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Zavier Simpson

baddog25

HB All-American
Aug 6, 2018
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Am I the only one that wasn't that impressed by him? don't get me wrong, he's good. no doubt about that. maybe my expectations were overblown by all the rave reviews I had seen???
 
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Am I the only one that wasn't that impressed by him? don't get me wrong, he's good. no doubt about that. maybe my expectations were overblown by all the rave reviews I had seen???


I've always been a little critical of him on the board here mainly because so many of our posters for years drooled all over him clammoring "that's what we need!". I think his poor FT shooting early in his career may have cost MI a national championship. At times Beilein chose to bench him late in games. I want my main ball handler pg to be able to knock down FTs late in games.He's gotten better but still not good from the line especially in tight games. I think Joe T has the ability to provide everything Zavier does with the addition of becoming a bettter shooter than Zavier.
 
He’s kind of a throwback and us 40+ year old hoop heads appreciate how he floor generals, plays within himself, and then has a knack for making big, timely plays.

I like his game. But with Joe T I’m no longer jelly.
 
He doesn't scream NBA lottery pick to me but I thought solid in all phases.
Only negative is the punk tough guy attitude.
IMO Joe T can be the same type of player if he continues to grow his game .
 
He doesn't scream NBA lottery pick to me but I thought solid in all phases.
Only negative is the punk tough guy attitude.
IMO Joe T can be the same type of player if he continues to grow his game .
He is definitely not an NBA Lottery pick. In fact, I do not think he is even a draft pick based on his in ability to shoot the ball consistently enough from distance. However, he is a very good college point guard. With Simpson starting and Joe T. coming off the bench Iowa would be much more dynamic.
 
I've always been a little critical of him on the board here mainly because so many of our posters for years drooled all over him clammoring "that's what we need!". I think his poor FT shooting early in his career may have cost MI a national championship. At times Beilein chose to bench him late in games. I want my main ball handler pg to be able to knock down FTs late in games.He's gotten better but still not good from the line especially in tight games. I think Joe T has the ability to provide everything Zavier does with the addition of becoming a bettter shooter than Zavier.

If Joe is going to become a better shooter than Simpson, he'll need to work a lot on his shot. His eFG is quite a bit lower than Simpson's was as FR. Simpson is in the Top 100 in eFG this year, about 5 pts higher than Garza despite a lower FT rate and FT%. He's hitting from the field a TON.

If Joe T can go stronger when he gets to the basket instead of just kind of tossing the ball up, it would help a ton. And no, I still don't care if he ever shoots a three.
 
If Joe is going to become a better shooter than Simpson, he'll need to work a lot on his shot. His eFG is quite a bit lower than Simpson's was as FR. Simpson is in the Top 100 in eFG this year, about 5 pts higher than Garza despite a lower FT rate and FT%. He's hitting from the field a TON.

If Joe T can go stronger when he gets to the basket instead of just kind of tossing the ball up, it would help a ton. And no, I still don't care if he ever shoots a three.
Did you see simpson shoot in his first two years. He was awful, so I believe JT has time to improve his shot as a freshman.
 
He’s kind of a throwback and us 40+ year old hoop heads appreciate how he floor generals, plays within himself, and then has a knack for making big, timely plays.

I like his game. But with Joe T I’m no longer jelly.

Agree with this assessment of Simpson....I think a good comparison to him will be our next PG in Ahron Ulis. I think Ulis is a really smart player who plays within himself and is a good but not great athlete. I think that because he is not flashy people underestimate how good he is and how important he is to facilitating the offense while having minimal turnovers and playing good defense.

I've kind of gone from being disappointed with our recruiting class(s) to being pretty excited for the future of our back court. CJ, Joe T, A Ulis is a really good core that I feel pretty confident in and then Tony Perkins has great potential if he continues to develop his skills that will be enhanced by the high level athleticism.
 
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Did you see simpson shoot in his first two years. He was awful, so I believe JT has time to improve his shot as a freshman.

Did you know his effective FG % (as a FR) was 6 pts higher than Joe Ts is right now? As bad as Simpson was at shooting, he was still better than JT is now.
 
Did you know his effective FG % (as a FR) was 6 pts higher than Joe Ts is right now? As bad as Simpson was at shooting, he was still better than JT is now.
okay, but you have to give the kid (JT) some time to mature and hopefully he will improve dramatically. He appears to be a very intense young man who really wants to be a very good BBall player. So, there is hope.
 
okay, but you have to give the kid (JT) some time to mature and hopefully he will improve dramatically. He appears to be a very intense young man who really wants to be a very good BBall player. So, there is hope.

I don't doubt it. But people, no you specifically, keep talking about him trying to fix his three so it can be a bigger part of his game. One of my points would be, he needs to not worry about the three, rarely shoot it, and fix his finishes at the rim. He gets into the lane great, and appears to be able to do so against almost anyone. His finishes leave something to be desired. Fix that.

Turn those 2 shot shooting fouls into and1s. That can be fixed. Work on finishing with or through contact. If he can do that, he'll be a very good scorer for the Hawks whether he ever hits a three or not.
 
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I don't doubt it. But people, no you specifically, keep talking about him trying to fix his three so it can be a bigger part of his game. One of my points would be, he needs to not worry about the three, rarely shoot it, and fix his finishes at the rim. He gets into the lane great, and appears to be able to do so against almost anyone. His finishes leave something to be desired. Fix that.

