Michigan Basketball Next Breakout Star? Ricky Liburd Speaks + Morez Johnson Jr Analysis

[Hail Media Group presents Go Blue Hoops, where Michigan basketball’s past, present, and future all come together in one show. Hosted by former Wolverine great, 10-year NBA veteran, and longtime ESPN and NBC college basketball analyst Tim McCormick. Each episode goes beyond the box scores from championship memories and recruiting stories to sharp breakdowns of the season ahead. Insight, legacy, Michigan basketball. This is Go Blue Hoops. Hey everybody, today’s broadcast is presented by the leaders and best at Michigan Medicine. There’s a difference between an answer and a Michigan answer.

And to find your Michigan answer, visit MichiganAnswers.org. Want to welcome everybody to our midmay update for Michigan basketball on the Go Blue Hoops podcast. I didn’t personally expect that the podcast would continue into the summer, but the last two episodes went so darn well. So many followers, we said, “Let’s keep it going. As long as you guys are watching, we’ll keep talking.” So, the backcourt is set for Michigan, right? Elliot Cadeau and Trey. and the frontcourt looks deep and talented.

If Morez comes back, and I don’t think he will, Michigan has the best frontcourt in all of college basketball. Now, that leaves us with one massively important topic to bring up. Who will play small forward? A lot of Michigan fans were hoping that Juke Harris would say yes. He said no, and he’s playing at Tennessee. Well, you know, during our Michigan man interview today, I may have an answer for you on who will be the opening night small forward for Michigan.

All year long, I’ve been praising Ricky Liburd, a redshirt freshman out of Hollywood, Florida. 64 wing, fantastic slasher and shooter, a star in transition. and he’s got some two-way ability on defense and he is an elite worker and a really good kid. I think that there’s a really good chance that he could grab that starting position. He’s paid his dues. Dusty May loves him. stay tuned because you’re really going to enjoy our Michigan man interview with Ricky Liburd. A couple random topics I wanted to talk about.

I always like talking about Dusty May. He is nonstop and a relentless worker and his brand and reputation continue to soar. He’s constantly on the move. He just returned from Europe and we have a new assistant coach named Modi Maor who is really well respected on an international front. He coached in New Zealand. He coached in Israel. He coached in Japan. And the great value of Moore is that he is a mad scientist when it comes to basketball. Just like Dusty May, Dusty May studies basketball. He talks basketball.

He eats, sleeps, and breathes basketball. He is a tactical genius. And I think that Modi Maor is the same kind of guy. He’s known as a brilliant basketball mind. He’s very aggressive. He’s fiery. He really promotes team building. and it’s also going to improve Michigan’s international recruiting front.

I don’t know Maor, but if Dusty likes him, so do I. also another topic that I think is worth talking about is when you look at Dusty May, I am thrilled he’s our coach. and I hope that he coaches here for a long, long time. But the last couple weeks, I’ve just been a little bit unsure about the Orlando Magic. They’ve fired Jamahl Mosley and they’re searching. They’ve got a long list of coaches and I don’t want Dusty May to leave. Steve Kerr was just rehired by the Golden State Warriors.

We all know how good Dusty May is and the players and the coaches love playing for him. He’s universally respected and each year around this time there are going to be openings in the NBA and I just feel like in the back of his mind that he knows that someday he will give it a shot. Hopefully like John Beilein, he’s approaching almost 70 years old when he goes after it. but I’m really happy that he’s our guy. also he just received, talking about Dusty, a highly coveted role with USA basketball.

The U18 teams are playing later this summer in Mexico and Dusty was invited to be one of the court coaches in Colorado Springs. This is a really highly coveted role for sure. he’ll get a chance to work with the best players in college basketball. He’ll network with the greatest coaches in the game. He’ll build relationships with players from other teams and programs. You never know how that’s going to work someday. Maybe some of those guys will end up in Ann Arbor. But you know what we know about Dusty?

Everybody around college and NBA basketball is learning the same things. And last, the entire Michigan coaching staff is in Chicago for the NBA’s draft combine. I worked for the NBA Players Association after I retired as a player. I worked for the union for 30 years and that means that I attended the draft combine for the last 30 years. It’s an amazing environment for everybody.

The players, they get to experience the testing, the vertical jump, the shuttle run, the bench press, all of that stuff. as a matter of fact, Morez Johnson jumped 39 in. I can’t believe that a tall guy could get that high up. That’s going to do nothing but enhance his draft status. They do psychological profiling. they talk to each of the NBA teams. it’s really a great opportunity to boost your stock. They also have scrimmages in which you play against all of the other guys that are not considered lottery picks.

