The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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FEBRUARY 2020 THE WOLVERINE 43 he said. "I was confident the first couple games, but I wasn't hitting my shot. "It definitely feels good when the ball goes in a couple times. But you've got to approach every game the same, take every opponent seri- ously and every practice seriously, so you build those habits that you need." FINDING HIS GROOVE While it hasn't come easy, Wagner looks more and more comfortable each time he takes the floor. U-M has needed him to step up offensively with junior forward Isaiah Livers sidelined with a groin injury the first few weeks of January, and Howard even played Wagner at power for- ward against Purdue when the Wol- verines went with a smaller lineup. Wagner grabbed some huge rebounds and altered big man Trevion Williams' game-winning attempt near the rim to send the game to a second overtime in an 84-78 win. Wagner has also sparked some runs with timely three-pointers, and How- ard is ready to lean on him for more. "Having spent weeks and weeks with him and he's been in it for some time now — Isaiah was out some of those games — other guys stepped up, and Franz was one of them," Howard said. "We knew at some point he would start playing the way we knew he can. "Speaking from an offensive stand- point, every player wants to see the ball go through the net. Fans as well as media, when it's not going in, start to wonder, 'Where is Franz Wagner?'" Those at Crisler Arena and in the Player Development Center never did, the coach insisted. They'd seen what he had done in practice since arriving on campus and knew it was only a matter of time. "Our coaching staff, myself in- cluded, just knew the amount of time players need to get in basketball shape for him to play at the level he's capable of playing," he said. And again, Howard has set the bar high with his expectations for his freshman. Having spent nearly 20 seasons in the NBA as a player and six more as an NBA assistant, even interviewing for NBA head coaching jobs, he knows talent and understands what it takes to succeed at that level. Hearing Howard call him a "pro" has been the ultimate compliment for a kid with the ultimate goal in mind. "That should motivate me to just keep going and do what I do, work harder than I do right now to get to where he thinks I can go; get to where I think I can go," Wagner said. "I want to get to my own po- tential here, first. It's just very impor- tant to stay focused and not look too far ahead." After all, part of college basket- ball life is enjoying the experience. To Moe, that was as important as the basketball aspect. He had a great three years in Ann Arbor, and while he ex- pected his brother would excel on the court, he hoped for the same of him on campus. "I'm obviously seeing this from a brother's perspective, so for me bas- ketball isn't necessarily primary," he said. "For me, the primary focus is, is he happy as a human being and does he enjoy his time at college? From what I've gathered so far, I think my brother is very, very happy there. I'm very proud of him that he made that decision on his own. He did it and it was incredible. "The potential … obviously, I think he's a very talented player. Whenever he is going to live up to that potential is when he's going to live up to that. That doesn't matter to me. To me, it's important that he's happy." The way Franz is working and the balance he lives by have big brother convinced his best days are ahead of him. "I'm not concerned about him whatsoever in the basketball depart- ment," Moe explained. "He will take care of that and I'm very, very con- vinced of that." Michigan fans are already seeing signs of it, with the promise of even better days to come. ❑ Through Jan. 21, Wagner has started all 13 games he's played in, and averaged 10.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game while shooting 43.2 percent overall and 33.3 percent from three- point land. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Head coach Juwan Howard on Wagner going through an acclimation period after returning from injury "We knew at some point he would start playing the way we knew he can."