U-M Release:
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – University of Michigan senior guard Caris LeVert announced today (Saturday, March 26) he underwent a successful procedure on his left foot. The surgery was performed by Dr. Martin O’Malley on Tuesday, March 22 at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.
“After the NCAA Tournament, my family and I had the opportunity to have a consultation with Dr. O’Malley in New York,” said LeVert. “After a full evaluation, we discussed the most appropriate options for helping me and my injury as I move forward with my basketball career. After much prayer and family conversations, we were confident it was the right time to have this procedure done to make sure I reduce the possibility of injuries in the future.”
“We were pleased Dr. O’Malley supported how our medical staff handled Caris’ injury,” said U-M head coach John Beilein. “Even with that affirmation, he recommended this additional surgery would be in the best interest for Caris. We all want him to have a healthy and successful playing career after college and this procedure will only enhance that opportunity for him.”
“I would have recommended the same path the U-M medical staff followed by opting to let Caris’ injury heal without surgery in January and February in hopes of getting him back later in the season,” said Dr. O’Malley. “As we explored it further, we wanted to promote healing and prevention of a recurrence of this injury so we proceeded with surgery using enhancements that will yield success for years to come. Caris is expected to begin his rehabilitation in six weeks and with the expectation of a full recovery by this summer.”
This season, LeVert was a preseason All-Big Ten team member for the second straight season. He was also selected to the preseason watch lists for the John R. Wooden Award and the Jerry West Award. A two-time team captain, he averaged 16.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists – all career-bests – before missing 20 games due to his injury. He posted the program’s fourth triple-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Northern Kentucky (Dec. 15, 2015)
For his career he played in 103 career games, compiling a 98-46 record. He became the 49th Wolverine to reach 1,000 career points ranking 44th all-time with 1,070. He finished averaging 10.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. He was instrumental in guiding U-M to back-to-back NCAA Elite Eights (2013 & 2014) as well as the Wolverines first NCAA Final Four and national title game in 20 years (2013). As a sophomore (2014) he helped U-M capture its first outright Big Ten regular season title in 28 years (2014) and earn U-M’s first No. 1 seed at the Big Ten Tournament.