When the Michigan men’s basketball team first lost Isaiah Livers to injury last December, Brandon Johns Jr. was thrust into the starting lineup.
It was uncharted territory for Johns, who made no starts as a freshman the previous season, but he held his own. The East Lansing native averaged 7.8 points on 47 percent shooting over a six-game stretch as Livers recovered.
Once Livers returned against Illinois at the end of January, Johns was relegated back to the bench. He scaled back his offensive aggression, scoring zero points in 18 minutes and attempting only one shot.
But against the Fighting Illini, Livers went down again.