary’s all-time rebound record with nine boards against Cal State Bakersfield to push his career total to 1,130 rebounds.
Saint Mary’s finished 28–7 (10–4 WCC) in Simpson’s final season and reached as high as No. 22 in the AP poll during the year, and after the WCC tournament the Gaels made an NIT run that included home wins over Washington State (68–57) and Davidson (80–68) before a 70–66 loss at San Diego State, with Simpson later adding postseason exposure in events such as the Hershey’s Senior All-Star game and the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (13.8 points and 10.7 rebounds per game there) before closing his college career as Saint Mary’s all-time leader in rebounds (1,130), blocked shots (239), steals (174), free throws made (470) and free throws attempted (777), while also totaling 1,603 points and 37 career double-doubles.
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