Nkamhoua to miss the remainder of season following wrist surgery
Michigan basketball’s awful season has taken another turn for the worse.
The program announced Wednesday that grad transfer forward Olivier Nkamhoua, the team’s second-leading scorer and rebounder, will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left wrist.
The injury will cut short Nkamhoua’s lone year with the Wolverines and bring an abrupt end to his college career.
“Decisions like this are never easy,” Nkamhoua said in a statement. “Playing with this injury became taxing and we knew something had to be done. I feel like I wasn’t able to finish what I came here to do; however, the support and love from the coaches, my teammates and everyone involved with this program has been so amazing.”
Nkamhoua, who spent his first four seasons at Tennessee, considered entering the NBA Draft last offseason, but opted to pull out and transfer to Michigan for his COVID-19 year.
He was voted a team captain at the beginning of the season and was having a career campaign in Ann Arbor. The 6-foot-9 forward started all 26 games and was averaging 14.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 33.4 minutes, all career-high marks.
No Wolverine has scored more points (384) or played more minutes (870) than Nkamhoua this season. He was shooting 51.2% from the field and 33.5% from 3-point range while taking on a larger offensive role at Michigan than he ever did at Tennessee.
“This is not how things were meant to be for Olivier,” coach Juwan Howard said in a statement. “From the moment he stepped on campus, he brought maturity, class, insight and leadership. I truly feel blessed that I was able to learn a tremendous amount from him both on and off the court. He was a true warrior playing with this injury; however, it was just time to do something.
“We know this will pass and he will return to have a successful playing career. We are so grateful to have been a small part of his journey.”
According to assistant coach Phil Martelli, Nkamhoua and the coaching staff knew he was going to have to undergo season-ending surgery at some point. It was inevitable.
It was just a matter of scheduling the procedure, which comes with an expected recovery timeline of three to four months, and finding the best date that worked.
“For the last several games, he’s been on eggshells, because what if this is my last game?” Martelli said on WTKA’s “The Michigan Insider” shortly after the program announced the news.
The brutal blow means Nkamhoua is the latest Wolverine who will miss time this season. Senior forward Jace Howard missed the first two months with a stress fracture. Sixthyear guard Jaelin Llewellyn didn’t make his season debut until Dec. 2 as he recovered from ACL surgery. Grad transfer forward Tray
Jackson missed four games with a nose injury.
Then there’s sophomore guard Dug McDaniel, who didn’t travel for Michigan’s last five road games as he serves an academic suspension. Senior forward Terrance Williams II also missed Saturday’s loss to Michigan State due to an illness.
That’s not even including Juwan Howard’s September heart surgery, which he had to work his way back from. He resumed his head-coaching duties 11 games into the season, on Dec. 16 against Eastern Michigan.
Through all that, Nkamhoua was a constant despite dealing with a injury.