Wednesday night’s Michigan basketball banquet was a time for celebrating the past year’s accomplishments, as well as the team’s individual awards. But after all of the festivities, the media got to speak briefly with Caris LeVert. After closing the book on the 2013-2014 season, it was time to look ahead.
LeVert let on that he was invited to the Kevin Durant Skill Academy, which takes place in June.
“Yeah definitely (it will be cool to go to Durant’s camp),” LeVert said at the banquet. “When I got the invitation I was excited. That’s definitely a big thing for me.”
One of the reasons it’s so big is because of the similarities between LeVert’s and Durant’s games. While LeVert is shorter, he shares Durant’s lanky build as well as his offensive versatility. His teammates even went so far as to crown him with the nickname “Baby Durant” his freshman year.
LeVert was also asked about the NBA. The guard confirmed that he submitted his name to the Draft Advisory Board and examined his options, saying “we did the process.”
“Me, right now, obviously I’m coming back to school right now,” LeVert said. “That’s 100 percent. I’m coming back.”
LeVert is projected as a top-20 pick by both DraftExpress and NBADraft.net in 2015.
The Pickerington, OH native took home two awards at the banquet: the Steve Grote Hustle Award and the Rudy Tomjanovich Most Improved Player Award.
Jordan Morgan gives final goodbye, thanks John Beilein
Nik Stauskas may have won the MVP award at the Michigan basketball banquet Wednesday night, but Jordan Morgan took home the most hardware.
The redshirt senior earned four separate awards on the night, all of them rather obviously deserved: the Wayman Britt Outstanding Defensive Player Award, Thad Garner Leadership Award, Bodnar Award for Academic Achievement, and the Loy Vaught Rebounding Award.
All of the departing players — that includes Nik Stauskas, Glenn Robinson III and Jon Horford — got a chance to speak at the podium. Morgan took the crowd back to 2007, when he was a junior in high school, and a conversation he had with John Beilein.
“I remember in 2007, when I was a junior in high school, you just telling me that we would rebuild this program,” Morgan said throughout a teary-eyed speech. “Just watching everything unfold, and looking back … we really did everything we said we were going to do years ago. And it was all hard work and perseverance and just proving everybody wrong. That’s what it’s been for five years now. It’s been an amazing time. Thanks for the opportunity.”
Morgan added, glancing up into the Cricler Center bleachers, “Even the hard times, when I had to take a lot of trips up the stairs.”
Michigan hands out unofficial awards
The press release from Michigan named players receiving awards at the banquet — but not all of the awards that were handed out.
The Wolverines had fun dishing out some more off-the-wall awards to each other. Here is the full list:
- Most generous teammate: Spike Albrecht
- Best dressed: Glenn Robinson III
- First to get married: Nik Stauskas
- Most likely to succeed: Jordan Morgan
- Corey Person Florence Nightengale most time in training room award: Max Bielfeldt
- Talks the most but knows the least award: Max Bielfeldt
- Best dressed assistant coach: LaVall Jordan
- Personal training All-American award: Glenn Robinson III