Isaiah Livers is back for his senior season in Ann Arbor.

The 6-7 forward was tied atop the team in scoring last season, averaging 12.9 points per game, but ultimately decided one more season in college was the best move for him.

"It was just, first of all, not a normal draft process," Livers said of his decision, in an interview on Big Ten Network. "I was just sitting here in Ann Arbor Zooming with [NBA teams].

"Secondly, I felt I had more to prove. The motto is 'unfinished business.' I felt like I had more business to take care of here in Ann Arbor — get my degree, one final ride with Coach [Juwan] Howard and the boys. That just outweighs the other options. It was the best decision for me long term."

RELATED: What Isaiah Livers' Return Means For Michigan Basketball

RELATED: What They're Saying: Outlets Analyze The Impact Livers' Return Will Have

The Kalamazoo, Mich., native missed 10 games last season due to groin and ankle injuries, hindering him from being able to showcase all of his skills, especially since he played most of the second half of the season at less than 100 percent after he did return.

That aspect weighed on Livers heavily throughout the decision-making process.

"I didn’t have the season that I wanted to have due to injuries and just everything that was going on, so it was real tough; it can really weigh on your mind, but having Coach Howard and the coaching staff, they really helped me stay sane during this process," he said.

With Livers now in the fold, U-M's ceiling as a team has been dramatically raised. The leadership of he and fellow senior Eli Brooks will prove crucial, especially since the Wolverines lost co-captains Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske to graduation following the end of last season.

"This team could go so many different ways," Livers said. "We haven’t even practiced yet, but especially me playing with those two leaders the last three years, learning from Zavier, his passion, how he handles his stuff off the court ... he’s a real relationship guy, and I feel like I can take a lot of that.

"We’ve got like four or five, maybe six new faces that we have to join to the team and welcome to the chemistry.

"I feel like also what Sleep [Teske] has, he was the ultimate big brother off the court. If I can take both of those leadership models and put them together into one, we can be a really good team because we have a lot of weapons people don’t know about, so I’m interested to see."

Livers said the fact that Howard has kept a strong culture in tact after taking over for John Beilein made the decision much easier to return to U-M. He's excited for one more year playing under the former Wolverine All-American turned coach.

"Most importantly, the No. 1 core value Coach Howard brought was family," Livers said. "When he came in and developed this family, we did a lot of things off the court. We spent time with him, our head coach, off the court. It got to the point where, our second week, we were like, ‘Yeah, this dude is already our family.’

"He has a lot of our trust, and coming back was a no-brainer. If I had to come back, it didn’t even matter because I was coming back to Coach Howard and a great team and a great staff.

"There’s just something about him; he’s so energized, he’s a people person. He was a great player, has a lot of knowledge and he’s a great coach, so I’m excited to be with him for a second year."

This offseason looks different in many ways, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Livers broke down some of the oddities of training for the upcoming campaign.

"Only a certain amount of people can be in the gym at one time, so it’s kind of like if there’s 10 in the gym, there can’t be 11," Livers explained. "Someone has to get out of the gym.

"In the weight room, there’s a maximum of four to five people per weight group. So there’s just a lot of — it’s like a system now. It doesn’t feel as free. COVID really shut a lot of things down.

"But I think Michigan is definitely doing a great job of controlling it. We have a select group of people to get tested every two weeks, just to make sure things are going good, everybody’s social distancing, so it’s been up and down.

"I’ve drove around, I’ve seen people here and there, but it’s not like the usual summer at Michigan. The usual summer at Michigan, you can’t even drive your car, but now it’s like no one’s really walking, there’s not a lot of students here."

---

• Talk about this article inside The Fort

• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel

• Listen and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine

• Sign up for our newsletter, The Wolverine Now

• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @Balas_Wolverine, @EJHolland_TW, @AustinFox42, @JB_ Wolverine, Clayton Sayfie and @DrewCHallett

• Like us on Facebook