PREP WEDNESDAY: ALL COUNTY BASKETBALL TEAMS : Simon’s Year Earns a Day in the Sun : Boys’ player of the year: Mater Dei guard rose to the occasion this season, helping his team reach regional final.

SANTA ANA —  Miles Simon, the son of a basketball hero, has begun to cast his own shadow.

Hardly a game went by this season that Mater Dei didn’t depend on Simon, a 6-foot-4 guard. Hardly a game went by in which he didn’t deliver. And the more important the game, the better he played.

“I love big games,” said Simon, a junior. “I love the big crowds. I love the attention. I have a good time out there.”

The times were certainly good for Simon and the Monarchs.

Simon, The Times Orange County player of the year, averaged a little more than 14 points during the regular season, then turned the heat up in the playoffs.

He averaged 19.3 during in the postseason, helping the Monarchs win their second consecutive Southern Section I-A title.

Mater Dei then reached the Southern California Regional final before losing, 63-61, to Los Angeles Crenshaw.

That game will haunt Simon. Never mind that he scored the Monarchs’ first seven points or that he finished with a game-high 20. No, what is etched in Simon’s mind is his final shot, a 12-footer that rolled around the rim and came out with eight seconds left.

Kristaan Johnson then hit a shot at the buzzer to give Crenshaw the victory.

“I thought my shot was going in,” Simon said. “I couldn’t believe it didn’t go down.”

Still, it has left Simon with one more thing to aim at.

“I definitely want a State championship,” he said. “If we win the Southern Section playoffs again, that’ll be nice. But I want a State title.”

He generally hits what he shoots for.

Simon is a natural on the basketball court, like his father before him.

Walt Simon was a high school All-American, set scoring records at Fullerton College and also played at Utah. He was known as a shooter and Miles has followed in those footsteps.

However, Simon knew nothing about his father’s achievements until he was a freshman. UC Santa Barbara Coach Jerry Pimm and former UNLV Coach Jerry Tarkanian were among the first to put his father in a different light.

“They went on and on about dad,” Simon said. “He must have been great.”

Now, Simon is making a name for himself.

His first memory of playing was when he was 4. Simon was attending a college game and a loose ball bounced to him during warm-ups. He picked it up and sank a shot.

From then on, he was hooked.

“I just loved the game,” Simon said. “I played every chance I got. I played games at gyms, at the park and, if no one else was a round, I’d just shoot.”

The dedication paid off. Simon averaged 18 points on the Monarch freshman team and was moved up to the varsity as a sophomore.

“I was just a role player last season,” he said. “I’d come off the bench and score.”

Simon played that role perfectly, averaging eight points. His come-in-and-score act never played better than against Dominguez in the quarterfinals.

The Monarchs were foundering and it was Simon who kept their heads above water. He scored 24 points and hit four three-pointers in a 54-48 victory.

“I hit a couple shots and then coach started running plays for me,” Simon said. “That gave my confidence a boost.”

The Monarchs lost only one player off that team, guard Reggie Geary, who signed with Arizona. Simon was asked to fill that spot.

“I felt coming into the season that I needed to pick up my game,” Simon said. “I had to score more, rebound more and play better defense.”

Simon had plenty of help. Mater Dei had four players who signed with Division I schools and another who will go to a Division II school next season. Still, Simon managed to stand out in the crowd.

He stepped forward against Capistrano Valley, when Mater Dei was missing four starters--two because of injuries and two for disciplinary reasons.

Simon scored 31 points in a 74-51 victory. “That game meant a lot to us,” Simon said. “Their seniors had never beaten us. I had to have a big game.”

And, in big games, Simon and the Monarchs generally have a good time.