The Michigan Wolverines’ basketball team released disappointing news this afternoon, revealing that junior forward Isaiah Livers would be out indefinitely with a groin injury.
Livers injured himself in last Saturday’s blowout win over Presbyterian, but the severity of the injury was not known until today.
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“When he came down [during the play last Saturday] and he started walking back toward the bench, I knew it was like ‘ugh,’” head coach Juwan Howard recalled this afternoon.
“I knew it could be painful, but hopefully not too serious. I’ve seen teammates who have had injuries like that before, so I knew it wasn’t good.
“We just want to keep him positive and get him healthy, and he’ll be very disciplined with his rehab treatment. He wants to be out there and we need him, and he knows it. He needs us; we need each other.”
Livers is Michigan’s leading scorer this season, averaging 13.6 points per game while playing 31.8 minutes per outing.
He has also been dangerous from three-point range, connecting on 50 percent of his shots from behind the arc and making at least two in nine of Michigan’s 12 games this year.
Howard singled out sophomore forward Brandon Johns and sophomore center Colin Castleton as two players who will need to step up in Livers’ absence, though it’s also crucial they understand their roles and not try to do too much.
“When you lose 14 points a game, I don’t want anyone to feel like they have to be the next man to give the team 14 or 16 points,” Howard explained.
“That’s not the mentality and not what we’re looking for. It’s about being that guy to give us the stability at the four-spot and the three-spot, to communicate our defense, be active defensively, and play with heart and passion.
“Production will happen if you have that type of mindset. If you feel like you need to score, score, score, it puts too much pressure on yourself and it also hurts the team.”
Notes
• It was announced today that Michigan had added guard Brandon Wade to its roster, a walk-on from Duquesne College.
Wade grew up in Ann Arbor and is very familiar with the program, but won’t be allowed to play this season; his status for the beginning of the 2020-21 season hasn’t been determined yet.
“Brandon will have a lot to learn,” Howard said of the newest member of the team. “He’ll get a lot of practice reps and will learn the Michigan way.
“He’s such a positive, hard-working kid with the type of mindset where he just wants to help the team get better. If he continues with that attitude, we’ll see him grow as a player.
“His role will be defined by what he brings us in practice. I knew a little bit about Brandon early on when I first took the job, and I knew about his little brother.
“I had a chance to meet his dad as well. Brandon is interesting, because he had a scholarship at Duquesne, and decided it wasn’t a good situation for him and wanted to find a better one.
“It so happened that we had a spot available and now we’ll help him grow and coach him up. We’ll see where it goes from there.”
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