Hoops Hello: Xavier Simpson (Updated)
2016 Lima (OH) point guard Xavier Simpson became the fourth member of Michigan's 2016 class yesterday. The day started with what appeared to be concerning news when in-state point guard target Cassius Winston announced that after initially pushing back his planned official visit, Michigan was no longer an option for him. With Simpson looking all set to commit to Wisconsin yesterday afternoon, this didn't look great for the Wolverines, and memories of the Battle/Langford saga had fans concerned.
That concern was unfounded. As it turns out, on his way back from visiting Wisconsin last weekend, Simpson made a pit stop in Ann Arbor.
For those thinking this came out of nowhere, it did not. Simpson visited michigan Sunday afternoon/evening.
— Sam Webb (@SamWebb77) September 9, 2015
Been wrapped up for a few days now
— Sam Webb (@SamWebb77) September 9, 2015
Michigan had a chance to lock up a top-100 prospect at a position of need. In doing so, they pulled the rug out from Wisconsin, but I'm sure since this is John Beilein we're talking about here their fans reacted in a totally reasonable fashion.
Or the total opposite. This is without a doubt funnier than anything that dude has posted on his Bo Ryan parody account.
[Hit THE JUMP for the informative portion.]
GURU RATINGS
Scout | Rivals | ESPN | 247 | 247 Comp |
4*, #12 PG, #55 Ovr |
4*, #87 Ovr |
4*, 84, #12 PG, #66 Ovr |
3*, 92, #13 PG, #80 Ovr |
4*, #13 PG, #69 Ovr |
The four services are in general agreement on Simpson, all listing him in the bottom half of the top 100 overall prospects. He's the #12 or #13 point guard prospect in the country on the sites that bother with positional rankings; Rivals, for some reason, not only fails to do those but lists players only at G, F, or C unless you click on all their profiles.
Simpson is diminutive. He's listed at 5'11 and 165-170 pounds on three of the four sites; Scout has him at 5'10, 155.
SCOUTING
Here's Scout's free evaluation, which establishes a theme: while Simpson has parts of his game to refine, he's a proven winner whom you can trust to run the offense.
Evaluation
Simpson isn't the most physically gifted player in the class, but he is one of the most effective. Standing only 5-foot-11 he shows absolutely no fear on the basketball court and has set his team up for a lot of wins during his high school and AAU careers. He needs to continue to refine his jumper, but his leadership and ability to run a team make him an in demand prospect.Strengths
- Basketball IQ
- Big-Game Player
- Toughness
Areas to Improve
- 3-Point Range
- Athleticism
ESPN's evaluation, updated yesterday, is nearly identical—and as a bonus lauds Simpson's defense ($):
Strengths:
Xavier is a tough, cerebral point guard. He can score some but is best as a distributor and facilitator. While his scoring/shooting does need improvement he will make clutch shots at end of clock situations. He's not afraid to take game-winners. He has a strong body and is a very good defender. Leadership is also one of his best attributes.Weaknesses:
His shot is streaky and needs work to become a weapon. While he is strong he is not physically gifted, not the best athlete and not super quick.Bottom Line:
Xavier is your classic tough, winning lead guard. His talent won't overwhelm you but all he does is win.
T-Pain, wherever he is these days, approves of that conclusion.
Simpson's shot may not be as iffy as the above reports suggest. Scout's Rob Harrington posted a long, free evaluation after his commitment yesterday, and there are encouraging signs regarding his shooting:
Simpson attempted just three triples per game on the EYBL circuit despite the fact that, prior to the Peach Jam, he’d knocked down just under 40 percent on threes. He was forced to carry more of the scoring load for King James at that event, and to his credit he rose to the occasion by ramping up his scoring average to 19 points per contest.
So while he still must improve his consistency, there’s hardly much to critique in terms of his stroke. Simpson’s touch also is evident from the free throw line, given that he shot an incredible 27-29 (93 percent) in five games at the Peach Jam. And simply getting to the line that frequently illustrates his toughness and desire to win.
