8 — Friday, February 21, 2020
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Simpson’s 3-point shooting a boon
For
a
while
now,
it’s
been evident that Michigan
coach
Juwan
Howard
has
transformed the Wolverines’
offense to live by one principle:
If you’re open, shoot your shot.
This wheeling-and-dealing
style of play has led to a
much faster-paced Michigan
team that consistently runs
the score up far past season
averages of years past. While
the philosophy clearly favors
the team’s best shooters in its
application, any guard who
is not known for his prolific
shooting ability may be placed
in an uncomfortable situation,
stuck between wanting to take
the open shot and wanting
to generate the most high-
percentage opportunity for the
team.
Over the course of this
season, this has been the
predicament of senior guard
Zavier Simpson.
Simpson
—
assuredly
not known for his shooting
prowess — has been trapped
between the decision to take
the open 3-point shot or carry
on with one of the other
options he is more comfortable
with, including driving to the
hoop or finding another open
man.
But
in
an
unexpected
development,
the
veteran
guard has added an effective
3-point shot to his arsenal,
elevating
the
Wolverines’
offense. The senior made this
addition even more apparent
on Wednesday, when he hit
two threes in the opening four
minutes to ignite Michigan’s
offense in its eventual 60-52
win over Rutgers.
To be sure, this is unlike
any development Simpson has
shown before. While the team
captain has shown progress
and diversified his skill set
with each year on the team,
his shooting was always a sore
spot.
For
instance,
after
his
sophomore season, Simpson
added a now-patented hook
shot to his shot selection.
Simpson’s
main
source
of
offense came around the rim
where he would consistently
drive to the basket, so this shot
— while unconventional — was
in the realm of possibility given
his skillset.
But
3-point
shooting? That
was somebody
else’s problem.
Before
this
season,
Simpson
was
a career 28.5
percent 3-point
shooter.
But
the
senior
has
taken
great strides and is shooting
a respectable 37 percent from
beyond the arc — enough to
add a paragraph in the scouting
report
about
his
shooting
ability. It’s clear, though, that
this uptick not only in the
amount of 3s taken per game
but the amount of makes stems
from Howard.
“Every shot that goes in is
important, but it’s good to see
the ball go in,” Howard said.
“When they went under the
screen, he was wide open. I
wanted him to take it. If he
would’ve missed those two
shots, I would say take the third
shot. Any player, when they see
the ball go in, it becomes an
ocean sometimes.”
The
increase
in
3-point
shots
could
be
attributed
to
confidence,
as
Howard
suggests — confidence in his
own shot selection, confidence
from his coaches
— or it could
be the natural
marriage
of
muscle memory
and
instincts.
After
all,
the
amount
of
3-pointers
Simpson
has
taken in practice
or just shooting
around
over
the years is essentially an
incalculable number.
Perhaps that is why this
new development is not as
surprising to his teammates
and coaches.
“It’s nothing new, he’s a
smart enough player to know
where the reads are,” Howard
said. “Any time a guy steps off
you and you’re able to line it
up, massage the ball, line the
seams up and shoot it, it’s great.
“He was confident enough to
take the shot; the ball went in.”
Johnson growing as a team leader
An hour before Wednesday’s
game against Illinois, Michigan
coach Kim Barnes Arico pulled
Akienreh Johnson aside. The
senior guard — after watching
her best friend go down with
an injury, the emotional leader
of the team follow suit and the
best player on the team battle
through her own setbacks —
had seen her responsibility on
the team grow exponentially
over the course of the last few
weeks.
Barnes Arico wanted more
from Johnson. Wanted her to
take over the emotion on the
team, to fight and inspire the
rest of her teammates.
After
the
shootaround,
Johnson did what she always
did — meditate. For fifteen
minutes, she went over what
Barnes Arico told her, then the
plays and her role. She ran over
and over what she needed to do
in her head, playing out every
scenario that could happen in
the game. What if she’s hot?
What if she’s not? What does
she need to do to make sure the
team wins?
On Illinois’ first possession,
both of Michigan’s bigs were
pulled up to the top of the
3-point line, and the Fighting
Illini
point
guard,
Brandi
Beasley, tried to lob a pass over
the top of them — and would
have connected for an easy two
points, if not for Johnson. She
sniffed it out before the pass
even began, taking two steps
and knocking down the pass.
“It’s not really about your
length, it’s about how hard
you’re going to play,” Johnson
said. “But I’m not going to lie —
my length really does help it out
a little bit, gives me a little extra
step to get back and get those
tips.”
It was decided, then, that her
game would be defensive.
Johnson racked up three
steals in the first quarter, often
times being the only thing
between a hot Illini and a
bucket.
While the Wolverines fought
to keep in the game, Johnson
took every opportunity she
could to be the emotional
boost they needed. Handing
out high fives between plays,
congratulating players on the
tiniest thing, she did exactly
what Barnes Arico needed her
to.
“She’s stepped up to that
challenge,” Barnes Arico said.
“I think she understands what
it takes to be successful and
that’s playing with a certain
type of intensity and a certain
type of fire. It doesn’t mean
just shooting the basketball and
scoring a ton of points, but we
need to establish ourselves with
that kind of fire and energy.”
Added sophomore guard Amy
Dilk: “She’s grown into a great,
great leader, She has the ability
to use her voice. It’s tough
sometimes, when you’re in the
motion of the game, and you’re
thinking about 20 different
things, you like lose your voice
sometimes. … AK mastered that,
and her voice on the court, she’s
a great leader, she’s a great vocal
leader.”
