The Wolverine

November 2016

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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14 THE WOLVERINE NOVEMBER 2016   INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS As a freshman last year, Wagner averaged just 2.9 points and 1.6 rebounds per game but provided energy whenever he was on the court. This year, the German native figures to be a bigger part of the rotation and may even become a starter before too long. Get to know Michigan's charismatic big man: Nickname: "I'd say the most famous one is Mo Weezy." Favorite restaurant in Ann Arbor: "I'll say Chipotle. We don't have them in Germany." Best meal he can cook by himself: "I think people underestimate my cooking. I would probably get some chicken with some sweet potatoes and some kind of sauce — maybe some coconut something. People would be surprised." Sports he plays besides basketball: "Definitely soccer. That was my first sport ever. That was really the only other one. I always played soccer as a child." Hobbies: "I used to play the guitar quite a bit when I was younger. I don't play much anymore unfortunately. I can still pull a couple of songs out of the bag probably. There's a lot of stuff always going on, so I just enjoy my free time watch- ing Netflix or hanging out with the guys and seeing friends." Favorite TV show: "'Prison Break' and 'Modern Family' are the two that I would put up there." Favorite movie: "I have to admit that I'm not a big movie guy but 'Inside Man' is a really good one, and then for sports movies 'Coach Carter' is a classic." Dream vacation: "When I wasn't living in the States, it was California. Now that I'm here it's different. Probably Hawai'i, or Bali, or Australia, maybe somewhere in the Asian region. Just some place I've never been to." Favorite non-Crisler Center sports venue he's been to: "That's easy for me. This summer I went to California with my dad and my brother to watch Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals between Golden State and Oklahoma City. It was awesome seeing Kevin Durant and Steph Curry and all of the superstars at the game. It was great." Favorite professional athlete: "Un- fortunately he just retired but I would say Kevin Garnett. He's always been my idol." Role model: "I would say my dad and my brother are up there, but I don't really have one particular person in mind." Why he chose basketball over soc- cer: "I actually had a hard time decid- ing which one to play more. Obviously my height played a role. I knew I was going to be pretty tall at some point. I didn't know I would be this tall, but that's one reason. Also, at soccer I had to work a lot to be any good. With basketball it was more natural and just came easier to me." His overall U-M experience: "It's huge. Sometimes I just stand here in the gym and see that Block M, and I realize that I'm actually at Michigan. I get really excited about that. I enjoy every day, and I really like the people at Michigan. "It has a lot to do with Ann Arbor, too. The people are really outgoing and open to all others. That helped me when I had issues in the beginning." — Brandon Brown Wagner set career highs with 19 points and two blocks in the 102-47 win over Charlotte at last year's Battle 4 Atlantis Nov. 26. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN Getting To Know Sophomore Forward Moritz Wagner "I was following the game the other day. For you Catholics out there, I don't know if I'm in trouble, but I was looking at my phone dur- ing a wedding mass on Saturday and that … probably didn't give me ab- solution for that. But I was following the game on the phone. I probably shouldn't have told the bride and the groom that just now either." — Head basketball coach John Beilein during his media day press conference, talking about keeping up with U-M's football games "I feel more athletic, more explo- sive. A lot has to do with just un- derstanding the system of Coach Beilein, watching a lot of games from last year. Just feeling more comfortable within the whole situ- ation I would say." — Sophomore forward Moritz Wagner talking about his growth in the offseason during the team's media day THEY SAID IT Senior cornerback Jourdan Lewis following his game- sealing, one-handed interception against Wisconsin "I don't know. I thought it hit the ground first. I was like, 'Geez, I've got the ball in my hand.' It was really crazy. It was definitely a play I'll re- member." PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN

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