Sophomore transfer Tajuan “TJ” Simpkins is a 6’ 6”, 185-pound swing man. TJ is one half of the “Simpkins Twins” who were key contributors for the Elon Phoenix (17-16, 8-10) of the Coastal Athletic Association (his twin brother TK was Elon’s point guard last season). In 2025, TJ averaged 14 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists per game -- Simpkins is a guy who can contribute in a lot of different ways. Both his scoring and his minutes increased over the season – he started the season getting about 20 minutes a game, but after his 27-point effort against East Tennessee State, he saw 29 minutes or more in 13 of his final 16 games.
The Coastal Athletic used to be the Colonial Athletic, which used to be the ECAC South – it is a low mid-major whose teams get poached by high mid-majors – so the level of competition is not high. But against Power Four competition – specifically Notre Dame and North Carolina – TJ went for 16 points/3 assists and 18 points/5 rebounds/3 assists respectively. However, he took the collar against College of Charleston – no points – a game that dropped his points average by a whole point.
Simpkins is a slasher/driver. The lefthander gets more than half his shots at the rim. He is also the best passer of the Seton Hall drivers (Elijah Fisher, Josh Rivera and himself) – three assist per game is excellent for a shooting guard/wing. He is a good enough ball handler to play a little point guard himself, and to insure that with Budd Clark, there are two ball handlers bringing the ball up against a full court press – which was a weakness last season. And he is an 81% free throw shooter, which addresses another 2025 weakness. His main drawback as a shooting guard is that he is a poor outside shooter – he shot 26% from behind the arc last season against CAA defenses, and I have to believe that that will drop against Big East teams.
Defensively, Elon plays a lot of match up zone, and it is convention wisdom that Coach Holloway wants to play some zone this season. Based on a defensive statistic that I don’t understand myself (defensive rating), Simpkins is a slightly better than average defender. He also provides some length at the two defensively – at 6’ 6” he could present a problem for opponent shooters.
Said Coach Holloway in his interview with Adam Zagoria of nj.com, “I’m excited to get TJ from Elon, 6-foot-6 lefty. He reminds me of Khadeen Carrington. Resemblance to Khadeen a little bit because he’s a lefty, is smooth, can shoot it a little bit.”
This is an opportunity for TJ to get out from under his brother’s shadow. TK Simpkins went straight to Elon out of high school, while our TJ took a juco year at Northwest Florida State. TK was all-CAA last season, and TJ didn’t receive post-season awards. The brothers have played together since high school – now TK is at Oregon and we have TJ here at Seton Hall — about as far away from each other as they could get. By the way, I have no reason to believe that there is any friction between the brothers – I’m just projecting my own family dynamic.
There are only so many minutes to be parceled out – Simpkins, Dar, Staton-McCray, Rivera, Fischer and even Williams III and Parker will all be fighting for PT on the wings. To me, the key for TJ will be his versatility and defensive play. Coach Holloway is a “defense first” coach and Simpkins may fit into that vision. And his multi-dimensional play – both passing and rebounding – will make him a useful piece next season.
The Coastal Athletic used to be the Colonial Athletic, which used to be the ECAC South – it is a low mid-major whose teams get poached by high mid-majors – so the level of competition is not high. But against Power Four competition – specifically Notre Dame and North Carolina – TJ went for 16 points/3 assists and 18 points/5 rebounds/3 assists respectively. However, he took the collar against College of Charleston – no points – a game that dropped his points average by a whole point.
Simpkins is a slasher/driver. The lefthander gets more than half his shots at the rim. He is also the best passer of the Seton Hall drivers (Elijah Fisher, Josh Rivera and himself) – three assist per game is excellent for a shooting guard/wing. He is a good enough ball handler to play a little point guard himself, and to insure that with Budd Clark, there are two ball handlers bringing the ball up against a full court press – which was a weakness last season. And he is an 81% free throw shooter, which addresses another 2025 weakness. His main drawback as a shooting guard is that he is a poor outside shooter – he shot 26% from behind the arc last season against CAA defenses, and I have to believe that that will drop against Big East teams.
Defensively, Elon plays a lot of match up zone, and it is convention wisdom that Coach Holloway wants to play some zone this season. Based on a defensive statistic that I don’t understand myself (defensive rating), Simpkins is a slightly better than average defender. He also provides some length at the two defensively – at 6’ 6” he could present a problem for opponent shooters.
Said Coach Holloway in his interview with Adam Zagoria of nj.com, “I’m excited to get TJ from Elon, 6-foot-6 lefty. He reminds me of Khadeen Carrington. Resemblance to Khadeen a little bit because he’s a lefty, is smooth, can shoot it a little bit.”
This is an opportunity for TJ to get out from under his brother’s shadow. TK Simpkins went straight to Elon out of high school, while our TJ took a juco year at Northwest Florida State. TK was all-CAA last season, and TJ didn’t receive post-season awards. The brothers have played together since high school – now TK is at Oregon and we have TJ here at Seton Hall — about as far away from each other as they could get. By the way, I have no reason to believe that there is any friction between the brothers – I’m just projecting my own family dynamic.
There are only so many minutes to be parceled out – Simpkins, Dar, Staton-McCray, Rivera, Fischer and even Williams III and Parker will all be fighting for PT on the wings. To me, the key for TJ will be his versatility and defensive play. Coach Holloway is a “defense first” coach and Simpkins may fit into that vision. And his multi-dimensional play – both passing and rebounding – will make him a useful piece next season.