And then, despite it seemingly
being
another
game
where
Johnson would, nearly single-
handedly, limit the production
of an opposing team, she did
something
that’s
becoming
more and more common for her:
scoring.
Her seven first-quarter points
led the team, and when it looked
like it would be impossible to
keep up with Illinois’ explosive
shooting,
she
pump
faked,
sending a defender flying past
her. Her second look clear, the
ball soared in an arc from the
corner, giving Michigan a big
three and narrowing the deficit
to five, in a game the Wolverines
would eventually win, 80-59.
In the five games since
sophomore
guard
Danielle
Rauch’s injury — the team’s
biggest emotional leader —
Johnson has scored in double
digits four times. She’s thrown
up wild shots that fell despite
all laws of physics. She’s made
big 3-pointers when the team’s
needed her to. She’s sparked
easy transition buckets that
shifted momentum with her
steals.
As the season has progressed,
Barnes Arico has asked more
and more from the captain of
her team. To lock down the
most potent offensive threat in
the conference, to replace the
rebounds of the team’s second-
best rebounder, to get better
and better.
Every time, Johnson has met
those expectations.
KENT SCHWARTZ
Daily Sports Writer
JACOB KOPNICK
Daily Sports Editor
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Senior point guard Zavier Simpson is shooting 37 percent from three this year.
Slaker’s success leading Wolverines
Jake Slaker finished his lap
around the ice with a deadpan
look on his face. The senior
forward had scored the opening
goal Friday at Munn Ice Arena,
and made it a point to turn to
the Michigan State student
section.
Until that point, the arena
had been moderately loud. The
Michigan hockey team likes to
joke Munn is a library in terms
of atmosphere, but the jeers and
chants rained from all around,
contrary to its defamation.
And after his goal, Slaker
faced the student section and
brought a single finger to his
lips — doing what any person
disturbed in a library would do.
“Shhh,” Slaker said, silencing
the rowdy crowd.
He skated away with a smirk.
It was a long time coming. He
was finally playing with a level
of confidence that matched his
skill. He was finally producing.
The silencer was by all means
intended for the attendees, but
in a sense, it was aimed at the
doubters, the skeptics who were
questioning if his production
would ever come after a rough
first half of the season.
Slaker was held without a
goal in the first ten games of the
year and had just three goals
heading into Winter break.
Since the break, however, he’s
scored nine goals and tacked
on eight assists, bringing the
impact he had been expecting
to bring all year.
And as he’s found success, so
has the team. Of the nine games
he’s scored in,
the Wolverines
have
won
eight
—
he’s
contributing,
and Michigan’s
reaping
the
rewards of his
hot streak.
“When
(seniors)
get
going, it gets
the entire team
going,”
senior
forward Will Lockwood said
Jan. 21. “When Slakes gets
going, he brings a lot of energy
in the locker room. I always
say our team is
doing the best
when
Slakes
is putting the
puck
in
the
net.”
It’s
only
natural
that
when
goals
are
scored,
teams
find
success,
but
Slaker’s
goals
in
particular
bring an unmatched vigor that
trickles down through the rest
of the team.
It’s hard to bring positivity
when there’s no production
to back it up, even more so
when the team loses. But as
he’s scoring, he’s making sure
people know. His impact lies
not only in the goals he scores,
but in the energy he brings after
each one.
“Energy
and
energy
breeds
energy,”
senior
defenseman
Luke
Martin
said. “Positivity
creates
positivity,
and
the more we’ve
been able to have
success,
we’ve
just kind of built
on it, and it’s
snowballing now and you know,
we’re rolling.
“I think (Slaker and team
success)
definitely
have
something to do
with each other.”
It’s
how
he
built his game,
a
development
that’s
jumped
since the start of
his
Wolverines’
career.
With
some
of
the
best hockey his
teammates have
ever seen out of
him coming in
the last couple months, Slaker
plays a team-complementary
playstyle. He plays in the
gritty areas. He cleans up the
rebounds. He goes after the
physicality of the game with no
hesitation.
“He’s not forcing anything,”
Martin said. “Not to say that
he was in the first half, but
now he’s taking what’s coming
to him and he’s not, you know,
forcing anything or cheating
the game, he’s playing the game
the right way and on the right
side and he’s having success.”
He’s putting up numbers,
but not empty numbers. His
goals make an impact, and as
he lined up his 12th goal of the
season Friday, the final nail in
the coffin in the third period,
he put his hand to his ear to
hear if there were any more
complaints.
Not a single one could be
heard.
TIEN LE
Daily Sports Writer
KEEMYA ESMAEL/Daily
Senior forward Jake Slaker has scored in three of Michigan’s last four games.
MILES MACKLIN/Daily
Senior guard Akienreh Johnson has stepped up as a leader in recent weeks.
SLAKE
SHOW
SLAKER’S 12 GOALS
SPURRING MICHIGAN
SLAKER
GAME RESULT
1 GOAL
1 GOAL
1 GOAL, 1 ASSIST
2 GOALS
1 GOAL
2 GOALS
1 GOAL, 3 ASSISTS
1 GOAL
2 GOALS
L, 3-2 VS NEW HAMPSHIRE
W, 3-1 AT WISCONSIN
W, 4-1 VS PENN STATE
W, 4-1 VS FERRIS STATE
W, 3-1 AT NOTRE DAME
W, 6-0 AT PENN STATE
W, 8-4 VS WISCONSIN
W, 5-3 VS WISCONSIN
W, 5-1 AT MICHIGAN STATE
Allison Engkvist / Daily
When (seniors)
get going, it gets
the entire team
going.
It’s snowballing
now and you
know, we’re
rolling.
He’s a smart
enough player
to know where
the reads are.