The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JANUARY 2019 THE WOLVERINE 41 injury, which made it tough. "We had open gym," Livers recalled, regarding his injury this past fall. "I jumped up, and I don't know why I didn't have my ankles taped. I came down out of the air and just rolled it over. "A week later, I was sitting in my room, doing my homework. I sat back in the chair, leaned forward and must have ripped some scar tissue open. It started to swell, and that was another week or two. "I'd never heard a pop in my ankle before. That scared me. Our trainer did a really good job taking care of it. I just had to sit out for a really long time." About a month, in fact, at a key time in preseason training. Last year, an in- season ankle injury left Livers tough- ing things out after a relatively short recuperation period. This time, he got put on the shelf. "This year was different," he said. "I actually got the time off. I wasn't rushed back. Coach B was very clear on that. He said he wanted me back 100 percent. That three to four weeks, I was just working on the mental game and my jump shot. I couldn't really do much else — some ball handling, shooting, free throws. Other than that, I was just coaching and helping out the team." EYE TO THE FUTURE He's still helping Michigan's crew, both on and off the court. For now, that means learning multiple positions and doing whatever he can whenever he can. "I see myself in the future going on to play the three," Livers projected. "The four is just perfect for me, too, be- cause I can dribble with my left hand. "The five is in a new era, position- wise. Like in the NBA, sometimes you go small ball. I can guard in the post, guard on the perimeter and in ball screens." McCormick, meanwhile, draws a parallel toward a former Wolverine — not based so much on their games, but because of a steady climb throughout a strong Michigan career. "I see him as a four-year player, who is just going to keep getting better," McCormick said. "It doesn't seem like he's going to be the guy who is going to look to jump early into the league. He's not that guy. "It's a different position, and there are a lot of differences in their games, but I see him being like a Jordan Mor- gan. He's a better shooter, and not as good at taking charges and rebound- ing. Jordan Morgan got better every year, and when he entered his senior season, he took ownership. "He had this mindset like, 'Guys, follow me. I've been here, I've paid my dues, I know where I'm going, I'm go- ing to lead you to really good things.' I see him as a captain someday. I see him as a foundational player." ❏ U-M's Top Depth Performers The Past Five NCAA Years John Beilein hasn't been winning Big Ten titles and getting deep into the NCAA Tournament based on an ironman starting five. He's featured strong depth and bench play in many seasons, including during last year's run to the Final Four. Here's a look at the performer in each of the Michigan's last five NCAA Tourna- ment seasons who did the most while starting in fewer than 20 games on the year: • 2017-18, Duncan Robinson, National Runner-Up Finish: Robinson earned the Big Ten's Sixth Man of the Year award, coming off the bench with freshman Isaiah Livers starting and providing plenty of firepower. Robinson led the team with 78 three-pointers, connecting on 38.4 percent from beyond the arc and also on a team-best 89.1 percent of his free throws. • 2016-17, Duncan Robinson, Sweet 16: Robinson started just three games for the Wolverines, but averaged more than 20 minutes per contest. He wound up second on the team with 64 threes, hitting 42.4 of them and shooting 78.1 percent from the free throw line. • 2015-16, Aubrey Dawkins, First Round: This is a tricky one, because Caris LeVert started only 14 games that year and led the team in scoring with 16.5 points per game. But the future NBA performer sat out only because of injury. Dawkins provided the heat off the bench, hitting 44 percent (44 of 100) of his threes and making good on 72.4 percent of his free throws. He started nine of Michigan's 36 games. • 2013-14, Zak Irvin, Elite Eight: Irvin didn't start a single one of Michigan's 37 games in his true freshman season. He did enjoy a red-hot time off the bench, coming on to finish second on the team in threes (behind NBA-bound Nik Stauskas) with 62 on the season. Irvin shot them at a 42.5 clip, also second behind Stauskas (44.2), and wound up fifth on the team in scoring with a 7.9 points-per-game average. • 2012-13, Mitch McGary, National Runner-Up: Few remember that McGary started only eight games in this season, because of the six contests he took by storm at the end. McGary averaged a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game and was fifth on the team in scoring, at 7.5 points a contest. But in the NCAA Tournament, he posted clips of 14.3 points and 10.7 rebounds a game. — John Borton Although Duncan Robinson started just 19 of 41 games during the 2017-18 season, he still ranked fourth on the team with a clip of 9.2 points per game. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN