Indy Pete - Go Blue

May 5th, 2018 at 11:07 PM ^

He is already an elite point guard with his defense, ball handling, ability to penetrate, and ability finish of the rim. If he does truly add the jump shooting ability, he will become a first team all big 10 point guard. With or without the shooting ability , I want him on my team.

Muttley

May 6th, 2018 at 1:17 PM ^

but having the yips at the line, and perhaps tailing off at the end of the year.

It was more pronounced than I remembered.  Z's three point shooting was a tale of two ~halves of the season, as can be confirmed from 

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/gamelog/_/id/4066377/zavier-simpson

Entering the 1/29 Northwestern game, Z was shooting a very good 44.7% from three having made 17 of 38 shots.

But for the remainder of the season, he shot an abysmal 7 of 46, or a 15.2% over that span.

 

TrueBlue2003

May 7th, 2018 at 12:02 AM ^

including 15 (!!!) wins over kenpom top 100 teams during that stretch in which he shot 15 (!!!) percent from three.

He wasn't a very high uage player, but he offset the poor 3pt shooting with 59 percent 2 pt shooting which is insane for a guard and excellent defense.

Can't imagine he'll have a worse 50 shot stretch in Jr or Sr seasons. KNOCK ON WOOD.

Indy Pete - Go Blue

May 6th, 2018 at 12:08 AM ^

clearly your opinion is highly valued around here.  We lost 0 games this yr b/c of that free throw percentage, yet we won 33 games, many b/c of elite defense.  Go ahead, M go cue your whining about his 'liabilitiies', I will celebrate the school record 33 victories b/c of his excellence.  

Indy Pete - Go Blue

May 6th, 2018 at 12:38 AM ^

My stance is clear...  improvement is essential for all to reach their potential!  I said as much below in my post that I am glad about his focus on improving.  I find it worthwhile to clarify that moaning about his inadequacies right now (like m go - 10 mil) is inappropriate after this incredible season.  

LSAClassOf2000

May 6th, 2018 at 7:37 AM ^

Your stance is puzzling though when it is put next to the statistics on Simpson's shooting performances throughout the season though, so I don't quite understand why you would think that the criticism is inappropriate, season outcome regardless. If indeed you are big on improvement, then a season where we were as close at this to an NC should sharpen one's focus on such things. 

TrueBlue2003

May 6th, 2018 at 3:01 AM ^

but he was the starter and played 30+ minutes for a national runner-up team.  He was still very, very good.  But yes, if he wants to be elite (top 10 at his position in CBB), he needs to shoot better from 3 and FT.

It falls more into the category of "would be really nice to have" to me as a fan rather than "it is a necessity".

The good thing is, since his goal is probably to play professionally, no one thinks it's more necessary than he does.

Zeke21

May 5th, 2018 at 11:42 PM ^

With improving your game in the off season.

Especially w pop overlooking the shot.

Go get'em X.

Rodriguesqe

May 5th, 2018 at 11:45 PM ^

His FT% wasnt a problem freshman year. I think its one of those things that snowballed. I didn't like his weird routine. From what I saw, he flared his elbow. I have no idea how their solution was what it was. 

Rodriguesqe

May 5th, 2018 at 11:45 PM ^

His FT% wasnt a problem freshman year. I think its one of those things that snowballed. I didn't like his weird routine. From what I saw, he flared his elbow. I have no idea how their solution was what it was. 

cletus318

May 6th, 2018 at 12:23 AM ^

He only shot 31 free throws all year as a freshman. That could've very well been an issue of sample sizes (started 12/14 before going 10/17 the rest of the way), much his three-point shooting to start this past season.

Indy Pete - Go Blue

May 6th, 2018 at 12:04 AM ^

But not even a wonky fan can be disappointed with where he led us this year (B1G tourney champs, final four, national championship game).  Glad he is working to improve that shot and avoiding complacency.  Looking forward to see him at an even higher level.  I am glad to be able to sit back and say, as a fan, that I am not sitting here disappointed in Z Simpson's shooting ability and bummed at his insufficiency in that department.  He led us to incredible heights this year, because he is an excellent player.  Here's to hoping his shot improves and he becomes that 1st team All- B1G point guard that he could be!

