Livers Out Indefinitely
Rumors about this started flying last night and now they've been confirmed:
…senior guard/forward Isaiah Livers will be out indefinitely after an MRI following yesterday's Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal game against Maryland revealed a stress injury to his right foot. Livers will wear a protective boot while he immediately begins rehabbing.
A stress injury doesn't sound good. There have been rumors that Livers is done for the season. Brendan Quinn got some pushback on that when he talked to someone inside the program:
Reached out to a number of people last night. Everyone extremely buttoned up (pretty common for U-M). All I was told was the worst-case scenario rumors are “very premature.” Maybe that’s just hopeful thinking? Could be. Don’t think anything firm will emerge until pregame in Indy. https://t.co/fqfAWb1fCr
— Brendan Quinn (@BFQuinn) March 13, 2021
It's possible he'd try to play through it for the NCAA tournament. If that's possible, and how effective he could be, are unknowns.
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March 13th, 2021 at 10:51 AM ^
FUUUUUCKKKKKKKK
March 13th, 2021 at 10:51 AM ^
I have never been a fan of feet. They are not built to withstand the pounding they take day in and day out. They smell and toe nails become more unsightly the older you get.
I wish Isaiah the best of luck with his rehab and recovery.
March 13th, 2021 at 11:02 AM ^
Agree. F Turgeon and F feet.
March 13th, 2021 at 11:28 AM ^
And F the *uckeyes
March 13th, 2021 at 12:13 PM ^
Agreed, humans should have hooves
Plus, many of them aren’t 12 inches.
March 13th, 2021 at 10:51 AM ^
My hopeful optimism agrees with that last line. Seems as if he’s been playing with this injury for sometime now based on his recent performance. I bet he tries to give it a go in the NCAA tournament. How effective will he be… Well that’s a different question.
March 13th, 2021 at 10:53 AM ^
If he's done, so are Michigan's tournament hopes. Fuck.
March 13th, 2021 at 11:25 AM ^
It certainly hurts to not have him available, but yesterday he contributed very little (0 points on 0-5 shooting in 15 minutes) and we beat a tournament-bound team by double digits. Maryland is more or less comparable to a team we'd face in the first weekend.
Where we'd really start to need him would be in the second weekend . . . maybe he could be back then?
March 13th, 2021 at 11:34 AM ^
+1 for keeping it real that Livers wasn't a factor against Maryland...
Where we'd really start to need him would be in the second weekend . . . maybe he could be back then?
Stress fractures don't work that way unfortunately.
I do imagine Livers will say fuck it and go if he can because that's how 20 year-olds think, right. I was there... and now that I'm in my 40s, I've had 5 surgeries in the last 6 years to correct stupid shit when I did when I was younger.
But for the chance at a national championship? Heck yea. All the PT of the last few years would be worth it. Ha!
March 13th, 2021 at 12:12 PM ^
Staff won’t let him play if they think he’ll cause more damage in the long run. These aren’t simple “play through it” injuries. This is what kept Josh Langford out for years(yes he had recurrent issues). Absolute best case unlikely scenario is that we see him in the ncaa championship game. Most likely scenario is done for the season.
March 13th, 2021 at 12:18 PM ^
The other hope is that maybe Zeb Jackson and/or Terrance Williams can make use of this opportunity and become contributors.
Smith/Brooks/Brown/Wagner/Dickinson is still a really nice lineup. We just need depth.
I agree.
Brown was a starter previously and has proven to make timely contributions this year. I have all the faith int he world Brown will step up!
Sorry. Zeb and TW could be good down the line but they aren't even close yet.
You're getting downvoted but you're right. There's basically no chance Michigan wins a title without Livers. Michigan is probably going to play 4 teams that are much better than Maryland.
Downvotes don't bother me. We could have used a healthy Livers today.
I agree Don. Without a key (future NBA) player and leader of our team we are good fodder for elite teams. It's all good without Livers against Maryland, OSU etc we can do blah blah blah..but we will be extremely lucky to get to the Elite 8 or above.
March 13th, 2021 at 10:53 AM ^
It was certainly impressive that M was able to turn up the heat against Maryland, and win going away, with Livers on the bench. Thank you, team, and especially Mike Smith and Chaundee. Can't forget that Chaundee was a starter at Wake Forest and accepted #6-#7 man role to come here. Also demands more from Brandon Johns who hasn't had much of a role/challenge lately. Of course, everyone must step up!
March 13th, 2021 at 10:55 AM ^
Best case is maybe they get through the first weekend of the tournament without him then maybe he tries to play in the sweet 16.
But that feels optimistic too.
March 13th, 2021 at 11:20 AM ^
That's what I was thinking also. If Johns can play like he did yesterday, extra minutes from Brown and Johns can fill at least some of the void.
March 13th, 2021 at 11:23 AM ^
I feel fairly confident they can handle an 8 or 9 seed without him. *Possibly* even a 4 or 5 seed. That's over 2 weeks from now that they would be playing in the S16 or E8, so who knows.
March 13th, 2021 at 12:14 PM ^
If HD can have more of a consistent offensive presence, then we have plenty of shooters who can fill the void. We are gonna need more from HD in the big dance though.
March 13th, 2021 at 10:56 AM ^
BPONE back with a vengeance. SMFH
March 13th, 2021 at 10:56 AM ^
so rough for Livers who came back for this March run. This will hurt Livers NBA stock as well, and potentially seriously depending on the type of injury as he faces another foot injury.
What a leader. What a competitor.
Season isn't over for him yet - we can wait for more details.
Season definitely isn't over yet for Michigan. Smith, Brown, Johns will have an opportunity to ride this wave. That is why Smith and Brown came here. Brandon Johns needs an opportunity. He'll get it.
