Archdeacon: Jaiun Simon finally shines thanks to ‘a house full of women’

“My first year, the whole starting five went to Division I (colleges.) The second year we had seven or eight guys play D-I, and my junior year we went 28-3 and the whole starting five went to D-I again.”

• And no, the redshirt sophomore forward wasn’t referring to his first two years at Dayton either.

He came to UD out of Mableton, Ga., as a 17-year-old freshman in 2023 and was redshirted to develop. Last season he averaged 7.1 minutes per game, 11th best on the team, just ahead of the walk-ons.

• So, what could be tougher than all that?

“I was raised in a house full of women,” he said with a grin. “There was my mom, my grandma, my auntie, my sister…and me.

“They might have babied me sometimes, but they still were big about me learning to be the man of the house. They were tough. They taught me some good manhood.”

That, he said, is why he’s finally been able to become an essential part of the 2-0 Flyers as they meet the Cincinnati Bearcats on Tuesday night at Fifth Third Arena on the UC campus.

This past Saturday — when UD had to show its mettle and come from behind in the second half to edge Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), 77-71, at UD Arena — the 6-foot-6 Simon was on the court in crunch time and afterward was praised by Flyers head coach Anthony Grant:

“He was instrumental today.”

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: David Jablonski

In seasons previous, regardless of what Grant and his staff required from him to get on the court, those demands were nothing compared to the ones from his first set of “coaches.”

“Oh yeah, my mom and grandma and everybody, that was tougher,” he said as his smile broke into a laugh. “The house full of women was tougher on me than Coach Grant and his coaches here.”

Wherever he learned what matters most, he took the concepts to heart.

One that he mentioned in private conversation after Saturday’s game and the postgame press conference was something you don’t hear that much about in these days of the open-door transfer portal and the hypnotizing lure of NIL money.

And yet, I heard the term mentioned twice in 44 hours at UD Arena last week.

After the Dayton women’s game — an 86-44 victory over Mercyhurst — Flyers’ senior guard Nayo Lear, who’s played her whole four-year career at UD, talked about being anchored here because of “loyalty.”

Even though in her three seasons previous she’d been on the bench at the start of 62 of her 81 games, she said: “I’m really big on loyalty.” After Saturday afternoon’s victory, Simon said almost exactly the same thing: “I’ve tried to be big on loyalty.”

Simon and point guard Javon Bennett, who transferred here in the spring of 2023 after a stellar freshman season at Merrimack, are the scholarship players who’ve been on the Flyers roster the longest. (The three walk-ons, Evan Dickey, Will Maxwell and Makai Grant, are all in their third seasons, too).

While Bennett has been a three-year starter, Simon’s significant minutes — he’s averaging just over 18 a game now — hadn’t come until now.

“Kudos to Jaiun for waiting his turn,” Bennett said. “He’s been working since he got here. He came in every day and applied himself. He’s a good addition to the team.”

Grant echoed those thoughts:

“I’m just proud of his stick-to-itiveness, if that’s a word. He’s just grown so much in the three years he’s been here: From a guy just trying to figure out how he could get on the floor and what he did well and what he didn’t, he’s become an integral part of the team.

“This is a part of college basketball, hopefully for young players to understand. Jaiun is an example of what it means to put your head down and go to work.”

Simon mentioned a conversation he had with Grant:

“When I came back, I told coach, ‘I’m willing to work for what I want and I just want to be a part of a winning team and help it as much as I can.

“I decided my best way was to do what other guys don’t want to do. I decided to do the dirty work. I thought I could thrive in that role.

“That was going to be my niche in college basketball.”

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: David Jablonski

‘I felt they had my back’

Simon said he was raised by his mom and the other women in his family.

He said his mom wasn’t athletic, but he did have a hoops influence in his family.

“I have a cousin — Lorenzo Brown — who played in the NBA. He was the starting point guard at NC State and led them to March Madness (in 2012 and 2013).

“He was drafted in the second round of the NBA draft (by Minnesota) and played in the league for a few years. He won a championship with the Toronto Raptors. He’s got a ring.”

Brown played with four NBA teams as well as in the G-League and in seven different countries. He’s currently on a team in Italy.

“He helped me along the way,” Simon said.

That “stick-to-itiveness” Grant mentioned first showed for Simon back in high school. After waiting for his turn, he averaged 19.3 points and 8.6 rebounds a game as a senior and won second-team All-State honors in Georgia.

He chose Dayton over South Florida and Georgia State.

“When I came here, I really liked the coaching staff,” he said. “They didn’t try to sell me something I wouldn’t have believed. Coach Grant told me I’d have to work for what I wanted.

“I was just 17 and away from home when I came (to Dayton), but the people here and in the community welcomed me and were friendly. I felt they had my back and that helped me adjust.”

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: David Jablonski

‘Some tough women’

The Flyers had their hands full with UMBC. Although the Retrievers were ranked 299th in the KenPom ratings, they played better than that.

In the preseason, UMBC lost to Maryland by just one point, 82-81, and they easily won their season opener against Penn State York.

For the UD game they had two players injured — 6-7 Caden Diggs who had started the opener and 6-6 Josh Odunowo, who started 30 games last season.

Even so, with just under 14½ minutes left in the game, they led UD 52-46.

Simon had come into the game with the Flyers down by five and when he briefly returned to the bench eight minutes later, the game was tied.

Down the stretch he played most of the crucial minutes, switching back and forth four times with 7-foot-1-sophomore Amaël L’Etang. He came in for defense, L’Etang played offense.

The Flyers took command of the game late because of their pressure defense, which ended up creating 15 turnovers, 10 steals and four blocked shots.

UD had several notable performances:

Bennett was again the leader with 16 points and seven assists.

Keonte Jones was especially impactful on both ends of the court. He was a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor for 12 points and also had five steals and two blocked shots.

The three other starters were in double figures: De’Shayne Montgomery and L’Etang had 11 points each and Jacob Conner had 10. Jordan Derkack, still coming back from injury, showed real savvy on the court and got a huge offensive rebound, as did L’Etang, in the final minute with UD leading by just two.

But no one showed any more than Simon, who finished with seven points, two steals, two rebounds and attaboys from his teammates for his defensive effort.

UMBC’s 6-10 Jose Tanchyn — called “Tanchyn the Machine” in high school in Spain — presented a match-up problem. He made all four of his three-point attempts and finished with 16 points and six rebounds.

Grant said they brought Simon in because “their 5 man (Tanchyn) changed the trajectory of the game. We had to go with something smaller (Simon for L’Etang) and Jaiun gave us some versatility. He’s doing whatever role we ask of him.”

Told later what Simon had said — how the UD coaches were nothing compared to answering to “a house full of women,” — Grant smiled and nodded:

“I know his family. His mom, his grandma and all, they’re some strong women. Some tough women.”

And that’s why Simon handled the tough odds and was able to find the niche he was looking for.

The one that put him on the court when the game was on the line.

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: David Jablonski