The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1178918
NOVEMBER 2019 THE WOLVERINE 39 the coaches to back off a guy and fall on the sword a little bit for his guys. "You honor that. I think our guys really appreciate that." New assistant coach Howard Eis- ley quickly caught onto Simpson's leadership vibe. He also seconds, in unprompted fashion, the notion that this coaching staff did well with what it inherited from the previous one. "Zavier is probably one of the best leaders I've ever been around, and I've been around some good ones," noted Eisley, who played in the NBA for 12 seasons and then worked at that level for another nine years. "His passion, his work ethic, holding peo- ple accountable and the way guys have been receptive to that — they all rally for one another. "The way the upperclassmen have embraced our freshmen has been tre- mendous. Our guys have just been great. I couldn't think of a better group of guys than the guys we have here right now." Martelli agreed, marveling at what he's seen in terms of a team dynamic. After 24 years as the head coach at Saint Joseph's, he's still picking up things about the game, and that in- cludes observations from the senior point guard. 2019-20 BASKETBALL PREVIEW Simpson was an All-Big Ten second-team selection last season and is a three-time win- ner of the team's Steve Grote Hustle Award. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL