You cannot tell the story of Michigan men's basketball in the recent era in all eras without including

the name Xavier Simpson. One of the winningest players in program history. One of the most decorated

players in program history, Simpson does what we all should strive to do in our careers, utilize

every last bit of ability, exhausthaust all available options to improve

and not just demand, but help aid in the process for the exact same for those around him.

At the college level, that resulted in a pair of Big Ten tournament championships.

Nine NCAA tournament wins in three trips. And of course, he, like so many, didn't get a chance at a fourth in 2020.

Plus, that trip to the national championship game in 2018, overall, Xavier Simpson was a part and a large part of 108 Michigan wins.

And since leaving Ann Arbor, Simpson has played three years in the NBA's G-League and even

got a chance to play in the NBA briefly back in April of 2022. No matter who you are or how tall and

strong you are, those accomplishments are incredible. But then you think about how he did it,

seemingly knowing what not just the four

players in the maze and blue were doing at once on the floor, but the other five on the other

team. Then he got creative in so many ways, especially offensively, to make things happen as a

score. He had a unique shot, but that hook shot developed. He found his

way into a three-point shooting ability that forced opponents to worry about it. And hey,

you just got to remember his defense was tremendous. And that leadership went maybe above and

beyond all of those on-court skills and acumen and everything else,

he was a special player.

And I'll tell you this, too, as you think about how this career will grow and age as time goes on.

He played every college game of his career in the maze and blue.

I'm in no way sitting here criticizing

...