LIMA — Signing to play NCAA Division I basketball can be a life-changing event. And it also can be a wardrobe-changing occurrence.
Lima Senior boys basketball point guard Xavier Simpson signed his national letter of intent to play at Michigan on Wednesday afternoon wearing a blue shirt with a blue and gold tie, surrounded by lots of people in Michigan gear.
A half-hour earlier, Lima Senior girls basketball standout Rion Thompson signed her letter of intent to play at Bowling Green in a BGSU sweatshirt, surrounded by people wearing Falcons gear.
But it wasn’t always that way. Xavier Simpson said he and his dad, Quincey, also his coach at Lima Senior, owned a total of zero Michigan items before he verbally committed there in September.
“We didn’t own any Michigan shirts. We have a lot now. I’m trying to step up my Michigan gear. Go Blue,” Simpson said.
Simpson, who shared Division I Player of the Year honors on The Associated Press All-Ohio team last season, was ranked the No. 55 prospect nationally in the 2016 recruiting class by Scout.com.
He won a team state championship as a sophomore at Lima Central Catholic before transferring to Lima Senior last season. The Spartans reached the regional championship game before losing to Lakewood St. Edward.
Michigan was a late arrival to the pursuit of Simpson. Schools like Illinois, Xavier, Iowa State, Wisconsin and Indiana had all been in contact longer than the Wolverines.
Simpson said the straight forward approach of Michigan coach John Beilein was a big factor in his decision.
“It was a short period of time. He was honest from Day 1,” Simpson said. “They were recruiting another point guard (Michigan State recruit Cassius Winston) and the first thing he said was I was the No. 2 option. Ever since then, everything he said, I trust his every word.”
Beilein said in a press release, “Xavier is a tough, competitive point guard who makes the players around him better. Being the son of a coach, he has a tremendous basketball IQ and will do whatever it takes to win, whether that is scoring, diving for the loose ball or just finding the open man. He is an elite defender and balances that with his command of the game and leading his team on the floor.”
Thompson also said trust in the coaches was a big factor in deciding on Bowling Green.
“I loved the atmosphere when I went there. I built a strong relationship with every coach on the staff. It’s not too far. I can get home when I need to,” she said.
“I’ve been playing basketball forever. But the dream came around sixth grade when I decided I really wanted to play D-1 basketball in college. I started practicing every day, just taking it more seriously, watching a lot of basketball on TV, trying to learn different things.”
Thompson, a 5-9 guard, was second-team Division I All-Ohio last season when she averaged 21.7 points a game. She also was recruited by Toledo, Akron, Kent State, Western Michigan and Furman.
Other UM signees
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Besides Simpson, Michigan has signed three other players to national letters of intent during the early signing period.
The school said Wednesday that 7-foot center Jon Teske will join 6-foot-10 center Austin Davis, 6-foot-5 forward Ibi Watson and Simpson on the Wolverines team in 2016-17.
Davis averaged 26.2 points, 17.3 rebounds and 4.8 blocks per game last season for Onsted High School in Onsted, Michigan.
Teske of Medina, Ohio, averaged 12.1 points, 9 rebounds and 5.3 blocks per game.
Watson averaged 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists as a junior for Pickerington Central in Ohio.
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
