Michigan is already 10 games into their 2019-2020 campaign and until Friday, they did not have official team captains.
According to Wolverines head coach Juwan Howard, his initial plan was to allow his players to vote on who the team captains would be but that plan recently changed.
Instead of putting it to a vote, Howard decided that the answer was obvious to he made the decision himself by naming seniors Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske team captains.
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From Wolverines Wire:
“When I thought about team captains, I said, ‘You know, allow players to vote who they think is the best suited to become captain. Who earned it.’” Howard explained. “Then, one day, at night, I was thinking – I’m always thinking – I said, ‘I know who the captains are. It’s plain and simple. It’s staring all of us in the face. Jon Teske, Zavier Simpson.’ Not just because they’re seniors, it’s just that: X is the ultimate leader there is. I haven’t seen a better leader than Zavier Simpson. Holds his teammates accountable, he’s a guy who he doesn’t just talk the talk, the cliché ‘you walk the walk’ – that’s what he does. It’s that simple. One of the hardest working guys on the team. Smart player. I’ve said it before, he’s my Tom Brady. He makes my job a lot easier as a coach. I can lay my head down at night knowing I have a guy like X in the trenches.
“Jon Teske’s a guy who’s won many games like X. Proven. They both, in my opinion, will have a chance to play on the next level in the NBA if they want to. Jon, elite-level center, smart defender. Quiet assassin. I would say, leads by example. Because all leaders are not vocal, either. It doesn’t mean he’s not a leader. He just leads in a different way. And it’s good also to have balance. And I think with Jon and X, it’s a great balance of the two. You may be able to get a few words out of Jon, but if you talk to X for awhile, you’ll get a lot of words out of him.
“So, I told the guys: ‘Captain is chosen! I’m choosing Jon and X! It’s that simple. Does anyone have any input? Please feel free! Is anyone against it?’ Just like how this room is right now, it was quiet.”
