The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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12 THE WOLVERINE APRIL 2020 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS 3 24 Rebounds senior point guard Zavier Simpson finished shy of becom- ing the first Wolverine ever to post 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists. He is just the fourth to reach 1,000 points, 400 rebounds and 400 assists at U-M, joining Gary Grant (1985-88), Jalen Rose (1992-94) and Derrick Walton Jr. (2014-17). Wal- ton was the closest to joining the 1,000/500/500 club, missing it by one assist. Simpson finished second on the all-time assists list at the school with 667, trailing only Grant's 731. BY THE NUMBERS Wolverines were selected in the post-combine three-round mock draft done by Bleacher Report's Matt Miller March 2. All three were tabbed as second-round picks: • OL CESAR RUIZ — No. 37 overall, Chargers (fifth pick of second round) • Edge Josh Uche — No. 49, Steelers (17th pick of second round) • WR Donovan Peoples-Jones — No. 59, Seahawks (27th pick of second round) 99 th SPARQ percentile, based on NFL Combine results, for former U-M wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones, accord- ing to rotoworld.com. He was one of just nine athletes overall (only two of which were receivers) from this year's combine to rank among the 99th percentile or better. SPARQ is a test of overall athleticism that stands for speed, power, agility, reaction and quick- ness, and takes all testing results into account. NFL Combine medals — a statistic kept by NFL research — were won by Michigan at the 2020 edition of the event. Medal designations are awarded to each position group's first-, second- and third-place finishers for every drill. The Wolverines finished in second place overall (Notre Dame had seven), but tied for the most gold medals of any program with three. The event winners were wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones in the vertical jump (44.5 inches) and broad jump (139 inches), and linebacker Khaleke Hudson in the bench press (30 reps of 225 pounds). "Ruiz is so good on every single drill. To snap, to step and to clear that block … he's looking really good. I think he's making a big statement today." — Former NFL center Shaun O'Hara while watching U-M cen- ter Cesar Ruiz at the NFL combine Feb. 28 That 50 was beautiful, Vert. Thank you for that masterpiece." — Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant on Twitter March 3, following former Michigan player and current Nets guard Caris LeVert's 51-point performance against the Boston Celtics PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL 21 Wins this year for the women's basketball team this year after the Big Ten Tournament, clinching the program's ninth straight 20- win campaign that started in the final year of Kevin Borseth's tenure and has been continued throughout current leader KIM BARNES ARICO'S time at the helm. Prior to the current streak, the program that started during the 1973-74 season had just three seasons with 20 or more victories. 6 PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS