The Wolverine

April 2020

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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APRIL 2020 THE WOLVERINE 21 Howard kept on saying them, whether "talking junk" in practice — about how he was going to dunk on Livers, put him in the blender, take him to school, etc. — or mak- ing teary-eyed proclamations behind closed doors. Everyone witnessed Howard weeping on the day director of ath- letics Warde Manuel announced him as head coach. Nobody but the Wol- verines saw him laying the founda- tion for what he wanted Michigan to look like moving forward. "The first meeting we had as a team, Coach Howard emphasized family," Livers said. "That stuck out to me. The first thing coaches usually talk about is winning. The first thing he talked about was family. "What he's built here is a founda- tion. All the years he's going to coach here, every year is going to have some type of family. This is probably the most connected I've been to a team since I've been playing basket- ball. That says a lot. He emphasizes it. He's all about it." Talking about building a "family" hardly makes Howard unique. Some coaches who might be constructing the Corleones or the Sopranos talk family. Livers knows that. Which is why he carefully monitored the follow-up, with deep satisfaction. "He actually means it, though," Livers stressed. "That's the weird part about Coach Howard. We found out a week or two in, when he ex- pressed his feelings to us, how he loved each and every one of us. We were like, whoa, okay, this coach is for real. That really hit home. "He will stand up there and be in tears, and say, 'I love you guys.' They are real tears. He didn't put water on his face, or do something to try and get motivation. He used his actions. That's what really drew us in. He was all about it, passionate about his love for the team." Livers loves tournament time and appreciates it now more than ever. He realizes chances are limited, and knows he probably didn't savor the run to the national title game in his freshman year as much as a more mature Isaiah Livers would. This year, COVID-19 pulled the rug out from under all Big Dancers. Given his perspective, and that of senior guard Zavier Simpson and se- nior center Jon Teske, Livers stood ready to carry added motivation into tournament season. "We know what it takes to get there," he said. "We know what it feels like to lose — to go to the na- tional championship game and lose. "We lost in the Sweet 16 to Texas Tech, and that was terrible. You ap- preciate these times right now, be- cause you won't get them again. No matter what. It won't be the same kind of time." Those words, only days later, proved prophetic. Livers notes a wistfulness in for- mer roommate and best friend Jordan Poole's voice when he says the NBA is great, but it's nothing like a college basketball team. Livers wanted to see a Michigan team becoming the squad it was in the Bahamas, at the perfect time. He talked about the Wolverines ex- ecuting a "helluva" run in the 2020 NCAA Tournament. It wasn't to be. The sudden, stunning end to his sea- son — and possibly his Michigan ca- reer — simply proved the final blow in a winter of stark challenges. ❑ Isaiah Livers might still be looking to be the next David Price, had Damon Allison not delivered a pitch the Kalama- zoo Central star could hit out of the park. Livers loved baseball growing up and thought for a time it would consume his athletic life. Allison, who coached such college basketball luminaries as Michigan State's Denzel Valentine and Michigan's Derrick Walton, saw it differently. "He was playing the post his sophomore year, but he really was a 6-7 guard," Allison recalled. "I said, 'Isaiah, you're 6-7. You've got a shot to play some college basketball." Not everybody bought in at that point. Most importantly, Livers' parents weren't convinced. "I talked to Moe Livers, his dad," Allison recalled. "I said, 'Man, this kid has a real shot to play college basketball. He has the it factor.' Isaiah said, 'Coach, you've got to talk to my mom. My mom is not going to let me play.' "I called Ang, and I said, 'Ang, if you all give me three weeks, in July, in the open period, for players to be recruited, then I will guarantee that Isaiah will get some Division I looks.' She said, 'Oh no, he is not a Division I player. He is not a Division I basketball player.'" Allison recognized he needed an additional boost in get- ting the budding star to play on his Adidas-sponsored Michigan Mustangs AAU squad. He dialed up a contact at Western Michigan, and while making clear he thought Livers would be beyond WMU's reach, enlisted assistance in selling basketball to his family. The Western assistant placed the call. Allison recalled: "The next thing I know, Isaiah called me, and he was geeked up. He said, 'Coach, I can go. I can go to Vegas, and I can play in July!'" Livers — referred to by Allison as "Derek Jeter" in his early high school days, because of Livers' fondness for baseball — put his all into tournaments in Indianapolis and Vegas. He became drawing immediate college attention, including from Purdue. "His work ethic was like none other," Allison insisted. "He would go to baseball, then do basketball practice all in the same day. I went to watch him play baseball, and he was pitching; he was really, really good at baseball, too. "But he just lit it up in basketball. There was a difference. He really liked both sports, but the success in basketball was different than the success in baseball. You could see it in his face. He wanted to get back in the gym and work on more stuff. We would find ourselves working out at 10 o'clock at night." Fast forward to a Monday night a few years later, and Al- lison sat watching Livers play as a Michigan freshman in the NCAA championship game. The two still talk every week. "Isaiah is one of the kids that, if you have a heartbeat, you're going to love his success," Allison said. "I always loved the fact that he is a human being, and he never lets the glory and all the stuff that comes with being a high-profile player get in the way of him as a person. "I just love him to death, and I love seeing him grow and be this player he is today. Isaiah's my guy, man. He's like a little brother to me." — John Borton Sports Switch Proved A Game-Changer

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