Zavier vs Trey
During the IU game last night, Fox put up a “3 Things to Know” about Zavier Simpson. One was that he wants a one-on-one game with Trey Burke. I think Trey would win, but I would pay money to watch that.
That got me thinking... wouldn’t it be great if there were a charity matchup of the 2012-2013 team vs the 2017-2018 team? They would definitely sell out Crisler. Kenpom gives the 2012-2013 team a 3pt advantage.
Have other schools ever done such a matchup of prior great teams?
January 26th, 2019 at 10:01 AM ^
1v1 is a much different game than 5v5 with no threat of a pass or ball screen Trey would have an extremely difficult time getting separation from Z. Z may not be able to shoot well but 1v1 you’re not shooting very much. Treys defense in college was fairly average and Z is way more explosive than Trey was. 1v1 Z would win and it wouldn’t be close.
January 26th, 2019 at 10:20 AM ^
Slight edge to Z in defense but he has nowhere near the offensive arsenal as Trey.
January 26th, 2019 at 10:29 AM ^
game plan vs Z would be to give him the 3 point line and hope he is cold that day.
January 26th, 2019 at 10:38 AM ^
Feels like people are having two different discussions with the Simpson vs. Burke match-up. If you're comparing them as college players, then I'd give Burke a slight advantage because as great as Simpson's defense is, his lack of shooting would probably doom him. If you're talking about present-day multi-year NBA vet Trey Burke vs. Simpson, then yeah that would be a slaughter, and that's no slight to Z.
January 26th, 2019 at 11:03 AM ^
People really underestimate the difference in skill between different levels in sports. Not only has Burke played and practiced basketball for 5 more years that Simpson, he's done it without school obligations and going up against better competition. Every aspect of his game is better than it was in college, even if he doesn't look better, because he's doing it against NBA competition. He's faster, stronger, and shooting better than he did when he was considered a top NCAA player.
The game would be cool to watch, but I doubt it would be competitive. Losing would push Z even harder though and probably make him better.
January 26th, 2019 at 5:55 PM ^
This. So many people don't understand the difference between college and pro teams, no matter how good the college team is
If the 2013 team can back, as is, and played this team, it would be an absolute massacre. You could run a lineup of Hardaway, Stauskas, burke, GRIII, and Levert and the game would be like 65-30 at half. It wouldn't be close at all
January 26th, 2019 at 11:04 AM ^
Free throws wouldn’t be an issue since no fouls would be called so this becomes a game of who can reach their number first — 7 3’s for Burke vs 11 hook shots for Simpson. Unless Trey was on fire, Z/X might actually have a shot because Trey doesn’t have the length to do anything about Simpson’s hook.
January 26th, 2019 at 12:14 PM ^
12-13 guys playing professionally would now be in the prime of their careers and skills. Would be fun anyway.
January 26th, 2019 at 12:51 PM ^
Much of the 2013 team has been in the NBA for several years.
2013 team would beat them by 30-40 if they played a real game
January 26th, 2019 at 12:56 PM ^
Simulating the 2013 team vs this team is a different story, however.
All that being said, the 13 and 14 teams were much better offensively than these guys. More athletic too.
January 26th, 2019 at 12:52 PM ^
Am I the only one who cringed when reading this title? Trey Burke was THE DUDE in college basketball. You could maybe debate Simpson vs Walton.
January 26th, 2019 at 1:50 PM ^
Only worth cringing at if people quickly remember how great Trey was. Helps us appreciate what we had when he was here.
And Z vs. senior Walton would be very interesting.
January 26th, 2019 at 1:11 PM ^
Trey, THJ, Sauce, GRIII, and Horford.
Z, JP, Iggy, Matthews, and Big Sleep.
Gimme the 2013 team. Too much firepower.
January 26th, 2019 at 2:56 PM ^
Can we all agree that we will have to shoot better if we want to win the BIg Ten and go to the final four... Last night was a real nice win. But to beat MSU we will need more than a outstanding D.
January 28th, 2019 at 11:44 AM ^
X would get roasted by Trey. Love them both but they are not at the same level.