So, as for Dusty and his staff, it’s great networking. You see all of the player agents, you see all of the transfer portal agents, you see the NIL agents, you see other coaches and NBA executives. And most important, Dusty May will be there with his entire staff to support Yaxel, Adai, and Morez. pretty amazing. Two years, five NBA big men.

Also, Michigan coaches will be watching the games really close and all of the workouts and be aware of any potential players that see their NBA draft stock slipping a bit. some of these guys may want to come back to college for a year. And Dusty May’s got a great story to tell about a guy named Yaxel that was considering the draft, came to Michigan, and became a lottery pick. to me the one spot as Dusty and his staff watch all of the scrimmages is point guard.

Remember last year when L.J. went down with his ACL? if you don’t have backcourt depth at the point guard, it really puts you in a precarious situation. speaking of LJ, he’s rehabbing his knee. He’s working hard on his body. I expect a full recovery. But one thing to consider, my big question, under the old NCAA rules, L.J. would take his time with his rehab and be out all of next year and be 100% in 2027. The NCAA, however, changed the rule.

A player now has five years to play five seasons of college basketball. So for LJ, does that mean that he can return next season if he’s healthy, if his knee is strong, and then be able to maybe be that backup point guard that Michigan is looking for? Man, take your time, LJ. We want you back. but we want you back healthy and having fun out there. also, a couple of draft combine thoughts. Yaxel Lendeborg, I see him as a top 10 pick. He’s not going to scrimmage.

I would be shocked if he will, but he’ll probably shoot and he’ll probably meet with all the NBA teams. The one concern about Yaxel is he’s an older player, but the good thing is that he plays both three and the four. He can spread the court. He’s a 3-and-D guy, versatile defender, and at stretch four, that is such a highly coveted position. update on Aday Mara. He measured in 7 foot3 barefoot. Okay. He does not play barefoot. He’s 7 foot4 with his shoes and his orthotics in.

I look at Yaxel as a top 10 pick. I wouldn’t be shocked if Aday Mara’s status continues to rise and he’s not far behind. when I saw him cutting down the nets after the Elite 8 win. I love a guy that can cut down the net using scissors without using the ladder. I also remember with Aday Mara before the championship game against UConn, I was in the stands. I was there early.

I was watching him and he was working with a manager and he was drilling 17 ft jump shot after 17t jump shot. He made about 80% of these shots. I just my jaw dropped. I wasn’t completely shocked because I’ve seen him before and after practice, but it was a great shooting exhibition and I bet there were 30 NBA teams in the building watching him shoot the ball like that. They’re not going to forget that he showed what he’s capable of.

And with his length, shot blocking ability, ability to get up and down the court and rebound, Aday Mara is going to be a high lottery pick. And then last, Morez Johnson. Look, he’s not returning. I would be shocked. He is a top 20 pick right now from everything that I’ve seen. His numbers are too good. 39 inch vertical. I already mentioned that. 34% from three. He makes nearly 80% of his free throws.

He’s shown he has the ability to play impact defense. reminds me a lot of the Pistons Isaiah Stewart and so when I look at Morez, if he asked me my opinion, I’d say if you’re top 20, go to the NBA. He will be set for life. And here is why. let me use the name of a former Michigan player you probably remember. D.J. Wilson was drafted into the NBA in 2017 to Milwaukee. A lot of people said he should go back to school. He can improve his stock.

The number 17 draft and the number 17 pick not high enough. and so when I look at his numbers for his career, it’s really pretty startling. He played in 150 NBA games. He averaged 4.4 points per game. Not much of a career, right? Wrong. In his career, he made $13.38 million. And the NBA numbers are so much higher today than they were in 2017. So, you’re talking about generational wealth impacting the future of his family. And then also, maybe most important, take your shot.

You’ve been dreaming about playing in the NBA since you were a little kid. Go for it. If he comes back, Michigan has the best frontcourt in college basketball. If he doesn’t, I will be really happy for Morez Johnson, and we’ll figure it out. All right, I want to talk to you about the Michigan Man interview now, and I know you’re going to love it. Let’s talk to Ricky Liburd. Hey, Michigan fans. We will be right back, but first, a word from our sponsor. When prenatal surgery is your baby’s best chance.

