Discussing Zavier Simpson's Ranking Among College Basketball's Top 50 Players

Michigan's senior point guard Zavier Simpson was the Wolverines' captain and leader and he received some national attention this year as well.

Michigan head coach Juwan Howard called Zavier Simpson his "Tom Brady" on several occasions this season as U-M's unquestioned leader and the senior did not disappoint. He finished the season averaging 7.9 assists per game, which was good for third in the country, and also led the Wolverines in scoring with 12.9 points per game.

Sports Illustrated recently released a list ranking this season's best 50 players in men's college hoops. Jeremy Woo put together the list and led off the rankings with this explanation:

The 2019-20 college basketball season is over, the year cut abruptly short when the novel coronavirus outbreak resulted in the cancellation of many conference tournaments and March Madness itself. But that doesn't mean we can't still celebrate the season that was. Its standouts included grizzled seniors, surprising freshmen and everyone in between, but some shined brighter than others. Here at SI, we set out to rank the best of the best, the Top 50 of a men's season that's was filled with twists and turns.

Michigan's leader came in at No. 36, ahead of guys like Anthony Cowan of Maryland (No. 47) and Lamar Stevens of Penn State (No. 44), but behind players like Ayo Dosunmu of Illinois (No. 24), Daniel Oturu of Minnesota (No. 21), Ohio State's Kaleb Wesson (No. 18), Michigan State's Xavier Tillman (No. 14) and Cassius Winston (No. 12), Jalen Smith of Maryland (No. 10) and the Big Ten's highest ranked player, Iowa's Luka Garza (No. 2). Dayton's Obi Toppin topped the list.

Here's what SI had to say about Simpson's ranking:

Simpson once again set the tone for the Wolverines as a senior, averaging the third-most assists in the NCAA and continuing his reputation as a top defender. He also improved his outside shot, turning a usual weakness into a respectable 36% and increasing his attempts inside the arc. While he's never been an explosive scoring guard, he topped 30 points in a game for the first time in his career.

Is 36 too high for Simpson? Too low? We discus...

Brandon Brown

I actually think Simpson is in a pretty acceptable spot. When you look at the above list of Big Ten players, I don't think you can put Simpson ahead of any of the guys he's behind. If you look at the guys immediately ahead of him, like Colorado's Tyler Bey, Dayton's Jalen Crutcher and Auburn's Isaac Okoro, you can start to split hairs a little but, but I'm fine with the spot. You could make some arguments about starting a five to go into the tournament with and maybe Simpson's value goes up because he's a point guard and he's an elite distributor, but if you're just looking at the player's individual abilities and stats in the grand scheme of college basketball, I like his ranking. 

Steve Deace

I am totally biased, because he's one of my all-time favorite Wolverines, but I have a hard time believing there's 35 better players in college basketball this season than Zavier Simpson. One of the nation's leaders in assists, one of the winningest players in recent college basketball, and all of the post-season success. Then throw in how preeminent the point guard position is in college basketball as it is, and there's definitely not 35 players I'd rather do battle with in a one-and-done scenario than Simpson. 

Michael Spath

I'd say about right. Zavier was one of the 10 best players in the Big Ten this year but you'd have a hard time arguing Top 5. So multiply that across the college basketball landscape and sliding into the mid-30s feels about right. I'll be very curious how Zavier Simpson's career at Michigan is remembered. He is one of the best ball distributors Michigan has ever seen and his attitude/leadership also ranks among the best. But a point guard that struggled to shoot, and had diminished stats because of that, will be tough to overcome in the pantheon of Maize and Blue all-time greats the further real-life memories fade into history. I suspect years from now, fans will remember back and say 'I loved that guy. Just wish he could shoot.' Simpson, though, has always been a player where his worth was never defined by his scoring so hopefully 10 years from now, as one generation of Michigan basketball fans is passing on their memories to another, they say 'I love that guy. He was a winner. Wish we had a Zavier Simpson on this team.'

Where would you put Simpson? What do you think about his overall abilities compared to the other players on this list? Comment below!!!