Zaiver Simpson, Jon Teske just won during Michigan basketball careers

Simpson’s Legacy

To say Simpson had big shoes to fill as Michigan’s point guard would be a severe understatement.

Guard Trey Burke won a National Player of the Year in 2013, hit arguably the biggest shot in Michigan basketball history against Kansas in the Sweet 16 in that same season and is was one of the all-time greats to ever come through the program.

Walton was no slouch either, practically carrying the Wolverines to a Big Ten Tournament title as Simpson backed him up in 2016-17.

In 2017-18, the 4-star guard out of Lima, Ohio found himself in an even more challenging situation than Teske, having to take over the starting point guard spot after Walton graduated.

But Simpson took the challenge in stride, helping facilitate an offense with plenty of weapons and taking it upon himself to score if needed.

Simpson facilitated an offense and did whatever Beilein needed him to do to help the team win. His ability to calm the game down and make the right decisions at the correct times played a huge part in Michigan’s Final Four run.

The next season, Simpson helped Michigan to 26 regular season wins and another Sweet 16 appearance, with one of his most valiant efforts coming in a key road win against Maryland on the second to last regular season game of the season. Simpson had 12 points and 10 assists for what was his third double-double of the season and made several key hook shots down the stretch, which became Simpson’s signature shot.

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This season, however, may have been Simpson’s greatest challenge as the Wolverines lost its top three scorers form 2018-19 in Charles Matthews, Ignas Brazdeikis and Jordan Poole.

That meant Simpson had to find a way to help pick up some of that lost production under first-year coach Juwan Howard.

Simpson’s usage rate became much higher and the pace of the game sped up a bit for Michigan’s offense, but he helped the Wolverines to a 19-12 record while ending a shortened season with career-highs in points (12.9) and assists per game (7.9) as the Wolverines were likely a solid 6 or 7 seed before the coronavirus outbreak canceled the NCAA Tournament.

The Memories Will Last

Although unfortunate that Simpson and Teske had their careers ultimately cut at least a few games short, the impact they both had on Michigan hoops cannot be forgotten.

Will they go down as the greatest to ever put on a Michigan basketball uniform? No. But they will go down as the winningest.

And in sports, if the ultimate goal is to win, then Jon Teske and Zavier Simpson accomplished the ultimate goal.