Michigan Basketball: Jordan Poole and Isaiah Livers need to evolve
With the loss of Moe Wagner and maybe even Charles Matthews, Michigan basketball needs Jordan Poole and Isaiah Livers to become stars.
It’s true that the Michigan basketball team is going to be a lot different when the 2018-19 season rolls around. But different doesn’t mean that the Wolverines can’t build on their success.
Of course, losing Moe Wagner is going to be a blow. He was one of the top big men in college basketball and in the tournament, he helped carry Michigan basketball to the Final Four and eventually the championship game. Charles Matthews, who also declared for the draft but didn’t hire an agent, may also be gone.
Those losses, along with the graduation of Duncan Robinson, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and Jaaron Simmons leave plenty of holes to fill, so it’s a good thing the Wolverines have a strong recruiting class coming in. It’s also a good thing that UM has the likes of Jordan Poole and Isaiah Livers.
While Zavier Simpson will be another key part of the equation next season for Michigan basketball, he’s more of a known commodity. Poole and Livers, on the other hand, have a lot more to prove.
For his part, Livers was the starting power forward for the Wolverines during conference play and the postseason. His scoring was inconsistent, but his defense was on point. Poole was a better scorer and averaged 6.1 points per game, compared to 3.4 for Livers.
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However, if the Wolverines are going to be contenders in the Big Ten and an NCAA tournament team again, Livers and Poole will both need to take big steps forward. If Matthews stays in the draft, a decision he has until May 30 to make, UM will be without its top four scorers from a season ago.
Simpson was the fifth-leading scorer, followed by Poole and Livers. Jon Teske was right there with Livers at 3.4 ppg. Eli Brooks was another freshman contributor, but he will have to be out incoming freshman David DeJulius, the 99th ranked player in the 2018 class according to 247sports.
Michigan also has Ignas Brazdeikis, the No. 36 player in the country, as well as Brandon Johns, who is ranked 65th. Brazdeikis is a 6-8 small forward, while Johns is a 6-8 power forward. Both players have position versatility.
More: Can Michigan succeed without Matthews?
Those players will help fill some gaps and add to the overall depth. Yet, relying on any of those guys to be star players seems like a long shot. It’s very likely a freshman could start next season and there could be multiple in the rotation. But if Matthews is gone, Poole is going to need to be the team’s top scoring threat and he has all the tools to do that.
Throughout last season, he showed the ability to shoot the 3-ball, hitting 37 percent of his shots from deep. But he also knows how to get to the basket and should be able to increase his scoring average significantly with more shot attempts.
Livers, who could see time at the four and the five next season, will also need to make a big jump. He has the chance to be a double-digit scorer but needs to be more than a 3-point shooter and cleanup guy. Livers needs to develop more touch and find a way to be a threat in the pick-and-roll.
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Truly, it’s not a long shot to see both Poole and Livers develop into double-digit scorers next season and if Matthews ends up leaving, they may need to if the Wolverines are going to get back into the field of 68 next March.