U-M's LeVert out for season with foot injury

Michigan has battled injuries, illness and youth challenges all season, remaining just outside the NCAA tournament bubble.

But the biggest blow came Sunday.

Junior co-captain Caris LeVert will miss the rest of the season with a left foot injury, U-M announced. He will have surgery this week.

With a 12-week recovery and rehabilitation period looming, his season is over.

"Caris has been working so hard this season, and for this to happen is very unfortunate," coach John Beilein said in a released statement. "If we know anything about Caris, he will do everything it takes to not only get better, but to help his teammates during this time. He is a tremendous young man who I will really miss coaching the remainder of the season. However, I am optimistic he will have a complete recovery."

LeVert, who leads the Wolverines in every relevant statistical category, suffered a foot injury last spring, complained of pain during the NCAA tournament and had surgery, sidelining him for a few months as he rehabbed.

"While this is obviously not what I wanted, I know this team will come together and be stronger because of it," LeVert said in a released statement. "Now more than ever, it is important for all of us to support this team. For me, I am familiar with the recovery process and what work lies ahead for me. I am very confident that I will return 100% and have already begun work to ensure that happens."

The injury apparently occurred on the final play of Saturday's 54-52 win over Northwestern, when Wildcats freshman Bryant McIntosh had a point-blank shot to tie the game and missed.

The ball bounced off the rim, LeVert leaped to tip it away, and the clock expired.

He landed awkwardly and, as teammates celebrated, he grabbed for his lower left leg as he lay on thefloor.

He hobbled through the handshake line, talking to the Big Ten Network before limping to the locker room. MLive.com reported he was on crutches after the game.

There are a number of other temporary issues — guard Spike Albrecht missed Saturday's game with an upper-respiratory infection, center Ricky Doyle played only 10 minutes suffering from something similar, and Zak Irvin struggled all game and was on medicine during the week — but LeVert is a huge loss.

He leads the team in scoring at 14.9 points per game, assists at 3.7, rebounds at 4.9 — even three-point field goal shooting at 40.5% — and U-M doesn't hide its end-of-game philosophy: Give the ball to LeVert and let him make decisions.

How valuable is he? On his way to an 18-point night Saturday, LeVert scored seven baskets and assisted on seven others, accounting for 14 of U-M's 20 field goals.

"I know I'm a big part of what we do offensively and defensively, so consistency is the key for me and for the team," he said on BTN.

Now the 11-7 Wolverines, who are 4-2 in the Big Ten, have to reset their season, which continues Tuesday at Rutgers. The offense likely will run even more through sophomore point guard Derrick Walton Jr., the only other consistent player, but the pressure probably will fall on freshman Aubrey Dawkins.

Dawkins, at 6-feet-6, has some of the size like LeVert to handle some of the role, though he doesn't have the creativity or ballhandling.

LeVert's future with U-M is uncertain. Though he'll have to be examined after rehab, the NBA remains a possibility. He sought evaluation from the advisory board after last season before returning to school.

ESPN.com's Chad Ford projected him as the No. 16 overall pick in his most recent mock draft, writing: "He's probably the best passing wing in college basketball right now, and shows a nice balance between scoring and getting others involved."

After watching teammate Mitch McGary go through a very similar situation last season, missing all of the conference season injured and still being drafted in the first round, LeVert has a model for that scenario.

Contact Mark Snyder at msnyder@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @mark__snyder.