The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1202829
FEBRUARY 2020 THE WOLVERINE 39 Derrick Walton Jr., Point Guard (2013-17) The 6-1 point guard out of Detroit was a four-year starter for U-M. He played in 127 career games, which is 16th in school history. His 126 starts rank third all time. Walton averaged 7.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game as a rookie, helping U-M to an outright Big Ten regular-season title and Elite Eight appearance. He would average double figures in scoring each of the next three years — 10.7 points per game as a sophomore, 11.6 as a junior and 15.5 as a senior. Walton was Michigan's overarching leader in his senior season and led the Wolverines to a Big Ten Tournament championship after a plane crash the day before the team's first game in the tourna - ment. The team then went on to make its first Sweet 16 since 2014, before falling to Oregon in Kansas City. He had 13 showings of 20 or more points on the year, and added 5.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. Walton was the 51st Michigan player to surpass 1,000 points, and his career total of 1,471 ranks 22nd in program history. His 499 career assists check in fourth all time, while his 562 career rebounds rank 34th. He is the only player in program history to surpass 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 400 assists in Ann Arbor. Walton was not picked in the 2017 NBA Draft, but worked his way onto the Miami Heat's roster in 2017-18. He played overseas the next season, and is now with the Los Angeles Clippers, playing with a guaranteed contract for the rest of 2019-20. Moritz Wagner, Forward (2015-18) The Berlin, Germany, native is known to most as "Moe." It took the 6-11 Wagner some time to blossom into a college star. After averaging just 2.9 points and 1.6 rebounds in 30 appear- ances in his first year, he started all 38 contests as a sophomore and posted 12.1 points per game. He solidified himself on the national scene with 26 points in the round of 32 win over No. 2 seed Louisville in the NCAA Tournament. The following season, Wagner led the Wolverines in scoring and rebounding, at 14.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. The junior was a pick for All-Big Ten second team. He finished with two Big Ten Tournament championship rings, and was named the Most Outstanding Player in the 2018 tournament at Madison Square Garden. His 1,114 career points rank 44th all time in program history. Wagner departed after his junior season for the NBA, where he was picked No. 25 by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2018 NBA Draft. He was traded last offseason to the Washington Wizards, where he currently plays. SIXTH MAN Jon Teske, Center (2016-Present) The current Wolverines' starting center has progressed throughout his years in the Maize and Blue. The 7-1 Medina, Ohio, native played in 20 games off the bench as a freshman. The next season, Teske played in 41 games and backed up Wagner. He had a breakout campaign as a junior and started all 37 games with clips of 9.5 points and a team- high 7.1 rebounds per outing. That earned him U-M's Rudy Tomjanovich Most Improved Player Award for the 2018-19 season, in addition to an All-Big Ten honorable mention. This season, Teske is leading the Wolverines in scoring (14.3 points per game), rebounding (7.9) and blocks (2.1) through Jan. 16. He is the 10th U-M player to record 100-plus career blocks, and his current total of 141 rejections ranks seventh all time. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN