The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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APRIL 2018 THE WOLVERINE 25 in the championship game and saw all 7-2, 290 pounds of Purdue's Isaac Haas. The sure cure for narcolepsy stood in Michigan's path to the cham- pionship. "We played him three times, and the first time, I couldn't sleep afterward for a week," Wagner sheepishly admitted. "I felt like I cost us the game. Nowa- days, I'd definitely sacrifice that week of sleep for winning the third game, win- ning the champion- ship." That's precisely what happened, de- spite Haas' 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Beilein's plan to shut off the Boiler- makers' perimeter game worked to perfection in the title bout, 75-66. "I know my teammates have a lot of confidence in me, and I have confi- dence in myself," Wagner said. "It was like, 'I'm here again. You have to deal with me again.' "I embrace that. He still scored a lot. That's okay. He can score 60 if we win the game. That was an ultimate team effort. We did everything in our power to win that game." Wagner prepped for the NCAA Tournament planning to do everything in his power to extend Michigan's sea- son to the max. The elephant in the room, of course, in- volves whether he'll stay in the room once the Wolverines pack away the bas- ketballs. There's no ques- tion he'll look hard at the NBA, like he did last year. He once took a picture with Dallas Mav- ericks' star and fellow German Dirk Nowitzki. Nowitzki towered over Wagner back then. They see eye-to-eye now, and Wagner sees what might be. But tournament time isn't about the future. It's about now. The stage is set. "Regardless of your personal des- tination in the future, you will never come together like this again as a group," Wagner mused. "That's defi- nitely something that makes you sad to think about. "We play every game like it's our championship game. It's six games, and we'll see what happens. If we em- brace every day, we'll get rewarded for it." When he does exit, he knows what he wants Michigan fans to remember. "I don't want them to say, 'He's an incredible scorer, or rebounder, or de- fender,'" Wagner cautioned. "What's important for me is for people to see that I love this. I love playing basketball, and I love playing basketball for this university and for these people. "And that we won while I was here. That's why I am here. That's very im- portant to me, that people connect these two things to me. I love being here. I love this university so much. I give it my all." ❏ Wagner Is Challenging Michigan's Top Skyscrapers Moritz Wagner is certainly one of the most versatile big men ever to pull on the Michigan uniform. The junior can power inside, but also hit the three and put the ball on the deck. Here's a look at an all-time top five big men (6-9 or better) for the Wolverines. It's select company, with Wagner just on the cusp of breaking in. 1. Juwan Howard, 1991-94 — Howard played three seasons for the Wol- verines, making it to two NCAA championship games and an Elite Eight. He wound up scoring 1,526 career points (15.3 average) and grabbing 749 re- bounds (7.5 average) for the Wolverines. A career 51-percent shooter, Howard also accumulated 79 steals and 56 blocks over three seasons. 2. Chris Webber, 1991-93 — Webber found himself in the NCAA champion- ship game in both of his seasons in Ann Arbor. He scored 1,218 points over the course of two seasons, averaging 17.4 per game, while averaging 10.0 rebounds in his freshman and sophomore years. Webber also piled up 174 blocks and 103 steals. 3. Roy Tarpley, 1982-86 — Tarpley wound up scoring 1,589 points over the course of four seasons with the Wolverines, averaging 13.0 in his career, but 18.7 and 15.9 his last two years. He also averaged 7.8 rebounds per game, with 232 blocked shots. 4. Terry Mills, 1987-90 — A key component of Michigan's national champi- onship squad in 1989, Mills scored 1,405 points in three seasons at Michigan. He averaged 13.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game over the course of his career, while shooting 56.2 percent from the field. He also piled up 228 assists during his time in Ann Arbor. 5. Loy Vaught, 1986-90 — Vaught is another national champion from 1989 who proved very steady over the course of his career. He poured in 1,451 points over four seasons, averaging 12.6 and 15.5 in his final two years as a Wolverine. He was also a strong rebounder, averaging 8.0 and 11.2 in his junior and se- nior campaigns, respectively. — John Borton Mills posted 13.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest over the course of his career from 1987-90, and was an important player on U-M's national championship team in 1989. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS Wagner "You've got to find the right balance between stage/ drama and focus, but that's definitely part of me. It's always been part of me."