When your sight is set on gene therapy for retinal disease. When a new airway is what you need to keep breathing. Only Michigan answers with specialized treatment options that aren’t available anywhere else in Michigan. We provide the nationally recognized care you need without having to travel out of state. Learn how University of Michigan Health answers the call at MichiganAnswers.org. Hey Ricky, I appreciate you joining us on the Go Blue Hoops podcast. congratulations. You’re a national champion. You’re going to get a national championship ring. You did the banner.

Man, what a year. What did you learn from the experience, man? I learned so much as far as the competitiveness, the energy, the tenacity. really just like what it takes to know go as far as we did.

You experienced the competition in practice, big rivalry games, winning at Michigan State, at Purdue, at Illinois. how without games, h how did does this help you prepare for next year? it’s just a great look to be able to see and like be courtside to what I’m going to be experiencing next year and you know the speed that we have to play with and like also like the first four minutes how it’s different from the last four minutes.

So just like watching and picking up some stuff that’s going on like during the game. I stopped by and watched 12 practices this year and after the first one on our podcast, I came on and said, “We have a future star that you’re going to have to wait one year to see and his name is Ricky Liburd.” visualization is so important. Did you find yourself like watching the games and imagining yourself covering a Kon Knueppel or you know somebody that would be at your position? How did you handle the visualization?

Yeah, for sure. I’ve been watching like Nimari and Roddy Gayle Jr. the whole year. just like I’m watching how they move on the court, watching how they play defense, how they switch. you know what they do to like help the team win and like those like small things like try to adding that to my game next year to help our team win. You’re a fantastic shooter, a strong ball handler, you’re speedy. What was for our fans?

What was it like before practice, after practice that, you know, because the coaches, they’re focused on winning a championship, but they also want to develop you. What did that look like? we can always like work out with some coaches like if we ask for it, they’ll probably call us to work out like when we have off days or after practice or before practice.

But we also have like managers like 24/7 like whenever you want to help you shoot to like rebound and you know give you drills and we also have an all-star game that we play after practice where it would be like the players who don’t play like the some of the other red shirts or you know people who don’t get as much minutes as you know they got and we’ll just like play with coach May and like we’ll run sets against the managers and like try to get a feel for the game.

Okay, so you’ve got to break down Coach May’s game. I promise he won’t listen to this, so you can be honest and open. What’s his game like? N it’s pretty good. He’s definitely a vocal leader and, you know, helping us like do where we need to be, do what we need to do to like be effective. I hope you never block this shot cuz that may not help you get on the court next year.

So, when you look at the hidden strength for Michigan this year, I think it was the competitive practices from the scout team. who was the primary matchup during practices that you went one-on-one, head-to-head with? I don’t think there was like a certain person because like we all switch and you know some days will be guarding me, some days Ellie would be guarding me, some days you know maybe Morez will be guarding me. So it’s like kind of different every single practice or every single scout.

Was there one guy that you just thought that I can’t stop him. This guy is too good. Like who’s the tough matchup? the toughest matchup. it’s really hard to say cuz like we have like the best team last year, but like I feel like our whole starting five was like really hard to guard especially Elliot Cadeau because he’s super fast and the bigs that we have is huge. So it’s hard to stop them also. So, you’re from Hollywood, Florida. three-time state championship, an elite prospect. Originally, you committed to Coastal Carolina.

How did that work out that Dusty May convinced you to go to Michigan? what happened with my recruitment was I committed to Coastal Carolina and the coach who recruited me, he like he left or got fired. I’m not really sure what happened, but it was like kind of bad communication cuz I really didn’t know. but then like two more coaches left ended up leaving. So yeah, it was just a sign, you know, to move in a different direction.

And Coach Church ended up seeing me and like a open run and you know, he liked my game. He said like I might have an opportunity to play at the school and you know, I jumped on that opportunity. What did that conversation with coach May go? Because there really wasn’t an opportunity to get quality minutes how did he convince you to still come?

My situation was you know different because I was recruited to like redshirt and taking the year to develop with like the best developmental program I feel like in the country. So, you know, I came in, having a plan on like working every day, being on the scout team in practice, you know, giving our guys a good look and while also like working on my game, and like trying to expand what I could do.

When you look at the Big Ten opponents, it’s so physical, the coaches are so good. as you’re doing your summer workout, what are the skills that you feel like you really need to continue to upgrade to be a factor in the Big Ten? And what are your workouts like each day? This is kind of your downtime before you come back to Ann Arbor. What are your workouts like? I have a pretty cool situation where like my agency has a facility for us to work out in.