Free throw shooting is a reliable indicator of overall shooting ability. If Simpson's outside stroke catches up, watch out. He was on fire in June's NBPA Top 100 Camp, where he made the all-camp team of Rivals' Eric Bossi in a field loaded with top talent ($):
A three-star prospect who ranks No. 122 in the class of 2016, Simpson was easily one of the most pleasant surprises of camp. The 5-foot-11 point guard from Lima (Ohio) Senior was efficient scoring the ball and showed real toughness. He got into the lane, hit deep jumpers (47.6 percent from three) and made plays that needed to be made.
As you can see, Rivals gave Simpson a healthy 35-spot rankings bump in the wake of that performance.
ESPN's Reggie Rankin expanded on what makes Simpson a good defender and how he fits into Michigan's system ($):
The Wolverines play tough man and zone defense and Simpson has the ability to pressure while containing the ball. He is a great front line defender in a team defensive scheme. Offensively, Simpson will fit the Wolverine scheme with his ability to run the offense. He has excellent feel for the game and matching basketball IQ. Simpson will make-high level plays coming off ball screens and keep the ball moving within patterns and will get the ball to right teammate with his good decision-making.
Simpson may be Spike-sized or thereabouts, but with his quickness he should be able to pressure the ball a lot more than Albrecht does.
OFFERS
Simpson held offers from Butler, Cleveland State, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Miami (YTM), Northwestern, Pitt, Purdue, Texas Tech, Toledo, VCU, Wisconsin, and Xavier.
VIDEO
OFFICIAL summer mixtape:
Highlights from this spring's Spiece Run N Slam:
NBA Top 100 Camp highlights:
Buzzer beater:
There's plenty more on YouTube, dating back at least to his 8th-grade year, if you're so inclined.
PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE
Simpson will be called upon to make an immediate impact. He should have a one-year apprenticeship as Derrick Walton's backup in 2016-17 before taking over the starting job as a sophomore. I'd expect him to primarily be a distributor and perimeter defender early on in his career as he adjusts to the size and speed of the college game, though those recent videos show some promise for his ability to create shots—including pull-up threes—off the pick-and-roll, which could make him a valuable scorer in Beilein's offense.
He should be a four-year player—his size will make it tough to leave early for the NBA—and by the time he's an upperclassman he's got the potential to be an all-conference player.
UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS
Michigan should be set with the four they have in the class. Five-star Miles Bridges is the one guy who could seemingly change that; he's slated for an official visit in October, and if Austin Davis reclassifies to 2017 that would allow M to take Bridges and only be one over the scholarship cap before any possible attrition from this year's team—hardly putting them in danger of oversigning. Bridges is most likely ticketed for Kentucky, however, and as it stands Beilein has assembled a strong class. With no offers out yet to 2017 prospects, the coaching staff will soon focus their full attention on that class.
September 10th, 2015 at 5:06 PM ^
September 11th, 2015 at 9:37 AM ^
It'll always be St. Joe's to those of us who were there pre-merger.
September 10th, 2015 at 5:07 PM ^
Great work by Brian, as usual. Like the clips.
September 10th, 2015 at 5:15 PM ^
I believe T-Pain is at sea
September 10th, 2015 at 5:22 PM ^
Dat T-Pain reference tho
September 10th, 2015 at 5:25 PM ^
Having an experienced PG who brings his A+ game to every practice and every game is irreplacable.
September 10th, 2015 at 5:28 PM ^
That's incredible! I know who I want to get the ball with the lead at the end of the game. That is so valuable. This is a definite great pick up.
September 10th, 2015 at 5:37 PM ^
If he drives to the hoop and knocks down his free throws he will have a bevy of shooters he can kick the ball to. I'm looking forward to 2017 when we will be regularly watching Xavier to Ibi for 3.
September 10th, 2015 at 5:45 PM ^
If he can hit FTs like that, it's an encouraging sign for developing his 3 point shot under UM staff.
September 10th, 2015 at 8:25 PM ^
He will definitely be the guy in those situations. Let's just hope we can, you know, inbound the damn ball to him.
September 10th, 2015 at 8:26 PM ^
to find the cloud in every silver lining . . . .
