Kornacki: Simpson Shines as Difference-Maker in 2OT Thriller
1/10/2020 7:30:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Juwan Howard entered the locker room after the University of Michigan's 84-78 double-overtime win over Purdue, and had this message for his team:
"The thing is, we kept our mental toughness and mental stability ... And it was a total team effort."
And while Howard was correct in that his entire squad contributed to keeping its cool and displaying tenacity, there was one clear leader in that department.
Simpson scored 10 of his 22 points in the two overtime periods.
Point guard Zavier Simpson got better as Thursday night's (Jan. 9) game wore on, and did so with amazing endurance.
Simpson played 48:38 of 50 minutes to lead all players in playing time, assists (nine) and the Wolverines in scoring with 22 points to match his season high.
He played the final 35:43 of the game without coming out, and scored 14 points in the last 11 minutes of the game after totaling a modest eight points and all of his assists in the first 39 minutes.
Simpson wasn't going to let No. 19 Michigan (11-4, 2-2 Big Ten) lose this game to the hard-driving Boilermakers, who got a monster showing from center Trevion Williams (36 points, 20 rebounds).
The senior point guard outscored Williams, 14-9, in the last minute of regulation and two overtime periods.
"It wasn't really about me scoring," said Simpson. "It was about doing what's needed to put my team in the best position to win. At the end of the day, I felt they were kind of laying off and I saw heads turning. It was a clear lane with no one in the gaps. Lanes were open and I had to drive. So, I had to make something happen and beat my man downhill."
What enables Simpson to pick up the quick subtleties in a game that moves so fast?
"It's about being locked in," said Simpson. "It was pretty loud tonight and they were making some good runs. But at the end of the day, you've got to stay locked in. It's about the 10 players on the court and the brothers on the sideline. It's about staying in the box, a term I like to use. That's what it's about."
Howard said: "It boils down to experience for him. He's a gamer and this is his fourth year, he's a senior. He's played for a coach (John Beilein) that had phenomenal sets. A lot of it was read and react, and it's somewhat similar to what we run offensively, too. But, we use a lot of ball screens. He's practiced it and knows where the reads are."
Sophomore guard David DeJulius said, "It amazes me to see Zavier's feel for the game. I'm going to cheat off the test and he's the test."
Howard continued, "But the thing that I'm most impressed with is he's always ready to work. He doesn't miss any practices, and you just want to cheer for a guy like that because he's wired the right way. Give credit to his dad and his mom for instilling those kinds of values in him, a guy who brings his work ethic each and every day."
Prior to the first OT, Howard wrote a message to his team on a grease board: "MOST CONDITIONED TEAM."
"Like Coach (Howard) was saying -- it was our conditioning," said Wolverine assistant coach Howard Eisley. "We try to pride ourselves in being the best-conditioned team, and Zavier was great all night. He was able to make the right reads and I think they got a little fatigued, and we were able to get downhill on our pick-and-rolls, which was very big for us."
Simpson said: "It's a long season and we want to stay conditioned. We want to stay engaged and make sure our legs are ready. I feel it came down to mental toughness and that's something Juwan pushes hard in practice and off the court in the offseason. We take pride in that. It's something Juwan does in practice, and we compete with each other to make sure we're getting better.
"And everyone else on the team puts in a lot of work outside of practice as well. And it all came together in the game. Guys knocked down shots and played together."
Simpson twice drove the lane to score down low for tying baskets in the final minute of regulation.
Then, he got the first bucket in overtime before scoring the last basket of the first extra session to tie it at 68-all. Simpson nearly ended it with a running 35-footer as time expired that hit rim, bringing a disappointed groan from the sellout crowd of 12,707 at Crisler Center: "Ohhhhhh!"
???? @Xaviersimpson3 NAILS the 3 for @umichbball to put them up 6 with just under 3' to go in 2OT ?? pic.twitter.com/GddKJUqUuA
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 10, 2020
Simpson had missed five three-point attempts in the game, but drilled the most important one he took early in the second overtime to provide a 74-68 lead that Michigan took control with, never leading by fewer than four points the rest of the way. Simpson swished two free throws with 10 seconds remaining for the final scoring.
"He's probably one of the hardest-working guys I've been around," said Eisley, who spent 21 years in the NBA as a player, assistant coach and player development assistant. "And that's the big thing. He's never satisfied with his game, and comes in every day priding himself on being the best and wanting to get better.
"He's our hardest worker on the team by far."
Simpson is the first to arrive at practices and the last to leave. He's trying to improve his three-point and free-throw shooting accuracy, while perfecting that running, right-handed hook shot that he hit twice against the Boilermakers.
"I do a lot of extra shooting," said Simpson, "and not too much running. I want to work hard but also work smart. I do my conditioning before practice."
He puts in the extra shooting, extra film study and the extra conditioning that make a difference with games on the line.
"We expect that out of him in situations like that," said Eisley. "He's our leader and has to lead. We ask a lot of him, and he's been delivering. They follow his lead."
Senior captain Simpson prepares to lead the Wolverines onto the court against Purdue.
The Wolverines, to a man, say Simpson's the one they follow.
"That's huge, what he did," said center Jon Teske, who had 18 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. "He's our leader on the court. He has the ball in his hands at all times, and when you get to overtime, you need a good point guard to make the right decisions. We trust him to make the right decisions and he's going to find the open man, knock down open shots and get assists.
"The confidence starts with him and goes down to the whole team."
Freshman Franz Wagner, who had 15 points and five rebounds along with two steals and two blocks, said, "Zavier is a leader every second of the game. That's the most important thing, and he did a great job again today. Mistakes are going to happen, but he's always the one that takes the leadership role and encourages you. He'll get on you when you do something wrong, but also encourages you.
"That's what a leader does, and it's really important in tight games like this."
Simpson made 9-of-13 field goal attempts and added three rebounds and nine assists. He entered the game averaging 8.9 assists, second in the nation behind the 9.2 of Samford's Josh Sharkey.
Assists will be what Simpson's remembered for. He has 564, and needs 11 more to tie Rumeal Robinson (1988-90) for second on the school's career list. Gary Grant (1985-88) is tops with 731, but Simpson can surpass that by maintaining his average even with only a modest postseason run.
He was averaging a single-season best 11.4 points entering the game, but nearly doubled that to fall two points short of matching his career-high 24 against Northwestern last year.
Simpson did what was needed to beat Purdue, and that required more scoring than usual. He read the defense and once the Boilermakers stopped "collapsing" their defense on him to clog the lanes, Simpson drove those lanes.
"Double-overtime is about mental toughness," said Simpson. "It's about from the neck up and being smart."
That "stability" and grit Howard talked about with his team afterward is rooted with his point guard.
"He knows he cannot be the quiet guy on the court," said Howard. "He also knows that on each and every possession, the coach is going to be counting on him to provide leadership. He embraces that. Yes, it's big shoulders that he has to carry with all the accountability that I've given him and the trust that I've given him. But he's earned all of it, and we're just happy that we have our Tom Brady.
"I'm not surprised. I have one of the best point guards in college basketball. We have one of the best leaders in college basketball, and one of the toughest competitors in college basketball, a kid that has been counted out so many times, but rises to the occasion when needed, and trusts himself.
"We trust him and his teammates follow his lead and energy. He's always active with effort."
On this night, 58 percent of the baskets the Wolverines made were a direct result of Simpson, who either made or assisted on 17Â of Michigan's 31 field goals made.
He knows the best route to the scoreboard, and against Purdue, that meant scoring more while assisting just as much as usual.
