After a promising 7-0 start to the season under new head coach Juwan Howard, Michigan basketball looked like it was headed in the right direction. The Wolverines even knocked off North Carolina and Gonzaga back to back to win the Battle 4 Atlantis. But after a tough stretch, Big Blue finds themselves 4-7 in Big 10 play. Only Northwestern and Nebraska have been worse.

But the news cycle recently has not been about the Wolverines play of late. Instead, it has been dominated by senior guard Zavier Simpson’s suspension for a “violation of team rules”. At first, no details were released, but Simpson was suspended for the team’s win over Nebraska before being reinstated.

That was until yesterday when reports came out that Simpson had been suspended for crashing the car owned by the family of Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manuel. The crash occurred at 3:03 a.m. on Sunday, Jan, 26. When the initial crash occurred, Simpson told police he was a passer-by rather than the driver of the car. He gave his name to the police as “Jeff Jackson Simpson”.

I have so many questions, concerns and comments. First of all, I’m glad Simpson is okay after a scary crash. But beyond that, why was Simpson driving the family car of the Michigan AD? Smells like an NCAA investigation waiting to happen. I also really want to know what kind of ride it was. Had to have been something dope. Furthermore, Jeff Jackson Simpson? That’s the best fake name you could come up with on the spot? Using your actual last name? That’s the first thing they teach you in Fake Names 101. To nobody’s surprise, the campus police recognized him immediately. The cops should’ve helped him out, though. Snitches get stitches, and you should be protecting your star player on campus.

One of my favorite quotes from all this comes from Michigan head coach Juwan Howard.

“We have team rules,” Howard said. “Unfortunately, he broke one of them. You have repercussions and consequences you have to pay when you break team rules.”

Apparently crashing the AD’s car is a violation of team rules. No shock there. Not sure if Manuel will be letting Simpson take the Benz out for a spin again anytime soon.