September 10th, 2015 at 8:51 PM ^
Prefer to keep your head in the sand about things that don't feel good?
September 10th, 2015 at 11:34 PM ^
who keep things real while the rest of us bury our heads in the sand. Like, say, yesterday, when you reminded us all that Michigan's "recruiting style is looking increasingly unsavvy and out of touch" -- in a post about an hour before Simpson committed to Michigan.
September 10th, 2015 at 5:44 PM ^
I love the idea of Simpson hounding lead ball-handlers with Teske blocking shots at the rim behind everyone else. Those two with 3 shooters around them is a textbook Beilein offense AND puts the building blocks in place to have an above average defense.
Size isn't why Spike is a bad defender and size also won't prohibit Simpson from being an asset on that end.
The 4-year thing is a great point. If Winston is as good as advertised, he could be gone in 2 years, while Simpson could be a version of Yogi Ferrell.
September 10th, 2015 at 5:41 PM ^
So he had an offer from IU, smart kid that he didn't want to play for this guy....
September 10th, 2015 at 5:45 PM ^
a lot of people here would be saying the exact same thing if that happened to us. Glass houses
September 10th, 2015 at 6:00 PM ^
I think it is pretty reasonable to assume that John Belien and John Calipari have different ethical standards regarding recruiting. Of course that does not mean any kid going to Kentucky is being paid, but it is a pretty ridiculous assertion to make about a kid going to Michigan at this point.
September 10th, 2015 at 6:02 PM ^
Maybe I'm speaking for myself here, but I don't think people would say that Wisconsin is unscrupulous in their recruiting since they seem to have pretty high standards and readily disqualify steller prospects for academic reasons. Same could be said for Stanford, Cal (that still hurts), and Northwestern.
On the other hand, it does raise a few eyebrows when a recruit inexplicably flips his commitment to a program with 4 years of NCAA sanctions looming. . .
September 10th, 2015 at 6:05 PM ^
...and I'm not even talking the obviously ludicrous idea that Mr. Squeaky Clean John Beilein would employ a bagman; this guy was referring to the "fact" that Simpson committed to UM a) having ever visited (false) and b) was not even considering us until a couple days ago (again, also false as his dad contacted Bacari over a month ago, and the family has been in touch ever since).
So I would hope if UM lost a player to someone in similar circumstances, we wouldn't make those claims.
September 10th, 2015 at 7:55 PM ^
quite a few times
September 10th, 2015 at 8:24 PM ^
We do literally anytime we suddenly lose a recruit to another program. Every. single. time.
September 10th, 2015 at 8:28 PM ^
I don't!
September 10th, 2015 at 9:39 PM ^
I don't. I don't think many of us do, but there all always a few ready to jump off a cliff at the first sign of bad news in recruiting. They pretty much always get called out for it, too.
September 11th, 2015 at 1:28 AM ^
outside of kentucky, who???
September 10th, 2015 at 6:38 PM ^
The bagmaniest, though? Clearly he just started following basketball and is not a college football fan. What an exaggeration.
September 10th, 2015 at 8:21 PM ^
I feel like we live in a thoroughly unbreakable, un-glass house (what is the opposite of a glass house, anyway?), courtesy of John Beilein. While you surely can accuse us (like any fan base) of making wholly speculative charges against others while being thoroughly offended when someone makes a similarly speculative charge against a Michigan team, in this case I feel pretty comfortable in claiming the high ground.
September 10th, 2015 at 8:43 PM ^
Truly awful post.
People searching for reasons to claim the moral high ground on things that are not even a direct part of their own lives have major psyche issues.
September 10th, 2015 at 11:36 PM ^
for this great insight into my "psyche issues"? Meanwhile, since Beilein has been coaching for coming on 40 years, without so much as a whiff of suspicion that he's ever engaged in any recruiting shenanigans, perhaps you could also explain to me why it's "[t]ruly awful" of me to believe that no bagmen were involved here? You could also explain where I made any "moral" claim whatsoever in my "[t]ruly awful post." Thanks in advance for your additional insights.
