Last Tuesday Wright State beat Detroit Mercy 66-63 in the Horizon tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to next week’s NCAA tournament. The Raiders started this season 5-7, but turned things around in conference play to make it back to the NCAA tourney for the 1st time since 2022. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Wright State assistant coach Jaaron Simmons about making the NCAA title game as a player in 2018 at Michigan and making the NCAA tourney again as a coach 8 years later.
You began your college career at Houston: why did you decide to transfer in 2014, and what made you choose Ohio? It was about getting closer to home. My parents have been very supportive of me, and I wanted to give them more of a chance to watch me play. It was hard to be so far from home during those tough days: it is a lot easier to spend 2 hours driving home than it is to spend 18 hours!
After sitting out a year you became a 2-time all-conference player for the Bobcats, and in February of 2017 you scored a career-high 38 PTS/5-5 3PM in a win over Akron: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? That was part of it, but Akron was also #1 in the league: I remember that game like it was yesterday. I was competing for conference POY against their star big man Isaiah Johnson, and I had a very good shooting game and was able to get to the FT line a lot (13-16): had I not missed a couple of FTs I would have scored 40 PTS!
You led the MAC in APG for 2 years in a row: what is the key to being a good PG? Understanding your teammates, where they like the ball, and how to hold them accountable. You need a great relationship with your head coach to earn his trust, understand the system, and then make the right decisions on the court.
In 2018 as the 1st grad transfer to ever play at Michigan you were named Academic All-Big 10: how did you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? When you are in grad school you might have only a 3-hour class once/week, so I was able to treat that year like it was my 1st as a professional. I graduated with my masters’ degree…but I also went there to play basketball, so I spent a lot of time in the gym.
Take me through the 2018 NCAA tourney:
In the 2nd round Jordan Poole made a 3 at the buzzer to beat your former Houston squad (www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n4rqMnxaig): where does that rank among the most amazing shots that you have ever seen in person? Probably #1. We were dead in the water and thought the game was over. We worked on that play throughout the season and were able to execute it. Jordan hit that shot in a live-game scenario during practice: we always believed in him because he has a lot of guts and keeps proving it even today.
You played 3 minutes in the title game loss to Villanova: what is the key to winning games in March? Just being present with your brothers. It is not easy to get there, so you must appreciate what you did that season and how fortunate you were to make it. I believed in my coaches and felt we were there for a reason, so I put my best foot forward.
You are an assistant coach for Clint Sargent at Wright State: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? His ability to connect with the players: he meets them wherever they are and helps them grow from young men into men. It is the best time of their lives, but there is a lot of noise around them and they have a lot of decisions to make. He makes it about “we”, not “me”: that is why we are where we are.
Last Tuesday in the Horizon title game you had a 3-PT win over Detroit Mercy: what did it mean to you to win a title? It means everything to me. We play/coach to win championships, but it is hard to do. Our players put in a lot of hard work starting on June 1st: they have been connected from day 1 and I was glad that all their hard work indeed paid off with an NCAA tourney bid.
You played several good non-conference opponents this season including Miami OH: what impressed you the most about them, and do you think they belong in the NCAA tourney after losing their opening conference tourney game to UMass on Thursday? They were a good team: they spread you out and can pass/catch/shoot. Being able to retain a large portion of your roster is important, and you can see how they continued their success due to their chemistry. I think they deserve a shot at the NCAA tourney: it is hard to win 31 games in a season regardless of your schedule. There have not been many teams who went undefeated in the regular season because you are bound to slip up at some point…but they did not.
What kind of seed do you think you deserve, and what kind of seed do you think you will get? We are just blessed/thankful to be a part of the 68. Whether we are a 14/15/16 seed: we do not care. We appreciate the opportunity and will play as 1 team and try to make some great things happen.
