He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines. Basketball as a senior. Simpson was a member of and Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament champions during his first two seasons. He had many of his best games against top opponents as a sophomore. As a junior, he was a Second team All- Big Ten selection and a Big Ten All-Defensive team honoree and earned the nickname "Captain Hook" for his unusual skill at shooting hook shots.
As a senior, he was a Second team All-Big Ten selection. As a junior he set the current Big Ten men's basketball tournament single-tournament assists record 30 and led the Big Ten Conference in assists as a senior 7. Simpson played his freshman and sophomore seasons for Lima Central Catholic High School before transferring to Lima Senior when his father became head coach there before his junior season.
Basketball by the Associated Press. On September 9, , Zavier Simpson committed to playing college basketball for Michigan. By the end of his high school career, he was ranked as the No.
As a freshman, Simpson was part of a β17 Michigan Wolverines team that won the Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament. The March 4 victory over Purdue gave Michigan its second consecutive Big Ten tournament championship since the game was the championship game of the Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament. Simpson posted a career-high six steals as part of a stat line that included 11 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds.
On November 17, , Simpson posted 14 points and 11 rebounds for his first career double-double , to help Michigan defeat George Washington 84β Simpson posted a career-high 10 assists, and one rebound shy of a double-double. Michigan was led by Simpson with a season-high 16 points and improved to 16β0 on the season, matching the school's best start to a season.
