Some people may have expected freshman forward Isaiah Livers’ production to take a spike when he grabbed the starting job from fifth-year senior forward Duncan Robinson just under a month ago, but that hasn’t exactly been the case.
In fact, Livers has only averaged 4.5 points over his last seven contests, but the team has a 5-2 record in that span so he isn’t complaining.
“As long as we’re winning, I’m happy,” he admitted. “I think I am where I need to be, but Coach [John] Beilein will expect more out of me, just as I expect more out of myself.”
Inevitably, though, teams have become accustomed to Livers’ tendencies, and as a result have taken away some of the things he's most comfortable with.
“It was different coming off the bench, because teams would leave me wide open in the corner — I don’t get that anymore,” he said. “But at the same time, I can shot fake now and get into the lane and shoot a pull up.
“I need to be aggressive. When someone walls up, I have to be able to put my body into theirs and finish. I can find the open man too, but it’s better to be aggressive.”
Livers expanded a bit more on one of the main differences of coming off the bench as opposed to being a starter.
“Before I was starting, I could get a feel for what other teams would run on both sides of the ball,” he said. “Teams come out in all these different looks, like basic zones and matchup zones, so you have to have a feel for the game right off the bat.”
Although there have definitely been some growing pains since the freshman began starting, there has also been some very positive growth.
The 6-7 forward revealed which area he has progressed the most in over the past month.
“Defensively,” he affirmed. “I’ve come such a long way in switching patterns and switching off the ball, and being able to guard the perimeter. It always helps a defense when a four-man can switch out and guard the point guard. My defensive awareness has gotten a lot better in the past month — I feel so comfortable there now.”
Tomorrow’s Michigan/Northwestern matchup will undoubtedly bring back flashbacks of last year’s meeting between the two teams in Evanston, in what wound up being perhaps the biggest victory in Wildcat history.
Northwestern beat the Wolverines by two on March 1 last year on a full-court pass and lay in by center Dererk Pardon, basically sealing the school’s first-ever NCAA tournament berth.
“The guys here have been talking about that game, but I actually didn’t even catch it,” Livers said. “It was probably a night where I had a game too. Coach Beilein has been mentioning that game lately as well.
“We’ve been working on late game situations like that one in practice, because three of our last five contests have come down to that. [Senior guard] Muhammad [Ali Abdur-Rahkman’s] and Duncan’s eyes have been a lot bigger this week than usual — they can’t wait to get this revenge game.”
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