Michigan Basketball: Wolverines need Isaiah Livers to return for senior year
By Adam Childs
The Michigan basketball team needs Isaiah Livers to return for his senior season. Livers put his name into the early entrant list for the NBA draft.
Michigan Basketball possibly had the most restless offseason of any team in the Big Ten and possibly the country outside of Wichita State.
The Wolverines lost backup center, Colin Castleton, to Florida and backup shooting guard David DeJulius to Cincinnati. They then lost out on five-star recruit Joshua Christopher who picked Arizona State even though most crystal balls had him at 100% Michigan. To make matters worse another commit Isaiah Todd, passed up Michigan for the pro route.
They did get some good news when Franz Wagner announced he would stay for his sophomore year, but that isn’t the guy they really need to stay. Wagner is great and will be huge for the Wolverines but they need Isaiah LIvers to return.
Livers has put his name in for the NBA draft, but hasn’t hired an agent and can return to Michigan without any penalties. According to some scouts that is exactly what he should do. Livers has the potential and talent to play in the NBA, but without having the normal workouts because of COVID-19 he isn’t getting to show off what he can do.
That is good news for the Wolverines and might make it easier for Livers to return. And that is what the Wolverines need for the 2020-21 year.
Michigan still has a great recruiting class coming in with Hunter Dickinson, Zeb Jackson, Terrance Williams, and Jace Howard. The class is ranked eighth in the country.
Livers, though, makes a huge difference. He is the best three-point shooter for the Wolverines and can get to the rim He is a matchup nightmare for other teams and is a very good defender also. He is the motor for this team and is a huge asset to the Wolverines. They could also have him doing things like this.
With the loss of starting point guard Zavier Simpson, the leadership of LIvers is needed even more. The Wolverines have the making of a pretty good team next year but would be even better with LIvers.
The Wolverines were not the same team without Livers last year. When he was out with injury, Michigan went just 4-5 but went through a four-game losing streak. They were not good on offense and a worse defensive team without him.
Livers’ return would be huge for the Wolverines. His presence would vault this team to a Big Ten title contender and maybe more. Without him, there are a lot of question marks for this team.
Next. Early Big Ten power rankings for 2020-21. dark
The Wolverines need Livers and as it turns out Livers might need Michigan. His draft stock is not high right now, so he could improve his chances by coming back. In return, the Wolverines would also improve with his return.