Michigan Basketball: Caris LeVert shows star potential with 51-point game

Former Michigan basketball standout Caris LeVert went off Tuesday night for 51 points against the Celtics, showing he can be a legit NBA superstar.

When Caris LeVert played for Michigan basketball, he always seemed to be exceeding expectations, that is until an injury shortened his career with the Wolverines.

After a four-year career with Michigan basketball, LeVert surprised some when he was selected in the first round by the Nets, but since then, he has continued to improve and following the 51 point outing he had Tuesday night in a win over Boston, maybe he can be part of the Nets big three.

Either way, what LeVert did against the Celtics was spectacular. The former Michigan basketball player had 37 points in the fourth quarter and overtime and outscored Boston 37-36 by himself during the frame as the Nets erased a 17-point deficit to win the game in overtime.

LeVert, who has been limited to 35 games this season due to injuries, hit three free throws to send the game to overtime with 0.2 seconds left. He also had all of Brooklyn’s points during the overtime.

With his career-high 51 points, LeVert increased his scoring average to over 17 points a game, which really shouldn’t be a surprise to Michigan basketball fans, who saw LeVert play at a high level for three years, when healthy.

Back 2013-14, he played 37 games and averaged 12.9 points per game as the Wolverines reached the Elite 8. In the next two seasons, he averaged 14.9 and 16,5 ppg but didn’t play 20 games either year.

Still, he did enough and was effective enough as a two-way player to get the call from the Nets and just like with Michigan basketball, LeVert just keeps getting better and better. He averaged 8.2 points as a rookie, then increased his average 12, 13 and now 17.

This all comes after LeVert signed a three-year deal with the Nets back in August, which means he should be playing alongside Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant for the next few seasons and if he keeps balling out as he did against Boston, the former Michigan basketball star won’t just be an afterthought.

Who knows, maybe he will be the third piece in the Nets big three as Brooklyn looks to be an Eastern Conference contender in the coming years, as long as, of course, Durant, Irving and LeVert all stay healthy.