The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, January 24, 2018 — 7A

Simmons continues to earn trust, playing time

Coming into the year, the 

departure of Derrick Walton Jr. 
was perhaps the most painful 
roster hit for the Michigan men’s 
basketball team.

Jaaron Simmons was supposed 

to make it hurt a little bit less.

The 
former 
Mid-American 

conference star was coming off 
a season in which he averaged 
15.9 points, 6.5 assists and 3.5 
rebounds per game for Ohio — 
Walton-esque numbers. Landing 
an experienced graduate transfer 
in Simmons was another example 
of coach John Beilein’s keen, 
seldom-praised recruiting eye.

Because of his polished body 

of work, Simmons was the early 
front-runner for the Wolverines’ 
starting point guard spot. In 
addition 
to 
Simmons’ 
past 

production, the 2016-17 season 
inspired little confidence that 
then-freshman 
point 
guard 

Zavier Simpson could shoulder 
extra responsibility. 

But fast forward nine months 

since Simmons’ announcement, 
and it looks like an experiment 
gone wrong. His current statline 

of 1.4 points, 1.4 assists and 0.7 
boards is beyond falling off a cliff. 
It’s hitting rock bottom. Until 
recently, he sat behind Simpson 
and freshman Eli Brooks.

Being relegated to the role 

of the backup’s backup wasn’t a 
shock, even to the casual observer. 
Simmons looked uncomfortable, 
either with sloppy ball-handling 
or an inability to create a shot 
for himself, a skill that was on 
display with the 
Bobcats. 
After 

registering 
10.9 

minutes a game 
through the first 
eight games, that 
number 
dipped 

further 
to 
6.2 

in the next 11 
contests, five of 
which he didn’t 
play in. Coach’s 
decision.

“We 
had 

different rules (than Ohio) that 
he wasn’t picking up as quickly,” 
Beilein said Sunday. “… He’s 
handled it like a champion. I told 
his parents they should be so 
proud of how he’s handled it. He 
gave up a lot to come here to play 
on the big stage. It hasn’t worked 

out so far.”

Against Maryland on Jan. 15, 

though, it appeared that Simmons 
had turned a corner. With 2:47 
remaining in the first half, down 
14 points in Michigan’s worst 
first-half performance to date, 
Beilein subbed Simmons in. At 
the time, Beilein’s decision was 
a head-scratcher — did he have 
a good week of practice? Was 
there an injury to Brooks or 

Simpson? Either 
way, it worked. 
Simmons 
capably piloted 
a 
6-2 
run, 

narrowing 
the 

halftime deficit 
to 10, and scored 
his 
first 
field 

goal — a buzzer-
beating layup — 
since Nov. 29 at 
North Carolina.

The 
choice 

became clearer.

“We needed Eli to get his 

confidence back,” Beilein said. 
“… Where Jaaron, we put him 
on the scout team, he did some 
really good things. We just made 
that flip. Eli watched the game 
a little bit and we let Jaaron go. 

He’s given us some things. He’s 
playing better defense.”

In Michigan’s following two 

games, Simmons’ numbers were 
hardly showy — most wouldn’t 
bat an eye at a combined six 
points and two rebounds in a two-
game span — but they display a 
previously unseen progression 
in his game. He has assumed the 
No. 2 role over Brooks as the first 
point guard off the bench against 
Nebraska and Rutgers.

In Sunday’s contest versus 

the Scarlet Knights, Simmons 
shot the ball four times in eight 
minutes, tying a season high, 
while Brooks didn’t see the floor. 
It’s what regaining confidence 
looks like after the toughest 
stretch of his college career.

“Even though he didn’t make 

his shots, all of them looked 
good,” 
said 
junior 
forward 

Moritz Wagner. “I told him to 
keep shooting, it looked great. 
Jaaron’s a really good player, he 
averaged like 18 points last year. I 
never averaged that many points. 
We all know he can hoop. I’ve 
been very impressed with the 
way he’s handling adversity this 
year. That’s the sign of a great 
teammate and he doesn’t care 
about any person or agenda. He 
just plays.”

Added Beilein: “I think down 

the stretch, if he makes a couple 
3s (against Rutgers) that he 
makes in practice, I think we’re 
talking about him a lot more right 
now, and we will.”

It remains to be seen whether 

Simmons’ 
trajectory 
will 

continue to trend upward. If 
it does, it’s a change that the 
Wolverines 
would 
welcome 

with open arms. Simpson is 
not the starting point guard 
that Walton was — an offensive 
lynchpin playing 35 minutes a 
game. Simpson averages just 
21.7 minutes per game. Having 
a guy who can come in when 
Simpson struggles could allow 
the Wolverines to make some 
noise come March.

