Michigan Basketball: Isaiah Livers is back for important season

Michigan basketball won’t have to worry about perimeter play as the deadly accurate Isaiah Livers has withdrawn his name from the NBA draft and will return to school.

The Wolverine fan base can rest easy today as arguably the best player on the roster is returning for another season in the maize and blue. Isaiah Livers will be a member of the 2020-21 Michigan basketball roster.

With the roster the way it is and an incoming class ranked No. 1 in the conference, U-M is set to have a phenomenal campaign. There is talk there might not be a season, but if there is, Michigan should finish well above where they did last year.

For the 2019 season, Michigan finished ninth in the Big Ten and never really looked the same after the two injuries Livers suffered.

The team put their all on the floor early on and they were punished for it. Finishing strong really helped the outlook for this year, but it could have been better if they were allowed to play the conference and NCAA tournament.

Looking at the roster, the depth chart should go as follows: At PG there will be Mike Smith, a dynamic scorer and excellent distributor that transferred in from Columbia. At SG, questions remain. Transfer Chaundee Brown from Wake Forest still hasn’t heard from the NCAA committee, or at least he hasn’t told anyone his status.

He has a great case – his coach was fired – but that’s not always a guarantee. An intriguing prospect behind him is freshman Zeb Jackson, who could also play the one, and the veteran Eli Brooks. Even if Brown is eligible, Brooks might be the starter at the two.

Franz Wagner is also forgoing the draft and will come back to rule the wing for the Wolverines. Freshman Terrance Williams could sit behind him. Livers should fill the four with Brandon Johns Jr as a viable replacement. Finally, Hunter Dickinson and Austin Davis will have to hash it out for the starting gig at center.

Outlook with Livers

If the season were to go on as planned (no canceled games, out of conference competition, etc), Michigan is a 22-28 win team with Livers on the roster and that’s a low-end estimate. It will, of course, depend on the impact of the tremendous freshman class.

With him, Michigan is an 18-24 win team and that’s a mid-range estimate. There are a lot of unknowns and inconsistencies on the depth chart if the Wolverines star didn’t make the choice to stick it out one more year.

Matt’s musings

This is, obviously, Livers last year in the maize and blue and he still has a lot to prove to NBA scouts.

Granted, he wasn’t able to show off his skills on the national stage with the truncated season, and this year could be the same (limited games, cancellations, etc.) which might hurt him, but in the end, Livers knows what he needs to do to earn that massive payday next June.