Isaiah Livers Is Closing In On His Return From Injury
Michigan Wolverines basketball's Isaiah Livers had to watch from the bench while his teammates made a run to the Elite Eight without him, and it was tough. At the same time, he was like a proud brother during the NCAA Tournament, providing advice and doing what he could to help his team from the sidelines.
Livers suffered a broken foot during the Big Ten Tournament and is just getting back into some physical activity.
RELATED: Video - Livers talks return to the court, injury and more
"It's been pretty positive, talking with teams, interacting with other players. Kind of like an AAU reunion as I've been calling it," Livers said. "It's been nothing but respect. The NBA has been treating us well.
"It's hard to just sit here and watch though, because I want to get out there and play, but you know how that goes. I'm slowly getting back to the court."
He's making progress, however, and is optimistic about the near future.
"It's actually been great. I'm trending every day," he said. "I get to do a lot more like tomorrow, I'm going to be on the stairimaster. I'm finally getting out of the boot, can walk around with a plate in my shoe. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's all about just getting back to the court healthy, not trying to be too quick, just trying to take care of myself.
"Everything is looking good. I'm able to run under water, on ellipticals, on bikes, can stand, shoot my little bunny jumpers without fully jumping. Just gettin back out there is my main goal."
But he was a huge plus even when he wasn't playing, one of the reasons several NBA teams have shown interest. Livers has leaned on good friend Jordan Poole for advice ("he's out in California living his best life," Livers said with a grin) and has been meeting with a number of teams.
Both of his coaches, John Beilein and Juwan Howard, have been helping him out, as well. Howard has obvious NBA ties and Beilein is working in player personnel with the Detroit Pistons.
"The last two years when I was injured, I did whatever I could to help the team any way, giving experience, calming players down who were nervous," he said. "Other than that, it was way, way too hard to watch at the end of the season.
"I knew what we were capable of, but obviously, when you lose any type of player on any team, it's going to be harder to win games. But I'm just super proud of the way they played ... I was in the locker room doing whatever I could."
Livers is a projected second round pick in the NBA Draft to be held later this summer.
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