So we’ll we’ll train for like an hour and a half. a whole bunch of sets off the ball. like shots or you know ball screen, getting to the basket, getting to a floater, like all those type of things with like defense to get like a real game like situation.

But and then we’ll like rest for an hour and then we’ll shoot like do straight shooting for another hour of like you know shooting on the move or shooting on a down screen, shooting off of a ball screen. things like that and then we’ll rest for like 30 minutes and then lift for an hour after. Fantastic. Do are there some other name players that are there? Trey McKenney was down there with me last week. That’s good. How’s Trey doing? He’s doing really good today.

Yeah. there are so many players nowadays with the transfer portal and NIL that are so worried about instant gratification. the whole process of having to be patient. You’ve probably learned some lessons that going to make you better in the long run just based on being patient and hard work that comes with that.

Yeah, for sure. it was great to just, you know, watch the games and like I had a conversation with coach Mike and we was talking about how none of our players on the team like played good every single game. like you’re not going to have like a superstar game every single game. So, just having the mindset of doing your best every single game and giving your all, but knowing that you don’t have to play your complete best like every single game.

That’s why you have, you know, your teammates to, you know, Michigan fans everywhere are really excited to welcome you onto the court next year. Can you provide a scouting report for those that have never seen you play? What are your strengths, weaknesses? What’s the scouting report on Ricky Liburd? really I feel like I’m just like an athletic wing. like a 3-and-D.

I could shoot, I can play defense, but I feel like my niche is like my defense and like I do the intangibles like I make the energy plays or if we need a stop, I’ll go get that stop. If we need a rebound, I’ll go get that rebound. you know, take a charge and maybe even setting a good screen just to get somebody else open. Like I’m just all a part of like impacting the game as like as much as I can.

I was impressed that it seemed like every sprint you won. you have a track background, right? Yeah, I did win track. What was your best event? I actually ran the 400 and I ran the 800 in high school. Good. I want to talk a little bit about the final four and beating UConn. It must have been thrilling. What is your favorite memory? was it the parade or the banner, the locker room or the confetti on the court? What was your favorite memory about the national championship? I feel like Yeah.

But when you know Ronnie threw that threw his best turnover of the season or of his life probably and you know all of us just running on the court and then the confetti falling down. I feel like that was the best part. How do you remember how late you stayed up that night? Shoot, I don’t remember. Probably like 3 4 a.m. Who’s your roommate? I stayed with Rez most of the year. How’s he doing at the draft combine? Have you talked to him? he’s doing good.

I really need to talk about him about talk to him about the John Fine because, you know, I’ve heard he’s been doing well. So, I need to check up on him, see how he’s not surprising. when you look at your team last year, championship squads have somebody that’s kind of like the alpha dog leader. Like when you go on the road and there’s a tough environment, you say, “I’m with him. everything is going to be okay.” Who is that leader on your team?

Who’s the guy that everybody followed from last year’s team last year? I feel like Elliot really took into that role as far as you know being a leader and you know trying to hype up the whole squad for every game. But yeah, he was he was one of the most vocal ones. Not I would say all of our seniors was really vocal, but I feel like he would be like the main vocal piece that we will have next year. We’re we’re all so impressed with Dusty May.

What’s it like playing for him? it’s amazing really just knowing that if I play hard and you know not dwelling on the last play and just looking on to the next play. and just you know making winning plays is like the most important thing. Like whether I play good or bad is not really the important part.

You know it’s just getting better and you know moving on to the next play. when Dusty coached you hardest, what are what are the things that he was telling you over and over, you’ve got to do this if you want to be a star? I feel like he mostly told me is like you have to guard to be able to get on the court and just play with physicality. I feel like that’s the area I improved most last year is just my physicality.

So, that’s what I plan on focusing on next year. Also, and you have NBA dreams, I’m sure. Is there a guy that you kind of study in the NBA as your favorite team? my favorite team is Miami. He, since I’m from down there, but, I feel like I watch a whole bunch of players.

I watch, you know, Shay, I watch Westbrook, I watch, Jaylen Brown, you know, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, but I feel like I would like watch mostly like how we both play is Jaylen Brown because like he’s more of a guard, on guard, and you know, he could do everything, you know, play defense and score the ball all three levels. Do the coaches show you NBA video? Do they cut it up and let you, you know, study the guys that you like the most? Like Jay? yeah.

