Kalamazoo Central’s Isaiah Livers, a future Wolverine, is awarded the 2017 Mr. Basketball award Monday Mar. 20, 2017 at the Detroit Free Press.
Isaiah Livers plans to suit up for the defending national champion in basketball next season.
And the Michigan signee is not afraid to say it.
“How they’re playing right now, I don’t see anybody in the country beating them,” said Livers, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward and this year’s Mr. Basketball winner from Kalamazoo Central. “I’m putting pressure on them. I think they can do it.”
The Wolverines, considered an NCAA bubble team late in the season before a surprising Big Ten tournament championship run, are four victories from the program’s first national title since 1989.
Michigan (26-11), the No. 7 seed in the Midwest Regional, faces No. 3 Oregon (31-5) in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night in Kansas City, Mo. The winner advances to the Elite Eight to meet either No. 1 Kansas or No. 4 Purdue.
“They’re fighters. They never give up,” Livers said. “They’re playing really well right now. I saw them play crazy good against Michigan State (on Feb. 7), that 30-point blowout. I was like, ‘Wow, they just turned it on.’ ”
Livers, whose high school basketball career ended with a 66-46 loss to Grand Rapids Christian in Tuesday’s Class A quarterfinals, has been in regular communication with Michigan coaches and players since the NCAA tournament began.
“I try to leave Coach (John) Beilein alone. I let the mastermind think about the games,” Livers said. “I tell him, ‘Good luck, great game.’ Sometimes he replies, sometimes he doesn’t. He’s always so busy.”
On Monday, after accepting the Mr. Basketball Award, given annually to the state’s top senior, Livers predicted a Michigan national championship.
The Wolverines had 80-1 odds to win the title before the tournament began.
“That’s my Wolverine Dogs. They have to get it,” Livers said. “I think they’ll understand (the prediction).”
Livers, who chose Michigan over Butler, California, Michigan State and Minnesota, was impressed with Ann Arbor and the basketball program on his unofficial visit. He made a verbal commitment to the Wolverines in August and signed in November.
“I was like, ‘Man, I love this campus. I love the vibe. I love the coaching staff. I love the players,’ ” Livers said. “I broke it down and looked at the system. I want to get to the next, next level, so in order to be successful, I made the right decision.”
Morris Livers, Isaiah’s father, was glad he picked the Wolverines.
“We loved their playing style. It fit him like a glove,” Morris Livers said. “People thought he was going to Michigan State because they had been following Isaiah since he was a freshman. Coach (Tom) Izzo came to so many games. But Michigan was just a better fit.”