Steeveebr

May 6th, 2018 at 9:19 AM ^

You are way too sensitive.  I have not read anyone disparage Z in this thread.  Talking about our failures is not, in any way, saying we are dissappointed with something as a whole. 

Relax a little.  A lot of not wonky fans were disgusted with Z's freethrow and perimeter shooting this year while loving the other parts of his game.  If that hurts your feelings for Z, sorry but not sorry.

Matte Kudasai

May 6th, 2018 at 3:06 AM ^

He certainly made strides, but is a long way from being elite.  And if we're being honest, he was brutal in the NCAA tournament.  

His ability to penetrate is going to be limited because teams will sag on him like they did in the tourney.

While, I think he's a great kid, his game at this point is definitely limited.

I'm not sure how much he can improve his shooting at this point in his career but if he can't he won't be more than a defensive specialist.  Teams in the tourny adjusted to his game and he struggled mightily.

 

Frank Chuck

May 6th, 2018 at 3:37 AM ^

Zavier Simpson defensive specialist that averaged 9 ppg and 4 apg once he became the starter as a sophomore (around the @Iowa game). Given that he's unquestionably an elite defender, perhaps you're underestimating his impact.

Also, many posters on this board thought Zavier Simpson wouldn't amount to much based on his freshman season. I'm sure if we went back and looked at post-game (snowflake) threads from last season, we would find many examples of that.

I would remind those same idiots (you know who you are) to keep that in mind before talking shit about Brandon Peters. Players improve over time (duh). Regardless of sport, it takes some longer than others to climb the steep learning curve.

1VaBlue1

May 6th, 2018 at 7:11 AM ^

"And if we're being honest, he was brutal in the NCAA tournament."

So, I'm going to have to assume that this is only for offense.  Because if it's not, you would be the single dumbest poster on this entire board.  Defensively, Simpson shut down everyone the opponent threw out there against him.  Every single guard an opponent put on the floor that Simpson checked, turned into Mr Potatoe Face.  Yes, even Jalen Brunson - who was supposed to be the best in the world!  Manbun's points came when Poole and Simmons had him.

Simpson's offense was certainly cringworthy, but you cannot say he was 'brutal during the tunamelt'.

1VaBlue1

May 6th, 2018 at 7:17 AM ^

There's a lot to fix with that shot, and it was so far off I have to wonder what he and dad were thinking all those previous years.  I get that he was torching opposition all along in grade school, high school, and AAU.  But it seems a little late to start focusing on that shot.

I really hope he figures it out, though, because being an elite defender will not get you into the NBA as a PG that shoots 50% from the FT line and 28% from three.  And when the opponent can sag off you to stop the drive, and put an extra defender against the other 4...  Well, you are not an elite PG.  You are nothing more than a defensive specialist - which is great to have in its own right.  But it doesn't make an 'elite' PG on its own...

I hope they get it fixed enough to raise those percentages by 10-15 points...

cletus318

May 6th, 2018 at 5:41 PM ^

Rondo is somehow both best-case and worst-case scenario for Simpson. At his peak, Rondo completely controls the game, always probing and finding open guys while playing elite defense. At his nadir, he's virtually unplayable because of his hesitancy to shoot or drive to the basket because he doesn't want to go to the free throw line, where he also struggles.

Michigan4Life

May 6th, 2018 at 9:12 PM ^

for Rondo is he is completely disinterested in playing defense and isn't engaged as a player. When he's engaged, he's a problem defensively but that is far and few in between.

We don't have to worry about Z's lack of effort especially on defense .

Ali G Bomaye

May 7th, 2018 at 1:45 PM ^

The thing is, Rondo played college basketball in the mid-2000s, and didn't play for John Beilein. Therefore, his lack of a shot wasn't as big of a problem.

In the current basketball world, and especially in Beilein's system, having multiple non-shooters on the floor is kind of a problem. Since we're probably going to start Teske at center, we need all the shooting we can get from our backcourt.