Simon Farine

Transforming a dormant program into a national contender, Simon Farine had an illustrious career as a member of the men’s basketball team in his four seasons at Dalhousie and played an important role in building the foundation for a winning culture in the program. Guiding the men’s basketball team to two AUS conference titles and two national tournament appearances in four years, Farine had a significant impact on the program with his talent, and work ethic.  

A graduate of Northern Secondary School in Toronto, Ontario, he came to Dalhousie in 2006-07 as a transfer from the NCAA Division 1 University of Wisconsin Green-Bay.  

Making an impact in his debut season, Simon averaged a team-high 15.9 points per game and a team-leading 80 assists, helping the Tigers reach the playoffs for the first time since 1998-99. Simon earned second-team AUS All-Star honours following his debut season. 

Simon had a strong 2008-09 season, leading Dalhousie to a 13-7 record and a third-place regular season finish, as well as a top 10 national ranking for the first time since the 1996-97 season. Simon received second-team AUS all-star honours for his second season with his team-high 19.1 points per game. Simon had a sensational AUS final six tournament, averaging 29.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, and six assists, as the Tigers made a stunning three-game conference title run for the university’s first AUS men’s basketball banner since 1995-96.    

Coming off a conference title-winning season, Simon had a successful 2009-10 season by posting career-high averages in scoring with 21.8 points per game, rebounds with 6.5 per game, and assists with 5.4 per game, making him the only player in the conference to rank in the top 10 in all statistical categories. Simon and the Tigers would finish the season 12-8 in the highly competitive AUS conference, and his impressive play throughout the season would see him named a first-team All-Star.  

Simon had a memorable senior season, leading the Tigers to a 14-6 AUS conference record, the program’s best in fifteen years. Simon posted impressive numbers, including 19.1 points per game, 6.4 rebounds per game, and 4.5 assists per game, once again completing the season as the only player to rank in the conference’s top 10 in all three major statistical categories. This would make him the second highest scorer in Dalhousie men’s basketball history with 1,452 points and 26th most points in AUS history, and fourth all time for Dalhousie men’s basketball assists with 367 and 26th all time in AUS history. 

The Tigers achieved their second major title in three years, a fitting end to Simon’s AUS career, where he was named an AUS first-team all-star for the second year and AUS Championship Tournament MVP. While the Tigers were unable to claim victory at the final eight tournament, was named a second team all-Canadian, rewarded the R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award, and named the Climo Award winner as Dalhousie’s male athlete of the year for 2010-11.  

Following his career at Dalhousie, Simon went on to play professional basketball for five years overseas in Israel. Simon lives in Toronto and is married to Dal Alumna Natalie Dren (Class of 2013) and is the father of one child, Adi Farine.