Michigan basketball's Zavier Simpson playing at new level, with end of career in sight

The past week was filled with milestones for Zavier Simpson.

On Sunday, Michigan basketball's senior point guard picked up his 105th career win in an 89-65 victory over Indiana to become the winningest player in program history, along with classmate Jon Teske. 

On Wednesday, he crossed another threshold in signature fashion.

With a running hook shot that kissed the backboard before falling through the net, Simpson reached the 1,000-point mark in his college career. A late free throw put him over.

He's one of four players in school history with at least 1,000 points and 500 assists, joining Gary Grant, Rumeal Robinson and Antoine Joubert. 

Simpson was a workhorse in Michigan's 60-52 win at Rutgers. He took control of the offense. He passed to open teammates. He drove into the paint and scored at the rim. He used his trademark skyhook.

He did all of this despite being the main target of the Scarlet Knights' game plan. And because he thwarted that strategy, the Wolverines won.

"(Simpson's) an elite passer," Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said. "He's got elite shooters around him, and he's a 7-foot-2 center that's a four-year veteran. They've got a lot of weapons. And when you've got that quarterback that can slice and dice you, nothing's easy."

As good as Simpson has been for Michigan in his climb to the top of the record books, he's reaching a new level of play as his career winds to a close.

He is in top form as a scorer, passer and — surprisingly — shooter.

The Scarlet Knights became the latest team to test Simpson's shooting ability. In their first meeting this season, Rutgers chose to hedge ball screens, mostly neutralizing Simpson's scoring ability (he had nine points on just five shots).

But it played into his strengths as a passer, allowing him to find open teammates all game and finish with 10 assists as the Wolverines won at Madison Square Garden.

At the start of Wednesday's game, Rutgers chose to go under screens instead, daring Simpson to shoot. 

So he did, burying his first two 3s. The Scarlet Knights stopped going under screens after that.

“Every shot that goes in is important, but it’s good to see the ball go in," Michigan coach Juwan Howard said. "When they went under the screen, he was wide open. I wanted him to take it. If he would’ve missed those two shots, I would say take the third shot. Any player, when they see the ball go in, it becomes an ocean sometimes.

“It’s nothing new, he’s a smart enough player to know where the reads are. Any time a guy steps off you and you’re able to line up, massage the ball, line the seams up and shoot it, it’s great. He was confident enough to take the shot, the ball went in.”

Simpson has made 27 of 73 (37%) of his 3s this season, well above his career average of 29.6%. There have been times when his outside shooting has hurt Michigan, but lately it has hurt opponents. He has hit nine of his past 17 3s (52.9%), and his four 3s against Michigan State on Feb. 8 helped propel the Wolverines to victory — just like his two early 3s did at Rutgers on Wednesday.

“That’s an elite point guard," Pikiell said.

For the second time this season, Simpson took apart Rutgers' top-10 defense. Not only did he lead U-M in scoring, but he also found open teammates.

Many of those shots didn't go down, as the Wolverines made just 6 of 23 (26.1%) 3s. But they hit two crucial 3s in the second half as they pulled away — and both were the result of Simpson's playmaking ability. With just over nine minutes left, he drove and passed to David DeJulius for an open corner 3. Three minutes later, Simpson dribbled to his left, looked off a defender and fired a chest pass to Franz Wagner for an open 3 in the opposite corner.

“It’s amazing," DeJulius said. "Not surprised, though. … There’s nothing new to us. He just goes out there and performs, just being the Zavier Simpson that we know, a great leader on both ends of the court. Being aggressive on both ends of the court, as well.”

Simpson is averaging 12.6 points, 8.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds. He has 201 total assists, most in the nation. 

And as he has elevated his play as a senior, it has become more clear than ever that Michigan will go as far as its point guard can take it.

“He has that scorer’s mentality, he has that everyman mentality you need as a point guard," forward Colin Castleton said. "Coach says he’s our Tom Brady."

Contact Orion Sang at osang@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @orion_sang. Read more on the Michigan Wolverines and sign up for our Wolverines newsletter.