Michigan Basketball: Caris LeVert To Sit Out Remainder of Season
By Zac Snyder
Michigan basketball coach John Beilein has announced that Caris LeVert will concentrate on getting healthy and will not return to action this season.
The injury bug has struck the Michigan basketball team for a second year in a row. First it was Spike Albrecht prematurely ending his season due to ongoing hip issues and now it is Caris LeVert who will sit out the rest of the season. That makes for two senior co-captains to start but not finish the season for the Wolverines.
The decision was announced in a release on the Michigan athletics website, with the following quotes from LeVert:
"“After some prayer and talking it over with my family, Coach Beilein and the medical staff, we all feel it is best for me to concentrate on getting fully healthy,” said LeVert. “There is still some discomfort that does not allow me to help this team the way I want.”“I am so thankful for what Coach Beilein, the assistants and the medical staff have done for me during my collegiate career and in particular while I have dealt with these injuries.“U-M has provided me the chance to live my dream of playing college basketball and to earn a Michigan degree. There are really no words to express my gratitude for that as well as my love for all my teammates. I am so blessed to be part of this wonderful university and will forever represent the Maize and Blue.”"
LeVert was hurt on a seemingly minor play late in the team’s December 30 win over Illinois. Since then he has missed 15 games, only making one appearance off the bench on February 13 against Purdue. John Beilein has fielded questions about LeVert’s status for much of the season but has offered little details along the way. Today’s announcement brings clarity and finality, although it will surely disappoint fans hoping LeVert’s return would have resulted in a late-season boost.
With a record of 20-10 overall and 10-7 in the Big Ten, Michigan’s NCAA Tournament hopes are hanging in the balance. This week’s ESPN Bracketology projection has them as one of the last four into the tournament.
But LeVert’s consideration has to be about much more than what happens this season. He made a somewhat surprising decision to forgo the 2015 NBA Draft to return to Michigan but must now focus on getting healthy for the 2016 NBA Draft in which he will surely have to overcome concerns about his durability.
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The now officially LeVert-less Wolverines conclude regular season play with a Saturday home game against Iowa before starting Big Ten Tournament play next week. It may take a win over Iowa and a win in the first round of the conference tournament to keep the Wolverines’ tournament bubble from bursting.