A confident Jaaron Simmons 

can be that guy.

Seniors lead Michigan 
over OSU and Va. Tech

With less than a month 

left 
until 
the 
Big 
Ten 

Championships, the tri-meet 
victory over No. 16 Ohio State 
and No. 19 Virginia Tech this 
weekend was a solid start for 
the Michigan men’s swimming 
and diving team.

The meet — held Saturday at 

McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion in 
Columbus — turned out to be 
a battle until the last minute. 
The seventh-ranked Wolverines 
defeated the Buckeyes (157-143) 
and the Hokies (196-104) for a 
first-place victory in the second 
meet of the year.

The 

competition 
against 
Ohio 
State 

came 
down 

to 
the 
wire. 

Michigan and 
the 
Buckeyes 

were tied at 75 
points halfway 
through 
the 

meet. Though 
Ohio 
State 

inched ahead after the half 
with a victory in the 100-
yard freestyle, the Wolverines 
swam with urgency, eventually 
clinching 
the 
victory 
with 

the help of six consecutive 
individual event wins.

The 
upperclassmen 
made 

significant 
contributions 
en 

route to the victory on Saturday.

“We were led by our seniors,” 

said 
Michigan 
coach 
Mike 

Bottom. “There’s no doubt they 
were the leaders. Evan White, 
PJ Ransford, Tristan Sanders 
and Paul Powers all led us in 
different ways.”

White placed first in three 

events including the 100-yard 
(47.07) and 200-yard butterfly 
(1:45.11). White also touched 
first in the 200-yard IM with a 

time of 1:48.10. With the help of 
Ransford in the long-distance 
events, Powers in freestyle 
and Sanders in backstroke, the 
Wolverines were able to tally 
valuable points to secure the 
team’s win.

Additionally, 
sophomores 

Jacob 
Montague, 
Jeremy 

Babinet, 
Tommy 
Cope 
and 

Charlie 
Swanson 
came 
out 

victorious in the breaststroke 
events. 
Montague, 
Babinet 

and Swanson touched 1-2-3 
in the 100-yard breaststroke 
and Cope, Montague, Swanson 
and Babinet touched 1-2-4-5, 
respectively in the 200-yard 
breaststroke.

As 
for 
the 
diving 
unit, 

freshman 
Ross 

Todd 
competed 

in 
Saturday’s 

meet after sitting 
out the Indiana 
meet last week 
due to an injury. 
Todd 
placed 

third, the highest 
among Michigan 
competitors.

“The team was 

tired but we came 

down and worked hard this 
week,” Bottom said. “We came 
off a dual meet with Indiana and 
got right back in to work. They 
still got up and raced hard.”

Though 
Michigan 
battled 

hard this weekend and pulled 
out a well-earned win, Bottom 
believes 
there 
are 
several 

things that can be improved 
upon 
before 
the 
Big 
Ten 

Championships next month.

“Today was preparation for 

the Big Ten,” Bottom said. “I 
hope everyone continues to get 
better. In around seven to eight 
swims, we got out touched by 
less than 3/10ths (of a second). 
Those are the things we have 
to be tougher on. Make sure the 
last five meters are Michigan 
territory.”

JODI YIP
For the Daily

“The team was 

tired but we 

came down and 
worked hard.”

After Lockwood’s injury, new second line emerges to propel Michigan’s offense

Fans didn’t even have a chance 

to get comfortable at Yost Ice 
Arena 
before 
the 
Michigan 

hockey team found Penn State’s 
net Saturday night. Thanks to a 
crisp pass from junior Brendan 
Warren as he raced down the left 
side, freshman Josh Norris got 
a perfect set up for a textbook 
one-timer just 26 seconds into 
the game.

The goal was generated with 

apparent ease, characteristic of 
linemates who are well-adjusted 
to sharing shifts and are familiar 
with each other’s positioning on 
the ice. However, for this line, it 
had just been a matter of weeks 
together.

Warren 
and 
Norris, 
in 

addition to sophomore Jake 
Slaker, played as a unit for the 
first time two weekends ago, 
comprising 
the 
Wolverines’ 

second line in the Minnesota 
series.

In light of Will Lockwood’s 

shoulder injury at the World 
Junior Championships — taking 
the sophomore forward out 
of commission for likely the 
remainder of the season — 
tweaks to Michigan’s second 
line 
were 
inevitable. 
What 

wasn’t a given, though, was the 
smoothness of their transition.