I feel like actually during March Madness, Coach May, he pulled up a clip of, Jaylen Brown just using his body and his physicality to get to the basket. And, you know, cuz I like to just drive straight to the basket without creating any contact. But it’s way better to create contact first to have a better chance of like making a shot and not get blocked. So they pulled that up specifically for you so you could see Jaylen Brown. Yeah, that’s great.

Ricky, what’s the most points you’ve ever scored in a game? Any level? I think it was 36. I forgot who I played. I think it was. And I believe that you’re number zero, right? Yeah. Why? Why zero? that was just like I played with number zero a couple times back in the day, but yeah, like zero ones, five, and 10 are like my favorite numbers. Every time that I come to practice, you guys are in different shoes. How many pair of shoes do you think you got this year?

I’m not sure. Bob gave us a lot of shoes last year. I think I probably Give me a guess. I’m sure that you got one every time you advanced in the tournament, too. I think we got about 20. I want to say 20 to 25 And did you did you stay in the dorm on campus? I actually stayed at Hoover and Greene in the apartment closest to the gym. Okay. Did a lot of guys not have to live in the dorm. Yeah.

I think I think like seven players stayed at Hoover and Greene and like the other players stayed in the house. Did I see something where you used to play volleyball? Yeah, I played a whole bunch of sports actually. What else did you play? I played football, volleyball, track, cross country. I played tennis. Wow. And why basketball? Soccer. basketball is just like the most fun. I feel like it’s just the best to like get up and down and one of the most competitive cuz it’s not like a bunch of stoppage. Yeah.

How did you manage with the winter? I know that you’re from Hollywood, Florida, so it must have been really hard to get used to the temperatures. Yeah, and it was my first time like seeing snowfall, so like it was a really tough first winter, too. What about the football games? What did you think of the Michigan football team? Yeah, it was really fun going to those games. How many people actually show up is like amazing.

Did you get a chance to meet any of the Miami guys that are on the football team? I actually know I think I only know like one player. Okay. Yeah. I also kind of wonder I had a redshirt year too and it was really hard to manage the academics just because you know you’ve got rehab, you’ve got video, you’ve got film study, you’ve got you’ve got all this stuff but you’ve also got classes and homework.

How do you manage the whole academic piece? it was pretty hard. you know, I struggled the first semester and some of the second also because we had March Madness, so it was kind of hard to be present in class.

But I feel like once I got my schedule down to where I would as soon as I would get back from practice to start my work, like that’s when I was most successful. and not waiting until like right before I’m about to go to bed or waiting like till a certain time to do something just like as soon as I get back to my room just to start my work. I am I’ve really enjoyed talking to you Ricky.

You’re you’re you’re exactly the kind of Michigan man that we love to have playing for the Maize and Blue. you’ve got so many memories this year. when you look back on this season, what is the number one thing that’s going to stand out to you? And obviously winning a championship, that’s that’s pretty obvious, but maybe like one of those hidden moments, a conversation you had or a road trip or, you know, what’s that special memory?

I think that road game versus Purdue was a great experience. you know, the atmosphere was amazing and how we stuck together like during all the road games, but that one specifically like we really stuck together and you know we leaned on each other that game. And when you look at Michigan State, Illinois, Purdue, is there one hostile venue that you would love to have your name called in the starting lineup against who? Who would that be?

Like if I weren’t to choose Michigan State because I feel like that’s the obvious choice. I don’t know. We’ve had a lot of different people choose other venues. So it’s not then Michigan State. We don’t want to What did you not like about Michigan State? We don’t like Michigan State. I’ve got to be careful because my wife is a Michigan State Spartan. So I’ve always got to be careful. But I hear you, Ricky. I know what you’re saying.

So now the work starts. you know what it takes and you know the next four or five months will go a long way in determining next season. So just really wish you the best of luck. fascinating interview Ricky and I hope that we can spend some more time together when you get back to Ann Arbor. Yeah, for sure. Really appreciate you having All right. Thanks. So everybody, thanks for joining the Go Blue Hoops podcast. The Michigan Man interview with Ricky was fantastic.

We also thank our sponsor Michigan Medicine and just a hearty go blue to everybody out there. Go blue and same to you Ricky. Go blue. If you like this kind of content, please like, share, follow, and subscribe. And as always, go blue!]