September 10th, 2015 at 8:26 PM ^
That is why I call those people out for being the jackasses that they are. "Bagmen" is an obnoxious term used only by the laziest and most bitter sports fans.
September 10th, 2015 at 6:06 PM ^
September 10th, 2015 at 6:31 PM ^
T-Pain sings National Anthem at LA Dodgers Game 8/31/15, and absolutely nails it.
edit: and NO autotune
September 10th, 2015 at 7:13 PM ^
September 10th, 2015 at 7:18 PM ^
I've seen a lot of these types of posts mention how he'll get to study a year with Walton before taking over, which is obviously the ideal transition at such a critical position.
But the other thing I thought about which hasn't been mentioned is how he fits with Rahk in the back-court. Rahk is a combo guard who could fill in a PG against bigger and more physical teams where Simpson's size might be a disadvantage. He also would be able to pair up with Simpson to have an excellent pressure D back-court.
While I don't love the way the Winston saga unfolded and would have loved having him in the class (and will dread seeing him play for MSU if that happens), this is an excellent pick-up for the team. He's roughly ranked about where Walton and Morris were as recruits and ahead of Burke. Let's see if his stock goes up like most Beilein recruits and maybe he won't be far off from Winston's ranking by the time he signs his LOI. (Though no recruits should actually sign an LOI......)
September 10th, 2015 at 7:50 PM ^
"His talent won't overwhelm you but all he does is win."
role model baby, role model.
September 10th, 2015 at 8:15 PM ^
Cerebral and quick. The rest can be taught. And here I thought coach B could not recruit elite talent.
/s
September 10th, 2015 at 8:18 PM ^
September 10th, 2015 at 8:18 PM ^
September 10th, 2015 at 8:24 PM ^
Lima Central Catholic (LCC) is 20 minutes north of where I reside. Can't wait to drive up and watch a game of his.
September 11th, 2015 at 10:34 AM ^
He transferred to Lima Sr. last year to play for his dad. Love X's game. He brings it for 4 quarters. He won a state title at LCC 2 years ago. My son happened to benefit from it as one of X's teammates. I had a chance to coach X many years ago when he played on my AAU team. Needless to say, I didn't have to do much coaching while he was on the floor and of course we won the tourney...
Michigan is getting a great PG here. X's is a pure gym rat. the only downfall about his game to me is his jumper. i know for a fact that he has been and will continue to work on it. He should be stroking 3s by his soph year at Michigan.
The best part of this is the fact that X has a very large family in Lima. I am pretty close to them. They all happen to be Ohio State fans. X committing to Michigan is killing them and i love it!
September 11th, 2015 at 11:27 AM ^
That is actually a photo from the 2013-14 season. He transferred to Lima Senior High last season.
September 10th, 2015 at 9:30 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
September 11th, 2015 at 1:25 AM ^
This kid's still got a baby face. I don't think he's done growing and he has plenty of room to mature, both mentally and physically. As much as he is a top-quality prospect, he has potential to improve that much more. This is a fortuituous commitment. I'm very pleased.
And this is coming from a Michigan fan who witnessed last week's debacle at Utah and confirmed that we're a 7-5 football team and would be lucky to achieve 8-4. It is what it is.
Simpson is what he is. I'm very happy with this commitment and everybody else should be too. Put in the work, be a coachable athlete, establish a role and an identity within the offense, execute that role to the best of your ability, and reap the NBA draft stock rewards. This is the promise of a Coach Beiline basketball team. Go get it done.
And don't forget to enjoy the ride. Working hard for a universal team goal, being one with your brothers, and cultivating talent... there's no greater joy in this world.
“No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.” ~Socrates
September 11th, 2015 at 4:40 AM ^
People say it on here when we lose a recruit (like Booker) to Kentucky.
Or when our committed recruit goes to a school with sanctions over the shady program (Syracuse).
....I don't ever say it, because it's a cop out. But I've never heard ONCE someone say it after losing a recruit to a coach or program as respected as Beilein OR Bo Ryan.
Apples and oranges.
We're recruiting against UK and Syracuse, they're (Wisconsin) recruiting against us.
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