The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/901162
DECEMBER 2017 THE WOLVERINE 47 MICHIGAN BASKETBALL dling is what he thinks he has im- proved the most. "I'm not really setting any kind of expectation for myself," Matthews said. "I haven't played for a year, so I'm just going to come out here, have fun and try to play winning basketball." His athleticism will go a long way on defense — an area that he's showed a lot of promise in during practice. "Defense is very important," Mat- thews said. "I take a lot of pride in it. I guard Ibi [Watson, a sophomore] a lot in practice, and he gets me better. He's so skilled offensively, and a lot of people don't know that about him. "I just try to impact the game as much as I can from both sides of the floor." — Andrew Vailliencourt JAARON SIMMONS JUST WANTS TO WIN Ohio University graduate transfer point guard Jaaron Simmons aver- aged 12.0 minutes per game in his first two U-M outings, sharing time with sophomore Zavier Simpson. He would prefer to start, of course — that was a big reason he came to Michigan — but he said there was one thing that mattered most. "We won. That's all that mat- ters," he said after coming off the bench in a 82-50 exhibition win over Grand Valley State Nov. 3, noting the coaches have told him to be patient. "I'm still learning the system. One day at a time … I'm going to con- tinue to do what I'm supposed to do. "I'm not playing with the ball in my hands as much as I did at Ohio. It's a little different for me, but I like it. That's why I came here — to chal- lenge myself mentally, challenge myself as far as being a basketball player, and that's what I'm going to do." Pick and roll has been his forte, and Simmons believes they'll go to it more as he continues to get more comfortable. For now, though, he continues to battle with Simpson and true freshman Eli Brooks for playing time. "We definitely bring out the best in each other," he said. "We know what we're fighting for. We all want to win games and compete at a high level. "We're all friends at the end of the day. We help each other learn and get on each other when we're mess- ing up. "Just competing at that high level is going to make you better. A lot of teams don't have three point guards that compete at a high level every single day." Simmons describes himself as a floor general, somebody who can make plays for himself and others. Everything about U-M has met his expectations, from working in the weight room with strength coach Jon Sanderson — also a big reason he chose Michigan — to learning a new system and terminology, and im- proving his knowledge of the game. "Everything has been just the way I wanted it to be," he insisted. "I'm getting better and better each and every day. Coach [John Beilein] is changing a couple things with my shot, so it's just about me being con- sistent now. I have good days, some off days, but more good than off, so that's going to be a good thing." He's not departed senior Derrick Walton Jr., and he never planned to be. He just wants to do his part to help Michigan win. "It's been a great experience just coming here and being able to play for Coach Beilein at Michigan," he said. "I used to watch this on TV. Now I'm here. I'm going to make the best out of it. It's definitely lived up to my expectations, 100 percent in all aspects. "I take a lot of pride in having a high basketball IQ. Coming here, I wanted to challenge myself, and I knew it was going to be a challenge trying to learn Coach Beilein's of- fense in not even a year, because you've got to learn it before you can play in a game. "I'm trying to learn Coach Beilein's offense in a couple months. I'm learn- ing all the new terminology, also im- proving my game and all the new things he's been teaching me. That's been great." — Chris Balas IBI WATSON AND JORDAN POOLE HAVE A TIGHT FRIENDSHIP Michigan sophomore guard/for- ward Ibi Watson said that sometimes people confuse him for freshman guard Jordan Poole. Poole (left) and Watson have bonded off the court, and hope to make an impact on it this season. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL 2017-18 MICHIGAN MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET) Nov. 3 Grand Valley State^ W, 82-50 Nov. 11 North Florida* W, 86-66 Nov. 13 Central Michigan W, 72-65 Nov. 16 Southern Mississippi (BTN+) 7 p.m. Nov. 20 vs. LSU (ESPNU)# 11:30 p.m. Nov. 21 vs. Notre Dame/Chaminade# 8/10:30 p.m. Nov. 22 vs. TBD# (TBD) TBD Nov. 26 UC Riverside (FS1) 4 p.m. Nov. 29 at North Carolina (ESPN)& 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2 Indiana (CBS)! 12:30 p.m. Dec. 4 at Ohio State (FS1)! 6:30 p.m. Dec. 9 UCLA (CBS) 12 p.m. Dec. 12 at Texas (ESPN2) 9 p.m. Dec. 16 vs. Detroit (ESPNU)@ 12 p.m. Dec. 21 Alabama A&M (ESPNU) 9 p.m. Dec. 30 Jacksonville (BTN) 6 p.m. Jan. 2 at Iowa (ESPN/2)! 7 p.m. Jan. 6 Illinois (BTN)! 12 p.m. Jan. 9 Purdue (ESPN/2)! 9 p.m. Jan. 13 at Michigan State (FOX)! 12 p.m. Jan. 15 Maryland (FS1)! 6:30 p.m. Jan. 18 at Nebraska (BTN)! 9 p.m. Jan. 21 Rutgers (BTN)! 12 p.m. Jan. 25 at Purdue (ESPN2)! 7 p.m. Jan. 29 Northwestern (FS1)! 7 p.m. Feb. 3 Minnesota (FOX)! 2:30 p.m. Feb. 6 at Northwestern (BTN)! 7 p.m. Feb. 11 at Wisconsin (CBS)! 1 p.m. Feb. 14 Iowa (BTN)! 6:30 p.m. Feb. 18 Ohio State (CBS)! 1 p.m. Feb. 21 at Penn State (BTN)! 7 p.m. Feb. 24 at Maryland (ESPN/2)! 12 p.m. Feb. 28-March 4 Big Ten Championship (at New York, N.Y.) March 13-April 2 NCAA Championship (at various sites) ^ — Exhibition; * — Maui On The Mainland at Crisler Center; # — Maui Jim Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawai'i; & — ACC/Big Ten Challenge; ! — Big Ten game; @ — at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit