Michigan Basketball: Easy-To-Root-For Jaaron Simmons Stepping Up
Michigan was down nine points in the second half to Loyola-Chicago and needed a spark. Grad transfer point guard Jaaron Simmons answered the bell.
No, he wasn’t perfect. He turned the ball over a couple of times, head coach John Beilein lamented in the postgame, which the Wolverines simply can’t do against Villanova Monday night and still have a chance to win.
But his key triple was part of a 10-point run for Michigan’s bench and fueled a comeback, his first three-pointer since Feb. 24.
“That was big for Jaaron to go in and do that," Michigan coach John Beilein said. "I don’t think he’s made a three in a long time. I wanted him in there on that stage. He still turns the ball over too much, but for him to make that shot when we were struggling to get points was huge for us.”
He came up bit when sophomore Zavier Simpson struggled to get anything going, turning it over and missing a pair of triples.
“I just came in ready, confident, tried to do anything I could to help my team win,” Simmons said. “The crowd went crazy. All we needed was to see was the ball go in, get a couple of stops and we were able to do that.
“The momentum, you could just feel it shifting our way.”
Simmons arrived at U-M from Ohio U. expecting to play the bulk of the minutes at the point, but Simpson had other ideas. He’s since played his way up to earn the backup point guard minutes, never complaining — only working harder to make the team better.
“It's incredible. He could have gone the other way with it,” Beilein said. “He certainly doesn't have the numbers he had at Ohio U., but he has a great attitude.
“It's not about an offensive system; it's about defense and taking care of the ball. He's gradually just gotten better and better at that. Our whole philosophy is we're not turning the ball over, and I think last year we were number one out of 366 teams in not turning the ball over. That was an issue for him earlier, and defense is a different scheme in defense, and he's just every day tried to get better in it.”
The three-pointer from the corner was one of the plays of the game, he added.
“That jump shot he made last night, that's something,” Beilein said. “He hasn’t had the opportunity to make a jump shot in two months, and that form, he goes up and makes that shot … that tells you what type of kid he is.
“He's not complained. He's just come to practice every day and worked his tail off, and I'm going to admire his attitude and his parents the rest of my life.”
He’ll leave Michigan with no regrets, win or lose, he said.
“My last year, to be able to play in a championship game in a game like that where we had to fight through adversity and come back and put it together, it was great,” he said.
“I told myself a couple days ago I feel like I’ve experienced every bit of March Madness in the fullest way in this one tournament. I experienced a game winning shot by Jordan Poole at the last second, experienced making it to the Final four. It’s just really a blessing to be here.”
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