Zavier Simpson

Zavier Marquis Simpson (born February 11, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Motor City Cruise of the NBA G League.

He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines.

He briefly played (4 games) for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association.

Simpson was born on February 11, 1997, in Lima, Ohio to Bobbie Carter and Quincey Simpson.

He had served as a ball boy for Lima Senior High School since second grade when his father was an assistant coach for the Lima Senior team.

On December 15, Simpson broke two-time Ohio Mr. Basketball Greg Simpson's Lima Senior High School single-game scoring record by posting 59 points against Fremont Ross High School; Greg Simpson was a cousin who grew up with Zavier's father.

On February 2, Simpson posted 65 points against Fremont Ross.

Simpson played his freshman and sophomore seasons for Lima Central Catholic High School before transferring to Lima Senior when his father became head coach there before his junior season.

Simpson won 2014 Ohio Division III state championship as a sophomore for Lima Central Catholic High School before transferring to Lima Senior High School the following school year.

Simpson earned the 2014 Ohio Division III state championship as a sophomore and the 2015 Ohio Associated Press Division I Player of the Year as a junior.

Simpson tallied 16 points in Michigan's first road victory against a top-five ranked team since defeating (#3 AP Poll/#3 Coaches Poll) Michigan State on January 25, 2014; On January 25, 2018, Michigan lost to (#3 AP Poll/#3 Coaches Poll) Purdue 88–92 despite 16 points from Simpson.

On September 9, 2015, Zavier Simpson committed to playing college basketball for Michigan.

By the end of his high school career, he was ranked as the No. 49 player and No. 12 point guard by ESPN, No. 57 player and No. 12 point guard by Scout, No. 65 player and No. 19 point guard by Rivals, and No. 93 player and No. 17 point guard by 247Sports.

Austin Davis, Ibi Watson, Jon Teske and Simpson all signed their National Letters of Intent on November 11, 2015.

Michigan recruits Simpson, Watson and Teske were all named to the 2015–16 Associated Press Ohio High School Division I Boys Basketball All-State 1st Team.

Simpson attended Lima Senior High School where he won the 2016 Ohio Mr. Basketball as a senior.

Simpson was named 2016 Ohio Mr. Basketball by the Associated Press.

Simpson's Lima Senior High School was undefeated until losing in the OHSAA Division I championship game to Westerville South High School, finishing the season 29–1.

Simpson also earned the Ohio Boys Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year honor.

ESPN's Jeff Borzello named Simpson as one of the top 25 entering freshman in the 2016–17 class on April 6, 2016.

As a freshman, Simpson was part of a 2016–17 Michigan Wolverines team that won the 2017 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament.

He was part of the 2017–18 team that reached the Championship Game of the 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

Simpson was a member of 2017 and 2018 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament champions during his first two seasons.

He had many of his best games against top-10 opponents as a sophomore.

The Wolverines reached the sweet sixteen round of the 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

After averaging 1.6 points and 8.7 minutes as a freshman, Simpson changed the spelling of his name prior to his sophomore season from Xavier to Zavier.

As a sophomore for the 2017–18 Wolverines, Simpson posted his career high 16 points in contest against top 5 rated opponents: On January 13, 2018, Michigan won their rivalry game against (#4 AP Poll/#4 Coaches Poll) Michigan State 82–72.

In two of his other top-5 games, Simpson had 15-point games against both (#5 AP Poll/#7 Coaches Poll) Purdue on January 9, 2018.

and (#2 AP Poll/#2 Coaches Poll) Michigan State on March 3, 2018.

Although Simpson averaged just 7.3 points per game for the season, in his other games against top-10 opponents he posted double digits: 13 points against (#8 AP Poll/#9 Coaches Poll) Ohio State in Michigan's final home game of the regular season on the February 18, 2018, 10 points on March 4, as Michigan defeated (#8 AP Poll/#8 Coaches Poll) Purdue 75–66, and 10 points in the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game loss to (#2 Coaches Poll/#2 AP Poll) Villanova.

The March 4 victory over Purdue gave Michigan its second consecutive Big Ten tournament championship since the game was the championship game of the 2018 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament.

Simpson averaged 12.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.3 steals in 35 minutes per game for Michigan in its four-game tournament run.

On March 22, Michigan defeated Texas A&M 99–72 in the regional semifinals of the 2018 NCAA tournament.

Simpson posted a career-high six steals as part of a stat line that included 11 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds.

In the first four games of the tournament, Simpson posted averages of 7.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.8 steals to help Michigan reach the Final Four.

The team lost in the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game to (#2 Coaches Poll/#2 AP Poll) Villanova.

Since the team reached the championship games of both the Big Ten tournament and the NCAA Tournament, Simpson shares the Michigan (and NCAA) single-season games played record (41) with teammates Duncan Robinson, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, Teske and Charles Matthews.

As a junior, he was a 2019 Second team All-Big Ten selection and a Big Ten All-Defensive team honoree and earned the nickname "Captain Hook" for his unusual skill at shooting hook shots.

As a senior, he was a 2020 Second team All-Big Ten selection.

As a junior he set the current Big Ten men's basketball tournament single-tournament assists record (30) and led the Big Ten Conference in assists as a senior (7.9).