He’s waited a long time.

Now redshirt freshman forward Jordan Morgan will have to wait just a bit longer before he can play full speed with Michigan basketball team.

The 6-foot-8 Morgan is about a week from being fully cleared from shoulder surgery he had after Michigan finished its 2009-10 season. That will give him just enough time to be ready for contact when the Wolverines begin their European tour on Aug. 20.

“I feel like I’m ready,” Morgan said, his normally blue Michigan shorts soaked with so much sweat they looked black. “Still working on my wind a little bit. It’s tough when you haven’t played in a while, but I feel in pretty good shape.”

Morgan is cleared for all drills and half-court settings, just not full-court practice. But he’s just happy to play.

“I feel really good,” Morgan said. “I did a lot of workouts like a month before, a lot of basketball stuff non-contact, conditioning. Now it’s stepping up, taking it another step up.”

Smotrycz, Christian recovering from injuries

The season hasn't started and the Michigan basketball team is fighting injury issues.

Freshman Evan Smotrycz broke his right pinky toe playing Whiffle ball a week before he arrived at Michigan. It happened while he was running out a line drive. He ran to first, his foot hit a fence and his toe broke.

Smotrycz has long been a Whiffle ball aficionado.

“Oh, man, but yeah, I’m back and better than ever,” Smotrycz said. “It was a fluke thing. It was crazy.”

Colton Christian injured his left hamstring.

The two and Morgan have been cleared for half-court drills but not for full play. Michigan coach John Beilein said he expects all three to be ready for the European tour.

They haven’t missed much.

Beilein has been cautious about how he has handled practice. The Wolverines have practiced twice a day, usually with a lighter morning workout.

"We haven’t done anything full court; it’s been teach, teach, teach for three days,” Beilein said. “Full-court passing drills, but we haven’t played one bit of full-court basketball except maybe transition defense.”

Moving on

Former Michigan guard Laval Lucas-Perry was kicked off the Michigan team in June.

Wednesday, in his first media appearance since the dismissal, Beilein deflected questions about his former player.

"We wished him well,” Beilein said. “But we’re on to a new team right now.”

This and that

Sophomore Eso Akunne, a graduate of Gabriel Richard in Ann Arbor, is back practicing and playing with Michigan after sitting out the second half of last season with academic ineligibility. Beilein said anything regarding scholarships for walk-ons, of which Akunne earned one last year, will be determined later. … Michigan will play Syracuse in the semifinals of the Legends Classic in Atlantic City, N.J. on Nov. 26 and then face either Georgia Tech or UTEP the next day. … Sophomore guard Darius Morris said there is an 85 percent chance his parents will make the European trip.

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.