2017 Bball recruit Isaiah Livers named Gatorade POY in the state of Michigan
The 6-foot-8, 205-pound senior forward had led the Maroon Giants to a 20-3 record and a berth in the Class A regional final at the time of his selection. Livers averaged 18 points, 14 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game while shooting 59 percent from inside the arc through 23 games. A First Team All-State honoree and a Michigan Mr. Basketball finalist, he scored 24 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists in a 69-50 win over Holt in the regional semifinals.https://www.gatorade.com/poy/winner/isaiah-livers/35613
I expect this isn't the last award for Livers as Mr Basketball is set to be announced very soon
EDIT: It's official, Livers has been named Mr basketball in the state of Michigan.
March 20th, 2017 at 10:28 AM ^
to him! Isaiah Livers is going to be a hell of a player for the Wolverines!
March 20th, 2017 at 10:31 AM ^
March 20th, 2017 at 10:46 AM ^
President Trump, get off the blog and back to work!
March 20th, 2017 at 10:49 AM ^
March 20th, 2017 at 10:53 AM ^
There is no restraint, you said Beilein can't recruit.
Trump has many a time used the same template of "I could say [insult X] about [person Y], but that would be very mean so I won't". The insult is still said behind the extremely thin veil of being above the insult.
March 20th, 2017 at 11:01 AM ^
saying Beilein can't recruit as sarcasm. i.e. "to all the haters who say beilein can't recruit, look at this awesome recruit."
but not wanting to be that guy who annoyingly made fun of the haters. this whole thing is annoying.
March 20th, 2017 at 10:33 AM ^
March 20th, 2017 at 10:33 AM ^
I will have some fresh highlights on Livers within a few days. Will also have a detailed scouting clip/report (as opposed to highlights) within a week or so. I'll be sure to share it on the board
March 20th, 2017 at 10:35 AM ^
He's going to be good. Michigan fans should be excited.
March 20th, 2017 at 10:42 AM ^
Gimme dat
TWSS
March 20th, 2017 at 10:41 AM ^
Kzoo Central won the regional, so they play in the state quarters on Tuesday at Lansing Eastern, if any local fans want to see him play.
March 20th, 2017 at 10:43 AM ^
with Grand Rapids Christian (2017 MSU Commit Xavier Tillman, 2017 Oakland commit James Beck, 2018 PG Duane Washington - multiple mid-major offers)
Definitely an uphill battle for Kzoo. They lost the first matchup at home by 2 in OT.
March 20th, 2017 at 11:05 AM ^
recruits with the best of them. Definitely a tough matchup.
March 20th, 2017 at 12:34 PM ^
...pay thousands of dollards, your child has tough classes and is held to a high academic standard. Or go to public school for free.
not really sure what dollards are, but anyways. My ex used to teach at Country Day and while some members of the basketball team had to pay for school, many others (i.e. the best ones) had scholarships so that Country Day could field an amazing basketball team and it wouldn't cost these players a dime to attend. I'm all about a quality education and these student athletes (yes, already at this age) be given opportunities to be successful, but let's not pretend that the parents of all these students are sending their kids to this school simply for an education. I'm not dogging private schooling, but if the education was the most important part, why are these high school students getting scholarships based on athletic ability?
March 20th, 2017 at 10:42 AM ^
so technically he wouldn't even need a scholarship
March 20th, 2017 at 10:38 PM ^
The Kalamazoo Promise pays tuition. A full ride athletic scholarship provides a lot more than that.
March 20th, 2017 at 10:55 AM ^
It is clear that Beilein has been trying to build a strong recruiting plan around the PF position for his system. As we've seen this year, having someone in that role who has the necessary size and versatility can really open things up. We survived with Novak and GR3 playing slightly out of position, but when he recruited Chatman and Wilson (among others) it was clear he's looking for that versatile guy.
My question is, how does he compare to other players we'd recognize? WIlson and Chatman immediately come to mind, but would be nice to frame his game and potential around other names. The hope obviously is that he can back-up Wilson next year and has time to grow rather being thrown into the fire and forced to play 20+ minutes.
March 20th, 2017 at 11:14 AM ^
I kind of like the idea of having Livers in the 3 position and having a taller pseudo center at the 4 kind of like how Wilson is playing. He can take over for Wagner when we went to go a bit smaller or Wagner needs rest, but he also provides an offensive threat.
March 20th, 2017 at 11:03 AM ^
Its kind of crazy that for the first time in about forever next year the worry will be about guard play and depth rather than the forwards and center position
March 20th, 2017 at 11:21 AM ^
I though we were in deep, deep trouble next year until X turned it around about mid-season and showed that he has B1G level skills (though he obviously has a ways to go, e.g., hitting the outside shot).
FWIW, Eli Brooks (the likely backup next year at PG) just lost in the state quarterfinals. While Brooks did lead his team to best-ever performances, Spring Grove plays in a much smaller division in PA than Livers' does in Michigan, so it will be a big step up for Brooks to even be able to play meaningful minutes next year.
Beilein will need to get creative, e.g., I'll bet MAAR will handle the ball even more next year. And who knows -- maybe DJ Wilson will turn into a point forward on occasion -- he turned himself into a 3-pt shooting, cold-bolded FT shooting big man this year, so anything is possible.
March 20th, 2017 at 11:21 AM ^
The way the W's are rising up the draft board...
March 20th, 2017 at 11:04 AM ^
March 20th, 2017 at 11:08 AM ^
mattD - since you've seen both of them live - how tall are they? Tillman looks 6'5" (not a few inches taller like most publications list him) and Livers looks like a legit 6'7" or 6'8".
March 20th, 2017 at 11:15 AM ^
Having seen Isaiah live and in person on many occassions, the same with Tillman, I'd say Livers is closer to 6'6 than 6'8 (was at least an inch shorter than Brandon Johns when they matched up against each other last week), and Tillman is a legit 6'7.
March 20th, 2017 at 11:26 AM ^
interesting. not what i was hoping to hear lol.
March 20th, 2017 at 11:47 AM ^
This pic taken in October sort of evidences the height discrepancy between Tillman and Livers
http://ipsbasketball.com/2017_mr__basketball_preview
March 20th, 2017 at 11:09 AM ^
But can he rain it in from three?
March 20th, 2017 at 11:24 AM ^
3-point percentage: 45 percent
http://www.mlive.com/sports/2017/03/meet_mr_basketball_finalist_is.html
March 20th, 2017 at 11:38 AM ^
OKAY IM IN
March 20th, 2017 at 11:17 AM ^
March 20th, 2017 at 11:19 AM ^
March 20th, 2017 at 11:58 AM ^
March 20th, 2017 at 12:06 PM ^
I've done extensive scouting on Livers, and I definitely think that will be an area of concern, at least early in his career.
March 20th, 2017 at 12:10 PM ^
March 20th, 2017 at 12:27 PM ^
March 20th, 2017 at 12:25 PM ^
Sent me some video, the guy can shoot from outside, drive into the paint and play the post. He is somewhat smallish to be a post player (6'6 realistically despite being listed at 6'7, 6'8) The thing that does need to happen is he will need a heavy dose of Camp Sanderson. 6'8 205 will get him thrown around in the Big Ten, but his potential excites me. The future is bright!
March 20th, 2017 at 12:26 PM ^
Obviously this run can't hurt recruiting. But Beilein has always been able to find players who will work and thrive in his system.
DON'T DOUBT THE MAN!
Can't wait to see Livers and other incoming freshman suit up.
GO BLUE!!
blue wall!!!
Sorry. However, he is 6-8 ad 220lbs.