(please god make things happy for Michigan)
March 13th, 2021 at 10:57 AM ^
Devastating and SOOOOOOOO Michigan...without Livers we dont go far at all in the tournament..this is worst case scenario news for this team.
March 13th, 2021 at 11:28 AM ^
This happening to Franz would be the worst case scenario.
March 13th, 2021 at 12:00 PM ^
Oddly, even though Livers is arguably the best one or two players on the team, he is probably the easiest to replace. This isn't the worst case scenario for UM.
March 13th, 2021 at 12:35 PM ^
I would say Dickinson or Smith. But they're all very important.
March 13th, 2021 at 12:01 PM ^
The challenge for this team is that it is so strong because each of its 5 starters are strong players. There are no weak links. Losing any one of our starters would be a big deal, but I think there is a case to be made that Livers may be the best case.
Dickerson alters many game plans
Smith - we need a primary ballhandler
Brooks - compare what happened vs MSU and Minnesota when Brooks was unavailable to what happened against Maryland when Livers was largely unavailable
Wagner - probably better overall player
Livers is a huge loss, but I could argue other players would be even bigger
Why are people downvoting this? He's just stating the obvious: No Livers, no Final Four.
March 13th, 2021 at 10:59 AM ^
Feel awful for livers he was one of my favorites in a while. As to the team, I think those writing this squad off are a little premature - adversity might be good for this team. They seemed a little tight the past few weeks maybe this loosens them up to play as if they don’t have much to lose
They seemed tight or they shot poorly with their 2nd leading scorer probably playing on a broken foot? Michigan is now 2-3 in their last 5.
March 13th, 2021 at 11:03 AM ^
Saying Michigan’s tournament chances are over is premature. Depending on the draw Michigan gets, especially as a #1 seed, the FF is still possible. We’ve seen less heralded teams, with much tougher draws, make it that far.
My biggest takeaway from all this is how bad I feel for Livers. Absolutely brutal for him.
But as a fan, my goal will be to enjoy the ride for the next week or two. After having no NCAAt last year, I’m really looking forward to this one, regardless of the results.
March 13th, 2021 at 11:03 AM ^
This isn’t over. I think Brooks has proven more instrumental to team success. Obviously this sucks for Livers but maybe he can return at some point. We shall see. At any rate get well soon.
March 13th, 2021 at 11:40 AM ^
Over!? Was it over....
March 13th, 2021 at 11:03 AM ^
Man that sucks for the team and all of us fans, but mostly what a heartbreak for him. He’s been such a key player and teammate, sad to know we’ll never see him play for UofM again
March 13th, 2021 at 11:21 AM ^
Don't give up hope yet. Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
March 13th, 2021 at 11:38 AM ^
Wish I could upvote more for Bluto...
March 13th, 2021 at 11:10 AM ^
Due to the odd COVID rules, I wonder if Livers would consider coming back next year as a result of this?
March 13th, 2021 at 11:13 AM ^
This feels like 1999-2000 Cincinnati who was strong all year until Kenyon Martin broke his leg in the conference tourney. That bumped them down to a 2 seed, and they didn't make it past the 2nd round, losing to Tulsa.
Not releasing his availability may be as much about protecting a 1 seed as anything.
March 13th, 2021 at 11:22 AM ^
Somewhat analogous, but Martin was NPOY and really the only great player they had. Livers is important but UM has other players who are quite good
Well, I wish some of those had players showed up today besides Dickinson.
March 13th, 2021 at 11:14 AM ^
Fuck me...
March 13th, 2021 at 11:19 AM ^
This totally sucks and the range of possibilities is significant. But at least there isn't the word "fracture" or "break." So maybe there's reason for optimism for an early return.
March 13th, 2021 at 11:21 AM ^
Depends on extent of injury. We all thought Brooks was out for weeks and he came back. I'd be surprised if he played next week but after that who knows?
March 13th, 2021 at 11:23 AM ^
This means:
More Chaundee Brown Jr., just fine.
More Brandon Johns Jr., depends which version shows up.
More Terrance Williams II, who knows. I'd feel better about him if he were a "Jr." instead of a "II."
With Brown the backup 2 and 3, it also means more Zeb, and he doesn't look ready for much.
March 13th, 2021 at 12:50 PM ^
This is the problem. I feel fine with Chaundee out there, but after him the depth disappears rapidly. The main reason losing Livers is such a massive loss isn’t because he’s the primary scorer...it’s because it destroys the primary strength of this team which was depth. We could go into our bench and still pretty much have starter caliber players on the floor...without livers our depth drops to normal levels. I’ll honestly be shocked if we beat Ohio State today.
Obviously anything can happen in March, and much weirder circumstances have prevailed...but without Livers our chances of making a deep run / getting to the final round seem very very slim. :(
March 13th, 2021 at 11:27 AM ^
Thinking immediately, Kyle Young is definitely out today too. Although Livers is better, they bring somewhat similar things to their respective teams, so hopefully this cancels out a bit.
March 13th, 2021 at 11:33 AM ^
As soon as Umbig11 said he was out yesterday, we all should have known. I lied to myself that the next dozen posters knew just as much as he did. They don't, he's actually an insider but I wanted to believe.
Agree with many of the posts below, Maryland is similar to an 8/9 seed, so we "can" get thru week 1 without him. Chaundee is a marvel, the problem is the depth after him.
Brandon Johns showed a lot at both ends of the court yesterday, and we'll have a week to work with this new rotation. All of a sudden the B1G tourney seems less important. Unless we make the finals, then fk the Illinwhiners. Let's go!
Right. We can get thru week 1 without Livers. But after that it's really dicey.
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