Olivier Nkamhoua of Michigan basketball will miss the rest of the campaign due to wrist surgery.
It will take him three to four months to recuperate. According to Nkamhoua, “decisions like this are never easy,” The U-M program made a statement. It became difficult to play with this ailment, so we felt we needed to take action. Although I feel like I didn’t accomplish my goals for coming here, the coaches, my teammates, and everyone else associated with this program have shown me so much love and support.
Nkamhoua, a graduate transfer from Tennessee, appeared in all 26 of the team’s games from the starting lineup. In those games, he averaged 14.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, and shot 33.3% from beyond the arc while shooting 51.2% from the field.Nkamhoua concludes with 138 games played and 84 straight starts during his time in college. In addition to grabbing more than 600 rebounds (612), he scored over 1,100 points (1,117).
The statement that was released said, “This is not how things were meant to be for Olivier,” Michigan coach Juwan Howard said. “He added maturity, class, wisdom, and leadership to the college right away. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have gained so much knowledge from him in both on- and off-court contexts. Even though he was a real warrior, despite his wounds, something needed to be done.
“We are aware that this will pass and he will bounce back to have a prosperous playing career. We feel incredibly fortunate to have played a tiny role in his journey.” It’s just the most recent terrible news for the Wolverines in what has been an extremely difficult season.The story started during the offseason when head coach Juwan Howard said he had required major heart surgery that had kept him out of action for more than three months.
By the time he came back, U-M had finished the season with a record of 6-7, below.500, and had lost its strength and conditioning coach due to an altercation between Howard and Jon Sanderson that resulted in Sanderson’s permanent departure from the program.
Jaelin Llewellyn, a point guard for the team who recovered from an ACL tear the previous year, had a concussion early in the campaign and missed months of action due to it.
That came about as a result of team captain Jace Howard’s stress fracture in the weeks leading up to the season; he didn’t play in his first game until January while recovering from what he later claimed was an incorrectly diagnosed ailment.
Dug McDaniel, who was suspended for away games during the second semester while he worked through an academic suspension, has also occasionally been absent from the squad. Nkamhoua has been a constant throughout, even though he has been dealing with a bothersome injury of his own for weeks.
Shortly after the news, assistant coach Phil Martelli stated on WTKA-AM (1050 in Ann Arbor) that “he knew Saturday was his last game.” “He didn’t feel like himself. It’s difficult because he wants to give everything he has—verbally, physically, and emotionally—even if he’s turning inside. Northwestern (8-18, 3-12 Big Ten) and Michigan (8-18) will play Thursday night at 9 p.m. (Fox Sports 1).