The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MAY 2017 THE WOLVERINE 17 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Michigan head basketball coach John Beilein might not have been expecting two of his big men to flirt with the NBA this year, but he was more than willing to help when redshirt sophomore D.J. Wilson and sophomore Moritz Wagner told him they wanted to declare for the draft without agents. In fact, he encouraged them to go all the way with it, even though they'll be able to return if they choose. "We got great input from the ad- visory committee, and they looked at those facts," Beilein said. "I encour- aged them to look at this aggres- sively and go after it if they really felt it. I said, 'Don't go into this if you're not going after it all.'" Wilson and Wagner have until May 24 to withdraw their names. Of the two, Wilson seemed more interested in exploring the NBA route. Wagner said, "It's more about the workout [for NBA teams] than making a decision. "I don't know," Wagner added. "It's my first time going through this process, so we'll see. All I know is that it's going to be fun. I'm always someone who has tried to enjoy everything. "In the world we live right now, [with] social media, people talk to you. We're not dumb, too, so we kind of know where we're at as a player. Obviously, it was a topic and Coach B did a tremendous job being supportive, coming at us and play- ing an active part. That was great." Wagner plans on going back to Ger- many for 10 days before returning and going through spring workouts with his Michigan teammates. Wilson, though, plans to work out back home in Califor- nia. He admitted the idea of going pro has been in the back of his mind since the season started. "Going into the season, knowing that I had an opportunity to play — play my game," he said. "I came into the sea- son with the utmost confidence and just had in the back of my mind that if I got the things I needed that, at the end of the day, this opportunity was going to present itself. "It was the advice that I got from the coaches and from people back home — close-knit people like my family — just hearing things that they were telling me. It's just kind of a win-win situation. The good thing is I have a choice to come back or not, so having that option is a great thing and it's in my benefit." Both players are hoping to get in- vited to the NBA pre-draft combine that will occur May 9-14 in Chicago. Wagner started all 38 games, and averaged 12.1 points and 4.2 re- bounds per game. Wilson started 36 games, and averaged 11.0 points, 5.3 re- bounds and 1.5 blocks in 30.4 minutes per contest. "I expect they'll have various tryouts," Beilein said. "I would expect they're on the combine list … whether they get invited or not remains to be seen, and they'll be able to be much more informed with their decision. "It certainly would help us the sooner they make a decision, but I do not want that to be about us. I want it to be about them." Both Are Ready For The Jump By Brandon Brown Everyone knows that the NBA is a potential league, and both Wagner and Wilson are oozing with it. Wagner started all 38 games for Michigan in 2016-17 — one of just three Wolverines to do so — and averaged 12.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per contest. The rebound numbers should be higher, but his skill set allowed him to play away from the hoop a lot, which is what the NBA is all about for players that go 6-11 and 240 pounds. His offensive game is NBA-ready, but bulk, strength and defense still need to get better. That's exactly what NBA teams look for when it comes to developing stretch post players. Wilson is even more ready for the league. At 6-10 and 240 pounds, with supreme athleticism and three-point range of his own, he's ready to play the four in the pros right now. He averaged 11.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game this past season, and he also led the Wolverines in blocks with 57 be- cause of that athleticism and length. Since he's already been in college for three years, coming back for another does nothing for his draft stock except make him a year older. He should strike while the iron is hot and head to the league this summer. Another Year Could Put Them In Lottery By Chris Balas While Moritz Wagner and D.J. Wilson both made huge strides in 2016-17, they were also extremely inconsistent. Wilson went through a stretch during the second half of the season in which the coaches had to point out his lack of re- bounding, and it's hard to imagine him leaving on such a bad note — a missed box out on a free throw that led to a key put- back in a loss to Oregon and a botched layup in a one-point loss. He blamed himself for the loss in the postgame locker room — does he really want that to be his legacy? And is he really ready physically for the next step? Not yet. Wagner, meanwhile, sat on the bench down the stretch in two of the Wolverines' last three games, and not because of foul trouble. He is a future pro, but he — and Wilson — could be lottery picks if they come back and continue to learn from John Beilein and his staff. Both of them acknowledged they've thought about what this team could accomplish next season if they returned, and they've talked about it. They're roommates, after all. The op- portunity to be a college student comes around only once, and they should enjoy it before rushing to the NBA. POINT ❙ COUNTERPOINT WHAT SHOULD MORITZ WAGNER AND D.J. WILSON DO? Sophomore Moritz Wagner (left) and redshirt sophomore D.J. Wilson combined to average 23.1 points per game. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Frontcourt Duo Declares For The NBA Draft Without Representation