“We haven’t even really talked 

about Will, within the team, 
that we don’t have him,” said 
Michigan coach Mel Pearson 
after practice on Tuesday. “That 
someone has to step up, they all 
understand that. I think that 
certain players take advantage 
of opportunities. … and I think 
(Warren, Norris and Slaker) 
have.”

And not only did each of the 

three individually step up to fill 
the void, but they also clicked as 
a unit.

In 
the 
series 
with 
the 

Golden Gophers, this second 
line 
was 
responsible 
for 

half of Michigan’s offensive 
production. Warren supplied 
two goals in the first game, and 
then — just a minute into the 
second game — was set up by 
Norris to light the lamp for the 
third time that weekend. Norris 
got on the scoreboard as well, 
burying the puck on a man-
advantage off a feed from Slaker.

Against the Nittany Lions 

the following weekend, the line 
showed its initial performance 
was 
no 
fluke. 
Collectively, 

the trio accounted for three 
of the weekend’s seven goals, 
including half the goals in 

Friday night’s shutout.

Pearson attributes this to 

natural chemistry and each line 
member’s versatility.

“They play off of each other,” 

Pearson said. “They have some 
speed, there’s some chemistry. 
We talk about chemistry all of 
the time, you can’t force it, it just 
has to sort of occur naturally. 
And it’s occurring.

“Brendan 
has 
some 

physicality to him, I know Josh 
does and Slakes does too. Slakes 
moves the puck, you can see 
the passing, they’ve been fun to 
watch. They’ve got a little bit of 
everything. … I think they’re all 
a little more versatile (than the 
top line).”

While it’s hard to make 

a direct analogy to the top 
upperclassmen line of seniors 
Dexter 
Dancs 
and 
Tony 

Calderone and junior Cooper 
Marody — who went on a 
ten-game 
stretch 
providing 

42.6 
percent 
of 
Michigan’s 

total 
points 
earlier 
in 
the 

season — that doesn’t mean 
similarities are non-existent. 
This new second line has been 
instrumental to the Wolverines’ 
recent dominance, and is a 
sign that Michigan is building 
offensive depth.

And the line is versatile, too. 

Norris 
and 
Slaker 
swapped 

positions 
following 
winter 

break, in addition to acclimating 
to their new line. 

Norris, who played alongside 

freshman defenseman Quinn 
Hughes and Lockwood in the 
World Juniors, returned to find 
he would no longer be playing 
center, 
but 

instead on the 
wing. In Norris’ 
absence, 
Slaker 

assumed 
the 

role of center for 
the Great Lakes 
Invitational and 
handled 
the 

shift with grace. 
Pearson decided 
to let it stick.

“Jake 
was 

doing pretty well there,” Pearson 
said. “So when Josh came back, 
knowing he had played wing 
a little bit in the World Junior, 
we decided to try that, and slide 
him in there and see how it was. 

First game back at Notre Dame, 
(Norris) scored. … With Josh I 
think it’s important that he has 
some versatility.”

And this would be the first 

of many times Norris found 
the net since reuniting with 
the Wolverines. The freshman 
has scored four goals over the 

last five games, 
including 
two 

multi-point 
showings 
over 

that stretch.

But according 

to Norris, these 
accolades 
have 

much more to 
do with his line 
than they do with 
his 
individual 

performance.

“I think we’ve found some 

really 
good 
chemistry 
the 

last couple games, and we’ve 
been hunting the puck on the 
forecheck,” Norris said. “All 
three of us can skate, so I think 

we’ve been playing to our 
strengths.”

Slaker echoed this sentiment, 

adding how the trio’s stylistic 
similarities have helped the line 
find success.

“We were not shy of playing 

in the corner,” he said. “We can 
all do the same thing. We like 
to skate, we like to grind on the 
corners if we have to, but also if 
the puck is on our stick in the 
slot we know how to usually 
find the back of the net.”

And yet, as extensive as the 

line’s 
accomplishments 
have 

been the past two weekends, 
this was a mere four outings. 
This leaves plenty of room for 
the line to make tweaks and 
build chemistry as Michigan 
enters the final month of regular 
season play.

“They haven’t had a lot of time 

together,” Pearson said. “So I 
only think they will continue to 
get better, which I am excited 
and encouraged about.” 

ANNA MARCUS
Daily Sports Writer

ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Editor

SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily

Fifth-year senior guard Jaaron Simmons has earned more playing time recently after a tough start to his season.

“He’s given us 
some things. 
He’s playing 

better defense.”

MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING

EVAN AARON/Daily

Freshman forward Josh Norris is a member of Michigan’s recently-tweaked — and productive — second line.

“I think we’ve 

found some 
really good 
chemistry.”

