6/16/2021 basketball Edit

Michigan's Isaiah Livers To Take Part In NBA Draft Combine

Clayton Sayfie • Maize&BlueReview

Staff Writer

Former Michigan basketball forward Isaiah Livers is headed to Chicago for the 2021 NBA Draft Combine, which will be held from June 21-17 at Wintrust Arena.

The Kalamazoo, Mich., native is one of 69 potential draftees to have been selected for inclusion, and the only Wolverine set to participate. NBA teams selected the players who received invites.

Former Michigan wing Franz Wagner is virtually a lock to be selected, most likely in the first round, but he — along with some other top prospects — chose not to partake in the combine.

Guards Chaundee Brown, Mike Smith and DeVante' Jones, and center Hunter Dickinson are set to work out at the G League Elite Camp June 19-21, also in Chicago, where they can potentially earn invites to the NBA Combine. Jones, a Coastal Carolina transfer, and Dickinson, a reigning second-team All-American who led the Maize and Blue in scoring and rebounding last season, still have the option to return to college basketball.

Players will conduct interviews with NBA teams and participate in five-on-five games, shooting and strength and agility drills.

Of course, Livers will not go through the physical drills, after having underwent successful foot surgery in early April. At that point, he was expected to miss at least six months, which would have him out until October at the earliest.

He can still go through the interview process and meet with teams, something he did last summer — though it was virtual and not in person — when he declared for the 2020 draft but ultimately decided to return to school for just one more season.

A second-team All-Big Ten standout as a senior in 2020-21, Livers helped lead the Wolverines to the outright conference title, before he missed the final five contests of the year, including four NCAA Tournament games, with a stress fracture. He averaged 13.1 points, six rebounds and two assists per tilt, while shooting 45.7 percent from the field, 43.1 percent from beyond the three-point arc and 87 percent from the charity stripe.

The positive for Livers is that there is plenty of film out there of him playing at a high level. Known as a high-character player and a team captain, Livers should impress during the interview process, Bleacher Report analyst Jonathan Wasserman told TheWolverine.com recently. It will also be valuable for him to provide a report of where he's at with his recovery.

"He’s a great kid, and he’s probably going to do great during interviews, so that he’s got a chance to help himself there," Wasserman said. "The medical reports are going to be huge. They are for everyone, but particularly guys who have foot injuries, and right in the middle of the draft process. So that’s going to be a big x-factor as well."

Wasserman believes Livers will be a high-value second-round pick.

“I think, at that point, there’s no gamble,” Wasserman said of a team choosing Livers. “You’re not really risking anything in the second round. Over the years, he’s shown enough with his shot — his free throw percentages are off the charts — and he just kind of has that role player mentality. He doesn’t need shots, he kind of does what he needs to do in his role, and it’s easy to envision him doing that at any level with that mentality and that valued skill of shooting.

“He makes clutch plays, and he’s been around long enough where I think a team could’ve figured out by now that Livers is a steal-in-waiting, a nice role player they can get on a good deal over the next couple of years."

Keep it locked at TheWolverine.com for more NBA Draft coverage in the days and weeks to come.

---

• 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 daily newsletter and breaking news alerts

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

• Like us on Facebook