Key Michigan Basketball Injury Updates Following Foreign Tour Trip

The Michigan Wolverines went 1-2 during their foreign tour exhibition, playing in both Lithuania and Croatia. It was a mostly good trip for Mike Boynton Jr.'s new team, but Michigan lost one of its budding stars.

Five-star freshman Brandon McCoy Jr. slipped and fell in the final game, and by doing so, he suffered a season-ending ACL injury. McCoy Jr. was expected to make a major impact on Michigan this season, likely earning a starting role for the Wolverines.

But Michigan won't have a chance to see McCoy Jr. in action this season, with hopes of him playing in 2027-28 with the team. On Friday, Boynton Jr. spoke with Brian Boesch on 'Defend the Block' and talked about McCoy Jr.

"Yeah, from my perspective the trip was 90-plus percent successful," Boynton Jr. said. "The one being a pretty significant setback for our team. No question. Brandon McCoy is a guy we expected to have a major impact on our team. A guy who worked his butt off this summer to put himself in position to earn that right and certainly disappointing but injuries are unfortunate part of sport.

"We see it every year with most teams. We've been really fortunate here the last couple of years. We sure we stay fairly injury free. Uh, and so it's just, just certainly disappointed for him. He's got such a bright future that he still will have. That kid is a rock star as a person, as a player, from a work ethic standpoint, from a winning standpoint, a three time gold medalist and so understanding who he is from a character standpoint, he's going to bounce back from this just fine.

"It's going to take a little bit longer probably than he hoped to, to get back to the top of his game. But at the same time I know he's going to put the work in that it requires."

Ricky Liburd update

Entering the foreign tour, one player I wanted to see was Ricky Liburd. He didn't play last season, taking a redshirt season, which is now a moot point, but he is expected to play a big role for the Wolverines this season.

Liburd has been tabbed as a breakout player for Michigan and he was battling McCoy Jr. for the starting wing spot. And now, with McCoy Jr. suffering a season-ending injury, Liburd's role might've increased for the year.

But we didn't see him play overseas, and Boynton Jr. shared why.

"Yeah, I'll start with Ricky. Ricky kind of had a little bit of a setback in terms of he had a hip impingement, nothing super major, but we did a small procedure with him, nothing invasive, right before we left," Boynton Jr. revealed. "And it was the recommendation of the doctor that he have some time to rest and, and recover from that.

"He's been back in the gym since we've been back. He's doing the rehab and the necessary forms to get himself back in position to play. But, you know, nothing long term that should have any kind of impact on our playing season or even our practice season, which will start in a couple weeks."

Thiam good to go

Starting center Moustapha Thiam exited the first game after playing just six minutes after he appeared to get rolled up on by Elliot Cadeau. Thiam never returned to the game, nor did he play in the final two games.

But the injury was just a scare and Thiam will be ready to roll for the season. Mike Boynton Jr. noted he saw everything he needed to see from Thiam in the six minutes he played in. There was no need to force him back into the game, and he will be a major part of what the Wolverines do this season.

"Moustapha very, very similarly like something minor, but it was enough that we didn't want to take a chance," Boynton Jr. said. "We saw the six minutes that he did play that he's going to have a chance to have a great impact on our team on both ends of the court. Thiam, I think that one thing that was fairly evident not only was his rim pressure and ability to be a good pick and roll threat with Elliot was pretty obvious in the first few possessions.

"Also his defensive presence, his ability to protect the rim and play in our drop ball screen coverage and be kind of a menace around the basket defensively was something that was evident while he was there, but also when we had to see what it looks like with him off the court for two games."

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