Xavier Simpson named Gatorade POY for Ohio

Submitted by Raoul on

After being named Ohio's Mr. Basketball yesterday, Xavier Simpson garnered another honor today: Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Ohio.

The 6-foot, 175-pound senior point guard has led the Spartans to a 28-0 record and a berth in the Division I semifinals, scheduled for March 18. Simpson is averaging 28 points, 6.3 assists and 3.7 steals per game through 28 games, shooting nearly 60 percent from 3-point range. . . .

"I can’t believe that there is a player in Ohio that is more important to his team’s success than Xavier Simpson," said Jim Rucki, head coach at Findlay High. "He makes everyone around him a better player. He is true point guard. He keeps his team under control and is a coach on the floor. He can be a great scorer when he needs to be, but has an uncanny ability to give his teammates the ball right where they need it. He is the best player in Ohio."

Hagen

March 17th, 2016 at 2:00 PM ^

Agreed.  Hopefully Camp Sanderson will help him add some much needed bulk to his frame.  That'll help him stay in front during post ups and not foul as much.  I have high hopes for Mo for next year.

champswest

March 17th, 2016 at 3:26 PM ^

First team: Seth Towns, Columbus Northland, 6-foot-7, senior, 32.0 points per game; Kyle Young, Massillon Jackson, 6-7, jr., 20.6; Jon Teske, Medina, 7-1, sr., 16.9; Willie Jackson, Garfield Heights, 6-6, sr., 21.0; Xavier Simpson, Lima Senior, 6-0, sr., 30.2; Jarron Cumberland, Wilmington, 6-5, sr., 29.5; Nick Ward, Gahanna, 6-9, sr., 21.0; Ibi Watson, Pickerington Central, 6-5, sr., 19.3; Frankie Hughes, Garfield Heights, 6-4, sr., 18.0; Trey Landers, Huber Heights Wayne, 6-5, sr., 16.4.

Player of the year: Xavier Simpson, Lima Senior

 
Now all we need to do is add Kyle Young to the 2017 class.

Erik_in_Dayton

March 17th, 2016 at 10:05 AM ^

He's a really hard worker and a coach's son.  He may not make a huge impact right away, but I think he could make a notable difference.  My fantasy for next year is that we see a lot of minutes with a lineup of Simpson-Walton-Robinson-Irvin-Wagner. 

mgobaran

March 17th, 2016 at 3:37 PM ^

MAAR is our best player at driving to the basket. He probably isn't our best player. It just stands out because nobody else does what he does. You don't look at your best player and say he had a good game for scoring 16 points on 20 shot equivalents, 2 asts and 2 rebounds.

Duncan Robinson probably had the best game individually for Michigan last night. Zak Irvin had the best B1G Tourney. The problem with this team is that we don't even have a best player. Just a bunch of guys, but not dudes.

blueneverquits

March 17th, 2016 at 10:21 AM ^

For no other reason than we'll still have a floor general when Walton sits.  So we get to enjoy the luxury of having a backup PG for one season . . .  then we'll be back to our current predicament.  

Eastside Maize

March 17th, 2016 at 10:48 AM ^

I love that X shoots 60% from 3 but I'm hoping gets to the cup. Our jumpers weren't falling yesterday but MAAR and Robinson got us buckets by going to the rack. We need at least 3 guys that can get off their own shot.