The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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DECEMBER 2017 THE WOLVERINE 45 in and just think, 'All right, I'm the leader.' I've got to prove to myself and my teammates that I can be a leader, but first you've got to be a learner. "You've got to learn. I had to come in here and learn a new system, learn my teammates and all about them. Once I get comfortable, I can become the leader that I am." His roommate, redshirt sopho- more guard Charles Matthews, went through the same learning process last year, but away from the spotlight in a redshirt year. Matthews attests to Simmons' savvy as a point guard. At times in pickup games last summer, the newcomer proved a little too quick for intended pass re- cipients. "He's very good, very smart," Matthews said. "When I was play- ing pickup with him, he would turn the ball over, but it was our fault. I didn't even know he saw me. "He'd throw the ball and I'd say, 'That's my bad, bro.' He sees with eyes in the back of his head. It's very fun to play with him." TIME TO FAST FORWARD Simmons noticed a big difference in coming to Michigan. He's now surrounded by teammates who can score and make good things happen. "Here, I've got four other play- makers with me," he said. "At Ohio, we may have had two playmakers on the court at one time, or three. Here, we've got five." He's also learned more about Beilein and the demands the veteran coach puts on his team. Simmons discovered very quickly the highly emphasized value placed on taking care of the basketball. Practice turnovers turn into runs to the top of Crisler Arena by the offender. It doesn't take long for the message to sink in. "My favorite phrase so far is, 'Take a trip,'" Simmons said with a smile. "When somebody does something wrong in practice … I took one trip so far. You turn the ball over, you've got to take a trip. He values taking care of that ball." He's also learning to play without the basketball better, a notion he re- ally hadn't encountered before. "I do pretty well off the dribble. I'm used to playing with the ball in my hands," he said. "That's [my] bread and butter. But catch and shoot, being able to play off others and not have others play off me, that's where I'm trying to work." It's been an interesting road to reach Ann Arbor, Simmons admit- ted, but one he's glad he took. "I wouldn't change it for any- thing," he said. "It's a blessing. I've been able to go to Houston, which was a great experience for me, got a chance to come back home to Ohio and play in the MAC, which was an awesome experience for me. I loved my teammates and coaches there, still to this day. "And being able to finish my ca- reer at a school like Michigan? It's a blessing. Every kid, at the end of the day, deep down in their heart, they want to play high-major bas- ketball. I don't look at it as pressure. I dreamed of sitting in sessions like this, talking to people about the sea- son. It just makes you more hungry to show what you can do." He also puts no limits on the po- tential blessing. "I want everything," Simmons insisted. "That's why I came here. I came here to win championships — a Big Ten championship, Big Ten Tournament championship, get to the NCAA Tournament and make a run, shoot for a national champion- ship. That's my goal." ❏ Point Guard Battle Heats Up Graduate transfers are the new free agents of college basketball and football. Jake Rudock came in and guided Jim Harbaugh's first Michigan team to a 10-win season, following a no-bowl campaign a year earlier. There's no guarantee for the transfer, though. Others don't stop competing just because there's someone else in the locker room, even an accomplished someone else. Michigan head coach John Beilein assured there would be strong competition for the point guard spot at Michigan this year. So far, the battle followed his projection. Sophomore guard Zavier Simpson started Michigan's Nov. 3 exhibition game against Grand Valley State, scoring six points and dishing out three assists in 18 minutes. Freshman guard Eli Brooks — a pleasant surprise in fall camp with his shooting — logged 15 minutes, scoring five points and notching a pair of assists. Beilein approached the start of the season assuring that nobody has played himself out of the competition, but nobody had taken over, either. "None of those guards has come in and said, 'Okay, I'm the guy,'" Beilein said. "Maybe it's because they play so hard against each other. There is a war going on out there, every day, that is really good." Beilein noted that Simpson, who averaged only 8.7 minutes per game last sea- son — playing behind Big Ten Tournament MVP Derrick Walton — has upgraded his game. "He's doing a lot better," Beilein said. "He's shot the ball really well. Last year, he really helped us defensively. Offensively, there were some things, like with most freshmen, where he was evolving. He's done a much better job with that stuff. "He's a high-energy guy. He's like Derrick Walton numbers, as far as his intensity in practice. His skill level has improved a great deal, and he's a great kid to coach." Brooks, meanwhile, showed plenty early. Beilein is hoping he avoids a freshman dip, once the going gets tough. "He's been pretty good," Beilein said. "His percentages, for a guard … he's been 50 percent from two. That's pretty good for a guard. And threes? He's shooting a high percentage from both spots. "He's shown a unique ability to catch on very quickly. It's not like they've learned everything they're going to learn by now. We've had that before, early. Man, they're getting everything early. "Once they can add and subtract, now they're going to have to counter and make decisions with the evolving game, then they flatline a little bit. We hope he doesn't flatline." He's also hoping the Wolverines feature a strong point guard emerging as the season goes along, backed up capably by another. With a schedule featuring Indiana at Crisler Center Dec. 2 and a game at Ohio State two days later, there's more reason than ever to find answers early. — John Borton