Turn those 2 shot shooting fouls into and1s. That can be fixed. Work on finishing with or through contact. If he can do that, he'll be a very good scorer for the Hawks whether he ever hits a three or not.
The bold is inaccurate and I am not sure why you continue to argue about something that may or not may be true in the future. Please continue without me.
 
I like what Joe T brings as a player to Iowa; something we haven't seen in a long time. But Simpson is plenty tough and brings a tremendous amount to his team. Would have loved to have him running the show with Joe T as his heir apparent.
 
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I think our Joe T is quicker than Simpson and I think he's stronger as a freshman than Simpson was......so to me, work on the finish at the rim because that is a key for him...and then free throw shooting. Get those two skills nailed down this year and then next year he can pursue the 3 pt shot in a more concentrated way.
 
If Joe is going to become a better shooter than Simpson, he'll need to work a lot on his shot. His eFG is quite a bit lower than Simpson's was as FR. Simpson is in the Top 100 in eFG this year, about 5 pts higher than Garza despite a lower FT rate and FT%. He's hitting from the field a TON.

If Joe T can go stronger when he gets to the basket instead of just kind of tossing the ball up, it would help a ton. And no, I still don't care if he ever shoots a three.

There is a difference between being a "shooter" and a player who finishes at the rim. Zavier is the latter. If your using fg %'s to show Zavier is a "shooter" I think it's a little misleading. I'll put it this way. I'll be a bit disappointed if Joe goes into his senior season at under 30% from 3 point and under 60% in FT. ESPECIALLY the FT's! I'd also think Joe can better Zavier asst/to ratio. Zavier is an exceptional defender/creator but I think Joe has POTENTIAL to be a better all around pg.
 
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I don't doubt it. But people, no you specifically, keep talking about him trying to fix his three so it can be a bigger part of his game. One of my points would be, he needs to not worry about the three, rarely shoot it, and fix his finishes at the rim. He gets into the lane great, and appears to be able to do so against almost anyone. His finishes leave something to be desired. Fix that.

Turn those 2 shot shooting fouls into and1s. That can be fixed. Work on finishing with or through contact. If he can do that, he'll be a very good scorer for the Hawks whether he ever hits a three or not.

Agreed that he needs to improve finishing in the paint. I think it's also worth pointing out that on a number of his drives where he misses his shot in the paint create very good offensive rebounding opportunities for put-backs because he forces help-defense to contest the shot. We haven't had a slasher who can break down the defense and force help-rotations in awhile, so it's refreshing to see even if Joe T isn't finishing those drives at as high of a clip as we'd like.
 
Am I the only one that wasn't that impressed by him? don't get me wrong, he's good. no doubt about that. maybe my expectations were overblown by all the rave reviews I had seen???
Solid player. JT “Schooled” him late in the game.
 
I agree that the NBA isn't drooling over Simpson, but he is damn good college PG. Basic stats don't really tell how good Simpson is. He has turned himself into a pretty good shooter, especially if you consider his sky hook, which is money.Simpson's real strength is his leadership ability, his ability to see the court on both ends, and his defense, on ball when needed, but usually as a team defensive player.

JoeT has some great raw ability and the potential to also be a really good PG, but he has a lot to work on before he will be as good as Simpson.
 
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I think our Joe T is quicker than Simpson and I think he's stronger as a freshman than Simpson was......so to me, work on the finish at the rim because that is a key for him...and then free throw shooting. Get those two skills nailed down this year and then next year he can pursue the 3 pt shot in a more concentrated way.

Agree...JoeT needs to quit taking a lot of long 2's or 3s...shoot less from outside, drive and pass or drive and finish. Outside game will improve later. JoeT defense/rebounding already very good. I think he finishes pretty well...especially on fast break when he has some space. Xavier Simpson has been surrounded by alot more dynamic wing athletes than JoeT has to work with.
 
He’s a great college point guard. Fran really wanted him out of high school. He is heady, quick, strong, and a creative finisher. I’d probably have to go back to Woolridge for a PG I’d take over him from Iowa.
 
Agree...JoeT needs to quit taking a lot of long 2's or 3s...shoot less from outside, drive and pass or drive and finish. Outside game will improve later. JoeT defense/rebounding already very good. I think he finishes pretty well...especially on fast break when he has some space. Xavier Simpson has been surrounded by alot more dynamic wing athletes than JoeT has to work with.

long 2’s yes. He needs to shoot wide open 3s.
 
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Did you know his effective FG % (as a FR) was 6 pts higher than Joe Ts is right now? As bad as Simpson was at shooting, he was still better than JT is now.
If your 7 ft in Iowa HS you better be hitting at a 60% clip at the very least. Comparing a 7 footer to a point guard as far as fg%, is kind of dumb
 
Did you know his effective FG % (as a FR) was 6 pts higher than Joe Ts is right now? As bad as Simpson was at shooting, he was still better than JT is now.

Simpson played under 10 min a game as a frosh and averaged under 2 points per game yet it would be unfair to point out Joe T averages 4X that. Simpson soph year is when he really started to see time on the court and he was just awful at the FT line (under 50%). I don't believe your effective FG% factored that in. I don't know I just think it really helps in tight games when your primary ball handler can knock down FT's. Missing front ends is like a turnover in my book. No doubt FG% is important but when determining who the best shooters in the country are I want to see 3 point and FT percentages. Unless Azubuike from KS shooting 80% from the field (and 35% from the FT line) means he is a better "shooter" than Jordan Bohannon.
 
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