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Michigan sophomore Mitch McGary smiles as he locks hands with freshman Zak Irvin during warmups at the Bradley Center last Thursday.
(Melanie Maxwell | The Ann Arbor News)
ANN ARBOR -- Michigan coach John Beilein was again asked if Mitch McGary will play in the ongoing NCAA tournament and again brushed the notion aside.
"We have no plan for Mitch to play," Beilein said Tuesday morning on "The Michigan Insider" show on WTKA-FM (1050). "Simple enough? Plans can change, but we have no plan right now for Mitch to play. OK?"
McGary has been out of the Michigan lineup since announcing on Dec. 27 his decision to undergo surgery to correct a "lower back condition." He averaged 9.5 points and 8.3 rebounds over eight games in an injury-plagued 2013-14 campaign before the surgery.
Since then, McGary has been deemed as being "out indefinitely."
Michigan, the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region, faces No. 11 seed Tennessee in the Sweet 16 on Friday (7:15 p.m., TV: CBS).
Even if the Wolverines are to win their next three games and reach a second straight national title game, the window for McGary to return to action is only 13 days.
The fact that McGary hasn't participated in a full practice since December hasn't quelled constant speculation surrounding his potential return this season.
McGary stirred some of that noise himself at the Big Ten tournament when he told reporters, "Let's get back to Dallas (site of next month’s Final Four) and we'll see. You never know what will happen."
That quote made headlines, but McGary also said, “I want to have a long career, so I really don’t want to injure myself again," McGary said. "It’s kind of timing and to make sure that my back is 100 percent healthy and that I’m not going to re-injure it again. Until I feel 100 percent, then I probably won’t be able to play."
McGary began early stages of rehabilitation in the first week of February and is now to a point where he can run and jump.
“I’m starting to move a lot more and be active," he said during the Big Ten tournament. "It’s a slow process, but it’s coming along."
Brendan F. Quinn covers University of Michigan basketball. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on Wolverines hoops. He can be contacted at bquinn@mlive.com