The Michigan Wolverines' basketball program received huge news today when junior forward Isaiah Livers announced he would be withdrawing his name from the NBA draft and returning to Ann Arbor for his senior year.
The 12.9 points per game he averaged last year were tied for the team lead, while his 40.2 percentage from three-point range was also the best mark on the club (among players who competed in at least 11 games).
"What a crazy couple of months," Livers wrote. "However, I have learned a great deal from this process, and I'm extremely excited to return to Ann Arbor. My family and I are so appreciative of Coach [Juwan] Howard and all the staff for letting us really explore my dream of playing in the NBA.
"While it was a limited process due to COVID-19, I want to thank all the NBA teams who took the time to talk to me. The information I gathered is going to be invaluable moving forward.
"But now, we have unfinished business in Ann Arbor. I cannot wait to do everything I can and help lead this team to great things."
"It was a great afternoon when Isaiah stopped into my office and told us he would be returning," Howard added. "The opportunity for Isaiah, and his family, to take a deep dive and learn as much as they could about professional basketball is a blessing.
"Now, he has even more information to know what he needs to do to reach that next level and fulfill his dreams. For us, we not only get a skilled and experienced veteran back, we get a true leader and one of the best young men I have met."
Livers has started 46 of the 96 games he has appeared in during his three seasons in Ann Arbor, playing significant roles on the 2017-18 club who advanced to the national title and the 2018-19 squad who made it to the Sweet Sixteen.
A groin injury limited him to 21 of the team's 30 games last year, and the Maize and Blue suffered noticeably in his absence. Nevertheless, he still managed to average a career-best 4.0 rebounds and scored 10 or more points in 14 of his 21 appearances.
Livers was nearly automatic from the free throw line as well, connecting on 44 of his 46 attempts on the year.
Freshman guard Franz Wagner was the only other Wolverine who entered his name into the 2020 NBA draft, but he too withdrew in April.
Both Livers and Wagner are viewed as locks to re-earn starting jobs in 2020-21, with fifth-year senior Mike Smith and senior Eli Brooks the top candidates to start in Michigan's backcourt (along with senior Chaundee Brown if he's allowed to play), and fifth-year senior Austin Davis and freshman Hunter Dickinson expected to battle it out at the center spot.
CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein provided his take this afternoon on U-M's potential starting five next season:
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