ANN ARBOR -- Isaiah Livers has three father figures: his biological dad, his stepfather, and Juwan Howard. Livers butts heads with all of them.
The Michigan senior forward had an exchange with Howard, his head coach, during Sunday’s eventual overtime win over Oakland at Crisler Center. Big Ten Network cameras caught what appeared to be a heated conversation during a timeout late in the first half.
That’s not how Livers characterized it.
“He was holding me accountable,” Livers said of the second-year head coach. “He was just challenging me. Weirdly enough, that’s how we communicate. We argue in practice, we go at it during games, we go at it during scrimmages. It doesn’t matter because he just wants me to be a great player and I respect him for that.”
Michigan trailed 29-25 at the time of the exchange, which took place during a media stoppage with 3:43 left in the half. Shortly after, Livers blocked a shot before committing an offensive foul, his second of the half, that sent him to the bench.
Michigan trailed at half and by as many as six in the second half.
Livers scored 10 points in the second half and six in overtime to help Michigan escape with an 81-71 win. He finished with a game-high 22 points, making 6-of-8 shots, including 5-of-7 from 3. He added three rebounds, three assists, and four blocks.
Howard rattled off those numbers after the game.
“I think it was a nice little spark plug he needed to respond with the performance he did tonight,” Howard said. “So it’s great that I get an opportunity to help empower young men to go out and be the best versions of themselves. Isaiah rose to the occasion.”
Howard declined to say exactly what was said during the timeout. He did say there was at least one 50-50 ball where his team was not the first to dive to the floor, which disappointed him. It wasn’t an issue in Michigan’s opener on Wednesday.
“We’re developing that identity,” Howard said. “We’ll get better at it.”
Hunter Dickinson, a freshman, said Howard’s in-game coaching has met his expectations.
“I would be disappointed if he wasn’t holding us to that standard,” Dickinson said. “We know that Juwan demands a lot from us, but he doesn’t demand more than we can handle.
“He knows when we’re playing soft and not playing together. In those timeouts he was really challenging us to play tougher and give everything we had.”
In other words, for those watching on television who figured Howard and Livers were at odds, think again.
“He told me to play harder, get on the ground, grab 50-50 balls, rebound,” Livers said.
During the exchange, Livers’ co-captain, Austin Davis, appeared to reach out to Livers to keep him from stepping towards Howard.
Again, this is par for the course.
“Me and Coach Howard go at it,” Livers said. “He says he’s our father and we’re his sons, and he’s literally like my other father. We butt heads. I butt heads with my fathers too -- I have a father and a stepfather just to clarify that.
“He’s a father figure and he holds me accountable. He wants me to be a great basketball player and I want to do it for him.”
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Michigan’s Isaiah Livers on feisty exchange with Juwan Howard: ‘He was challenging me’ - MLive.com
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