Isaiah Livers Discusses Shortened Season's Potential Impact On Upcoming Decision
Junior forward Isaiah Livers has a huge decision to make — should he return to Michigan for his senior year or should he head off to the NBA? Luckily, he has a long-time NBA veteran head coach in Juwan Howard to lean on.
"Coach Howard being the guy he is, he’s not trying to kick me out of here or trap me here. He’s more on what’s the best opportunity for me," Livers explained. "That was one of the first phone calls we ever had between me and him when he first took the job. He was always going to put me in the best opportunity for me; put me in the best position to get my dream that I want to get to. He’s not just my coach but he’s a mentor because he’s had a ton of experience. He’s gained a lot of knowledge playing in the NBA. He just knows how the NBA works. I’m taking his feedback 100%."
Livers' junior year is one reason why the feedback could potentially be mixed. On one hand, Livers was one of the more versatile and talented players in the conference when healthy, Unfortunately, he wasn't for about a third of the season. And that's exactly what the other hand is. How should and will scouts view Livers' campaign since he missed 10 games and the opportunity to play in the postseason because of the COVID-19 pandemic?
Livers is using the down time to get healthy, but he's not really able to get after it like he needs to in order to prepare for the draft.
"Health wise right now I’ve been able to be on my butt on the couch and I’ve been able to work out a little bit. It’s sped up my recovery a little bit just being off my feet," Livers explained. "[My health] is definitely a lot better since than we were warming up against Rutgers. During that game it was probably starting to feel better. It was still in the middle of the rebuilding process of like tendons and stuff like that in my ankle. Obviously the groin thing, that’s going to take a while to go away. I’m just trying to heal up before anything else happens.
"I’m jump roping outside, stretching, some balance drills for my ankle and even for my groin. It’s just kind of some rebuilding-process stretching and workouts. Rehab — that’s what it is. I had the chance to pick up a ball and shoot at my house. I'll lay down and shoot at the ceiling. I’ll just dribble a ball outside. There’s no access to any gyms so I don’t want to force it and try to get to a gym. I’m just focusing on my health right now, mainly."
Another factor to consider is what the abbreviated season meant for Livers' sense of closure. If he leaves for the NBA, his career was cut short against his will. He's dreaming of playing in the pros, but the fact that his last game in maize and blue is in the books as a cancellation is weighing heavy on him.
"It definitely [impacts my decision]," Livers said. "I feel like I got cut off from what we were about to do. We had really good energy from the last practice we had. Everyone was positive and I just felt good vibes going into that tournament and obviously it got cut short. That definitely plays a factor in my decision."
