ANN ARBOR, Michigan — Patrick “Ricky” Liburd is unranked by most of the major recruiting services, a high school basketball player who, earlier this month, was looking for a new school after decommitting from Coastal Carolina. Before that, only a few mid-major programs, including some Ivy League schools, showed interest.
“I feel like it was a blessing in disguise to not be ranked a high-profile (prospect),” Liburd said in a phone interview this week, “because it kept me humble and it kept me motivated to keep going.”
It led Liburd, a 6-foot-6 wing from Florida, to a scholarship at Michigan. He’ll arrive on campus next month — his first time on campus, in the state, or even in the Midwest — as a member of Michigan’s freshman class.
Dusty May and his staff had open scholarships and took a swing at a potentially underrated recruit with long-term potential. Though May knows Florida well because of his time at Florida Atlantic, he hadn’t initiated contact with Liburd until this month.
Liburd (pronounced lie-bird) committed to Coastal Carolina in September and signed with the program in November. “Ricky is a big guard that can defend multiple positions, play above the rim, and can shoot the ball with range,” Coastal Carolina head coach Justin Gray said at the time.
After last season, then-assistant coach Zack Freesman, Liburd’s primary recruiter, left for another school. That was the main reason Liburd asked out of his letter of intent earlier this month. That’s when Michigan called.
Assistant coach Kyle Church, who’d been with May at FAU, “did a really good job of getting to know me and my family,” Liburd said.
Liburd knew about May’s past accomplishments in regards to team success and player development. Other notable programs reached out too, and Liburd narrowed his options to Michigan and Florida State.
“Florida State was a great opportunity because of the coaching staff and how connected they were to the NBA,” Liburd said. “But I still think that Michigan was a better opportunity for me and my family.”
Michigan was interested in a young, athletic wing with a good outside shot and high basketball IQ. Liburd transferred to Sagemont Prep, in Weston, Florida, for his junior year after a season at NSU University School (former Wolverine Jace Howard’s alma mater). Liburd won back-to-back state titles at Sagemont, tallying 29 points and nine rebounds in the championship over Victory Christian, the alma mater of Michigan guard L.J. Cason.
Sagemont was loaded — Matt Able is a five-star prospect headed to North Carolina State; Kevin Thomas is a top-100 player in next year’s class — and Liburd, a three-star prospect per 247Sports but not ranked by Rivals, On3, nor ESPN, had to find his role.
“I would describe myself as like an energy guy or an impact guy, because I do the little things on the court,” he said. “I just try to impact the game however I can to win the game, like rebounding, defending the best player, getting assists, cutting. Whatever needs to be done, like diving on the ground, that’s what I’m about.”
Highlight clips show off his 3-point shot and ability to play above the rim.
Michigan likely won’t need him to contribute right away, and that’s fine. He’s focused on getting acclimated to campus and meeting all his new teammates when he arrives in Ann Arbor in a few weeks. “It’s going to be really hard adjusting to that cold,” he said, unprompted.
He said he didn’t have any reservations about signing with a school he hadn’t visited. “How the coaches explained my opportunity, I think it was a no-brainer to go to Michigan, because of the level of development that I would get, how good the school is, how they’re a top-10 team in the nation, and the resources that they would have for basketball and my life after.”
Liburd was always a well-known basketball player on campus. But he recently shared a video on social media which the poster captioned “the Michigan effect.” Liburd, upon exiting a classroom, is mobbed by younger kids seeking his autograph.
“Things weren’t as crazy before I committed to Michigan,” he said with a laugh. “Yeah, that definitely changed things.”
