Well, what’s the holdup?
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On what possible basis can you say that Nunez “made a lot of progress” this year? It certainly didn’t show in actual games.
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I would have to imagine that DDJ and perhaps Eli are waiting to see if Christopher comes. No real upside to them leaving now if they are considering it until they see if JC comes.
I just don’t know how any coach navigates this stuff once they oversign considering how the Big 10 offers 4 year guaranteed scholarships.
Coach Howard can’t just cut people or tell anyone to kick rocks other than strongly suggesting they won’t have much of a role.
Adrien so far reportedly values the degree and isn’t leaving without that diploma. If Dave, Eli, or both feel the same way, any scholarship issues isn’t their problem.
Another thing is that I think people are overestimating the odds of Livers returning. Especially with Nunez returning. I’m sure Juwan and staff know things and aren’t going to release that info, but if they are ok with Nunez returning when he was very clearly the house favorite to leave immediately following the season, that means there are likely several guys who are leaning towards leaving. Livers going pro would open up a lot of minutes and some of that logjam at the 3-4 spots, and I heard murmurings awhile ago that he really wanted to go pro after this year. I think there’s a decent chance it happens even if he doesn’t necessarily get great feedback similar to Nick Ward. It doesn’t necessarily make sense, but some people just want to play pro even if that means there is a high probability of being overseas or in the G League.
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There’s a lot of moving parts right now, that’s really not a question I or anyone not actually involved with the program can answer. Just because we haven’t publicly seen anything doesn’t mean it isn’t happening (or hasn’t already been made known behind closed doors).
and was cold open for Webber to pass before the time-out that shall not be named.
Vogrich was a demonstrably better player–for his Duke and Tennessee games alone.
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Who thought Nunez very clearly the house favorite to leave immediately? By all accounts the news that he was staying to get his degree was something we had know for a while. He may have been the player that fans wanted to leave immediately but that pretty clearly wasn’t the case with the coaching staff. Juwan consistently gave Nunez opportunities to play, that’s not something a coach would do to someone who is “clearly the house favorite to leave.”
Nunez being back has nothing to do with Livers. Livers still may decide to leave but I highly doubt Nunez being back has any bearing on that. If Livers wants to be back he will have a scholarship.
So you’re basing the assumption that people want to transfer on what then?
Multiple updates from credible insiders and general roster construction knowledge. Also, all the stuff MattR said. The staff is doing a lot of things that indicate they know players are leaving.
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Well, they are oversigned currently, and are looking to add JC at minimum, and perhaps a Grad Transfer.
There almost have had to have been some communication to the staff that there are some thoughts of transferring from someone. Kicking tires on Grad transfers just in case is one thing. Being oversigned already and absolutely would take a commitment from another high school player is another unless they feel like there is a real possibility that both Livers and Franz leave.
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Yeah, to be honest, I don’t see a strong case for Livers being drafted. Great standstill and transition three-point shooter and good positional size & frame. That’s about it, though. Not high upside, not a great athlete, doesn’t see the floor great, doesn’t have much in the way of shot diversity, unfortunately. At least not what was displayed in college.
It’s a weak draft, so you never know, but I am not super high on his NBA prospects.
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I don’t think this is how it works. I think coaches chase players they want and figure the rest out later.
Well when the B1G offers a guaranteed 4 year scholarship, you can’t exactly just sign 17 players and can assume you can figure it out either.
Nunez is already apparently a hard pass on “figuring it out” at his expense.
I don’t either but just from what little I’ve heard and the scholarship situation It just makes me wonder if they’ve already had a discussion about it. Juwan would clearly choose to keep Isaiah over Nunez for a scholarship spot and Michigan is clearly in a serious number crunch so if Juwan knows that Isaiah is likely leaving then it’d make sense that he would offer Nunez a spot, and even going as far back as Austin Davis if they’d been talking about it during the season.
But staying another year wouldn’t necessarily benefit Isaiah a ton either I don’t think. He definitely still has room for growth but you won’t grow more than when basketball is the only thing you have to focus on. Not classes or other things of that nature. Just calling it a gut feeling and reading tea leaves. I would love to be wrong though.
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It isn’t Juwan’s choice to keep one over the other man. He inherited guys on this roster until they graduate if that is what they choose to do whether he wants to keep them around or not.
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I do agree on that point.
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There is no offering Nunez a roster spot though, he had one already. Nunez being back for another year says nothing about Livers. I’m not saying there aren’t tea leaves to be read on Livers, but Nunez not transferring is not a source of those tea leaves. People were reporting that Nunez valued the Michigan education and would be sticking around back in January. His decision doesn’t offer any real new info, just makes it official.