Zaiver Simpson, Jon Teske just won during Michigan basketball careers
By Seth Berry
Teske’s Impact
From a physical standpoint, what Teske looks like now is a far cry from how he looked his freshman season.
The 3-star (according to 247sports), 7-foot big man out of Medina, Ohio was not physically ready to play against Big Ten centers in 2016-17. But with Mortiz Wagner having a breakout season, along with Mark Donnal providing depth off Michigan’s bench at the five, Teske didn’t have to be ready and could take some time to develop.
In fact, with players like Duncan Robinson, Derrick Walton, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and DJ Wilson in the rotation, Teske could afford some time to develop on a team that peaked toward the end of the season and ended up winning a Big Ten Tournament Championship and appeared in the Sweet 16.
Teske appeared in just 20 games that season and averaged just three minutes per game. But the next season, it was time for Teske to play a bigger role and back up an eventual NBA center in Wagner.
In 2017-18, Teske saw a spike in minutes per game, averaging a little over 12 per game on a Michigan basketball team that went 33-8 and finished as the national runner-up after an eventual title loss to Villanova.
The numbers still weren’t staggering for Teske, but the improvement was clear. As the season wore on, he was learning how to become a reliable rim protector, to play defense without fouling and finish through contact against Big Ten centers.
There is no game more memorable from Teske than the Big Ten Tournament title game against Purdue, where he helped the Wolverines win its second-straight tournament title after scoring 14 points off the bench.
The connection from Simpson to Teske in that game was one of the most lasting images from the two, with Teske dunking over Purdue center Isaac Haas and Simpson doing a “mean mug” walk after the play.
Teske took the momentum of that season to improve his overall game as he started to become a pick-and-pop threat within Michigan’s offense in his last two seasons while developing a mid-range game.
Despite some second-half struggles in 2019-20, Teske’s overall improvement was noticeable and his play helped the Wolverines continue great success.