Michigan will feature a nice blend of veterans and youngsters on its basketball team this winter.
One of those veterans — junior forward/center Moe Wagner — will likely start for the Maize and Blue this season, while an incoming youngster — freshman forward Isaiah Livers — is doing everything he can to earn a starting spot as well.
Livers explained that Wagner has been an outstanding mentor to him while adjusting to life in Ann Arbor.
“Moe talks to me more than I talk to my mom,” Livers laughed. “He’s helping me with everything — he’s a very positive guy.”
Wagner revealed that one of the things he learned about himself last year is how important positivity is.
“I found out that I work better in a positive setting,” he explained. “I’m very conscious about that, because I love being around people.
“We just have a great group of guys on this year's team. As for the freshmen, [shooting guard] Jordan Poole is a very confident player. Isaiah is a great defender and is physical. It’s hard as a freshman with everything going on — school, new surroundings — but he’s adapted well.”
Livers explained that he’s actually transitioned to college life better than he thought he would.
“Everything’s going great, even though it all happened so fast,” the 6-7 forward said. “I had to get here, learn so many little things quickly, and study them each night in my dorm. If I ever have a question on something, I know I can call up [fifth-year senior forward] Duncan [Robinson] or Moe and ask them if I’m doing it correctly.
“I’m handling the balance between academics and basketball better than I thought I would be. With academics, you always have a paper due at the end of practice, but we don’t leave here until 8:00 or 8:30 at night.
“I learned to get on my papers early at study hall and finish them right then and there so I don’t have to worry about anything after practice. I get a good night’s rest that way.”
Entering his third year in a college, Wagner has the rigors of the college lifestyle down pat. However, each season’s basketball routine is always different.
“Our approach is a little different this year just because there are so many question marks when it comes to roles,” the Berlin native explained. “Last year, the roles were pretty much set going into the season, but this year there’s still so many to be determined. Our mentality is to be very solid defensively and not give up easy buckets, and develop the offense one step at a time.
"Just because not everybody has a role yet doesn’t mean you have to worry about who’s going to take the late shots with this team — I don’t really care who does because it’ll be something that develops over the season. Zak [Irvin] was famous for taking late shots for us, because he made so many of them.”
Another player that excelled in late game situations last year was point guard Derrick Walton. Although he now resides in the Miami Heat’s organization, Wagner said he recently spent time with the Wolverines’ former point guard.
“He was actually on campus for a football game a few weeks ago, and we worked out together,” Wagner said. “It was still so natural, because we did it for two years. We’ll have somebody new there at his position this year— that’s just how college basketball is. It’ll be complicated, but it’s not like it's math or anything — it’s literally just playing a game, so if we have fun with it we’ll be alright.”
The Wolverines will certainly have a lot more “fun” this season if they’re able to win their rivalry games. In fact, Livers said playing in those contests are what he’s looking forward to most this upcoming year.
“I can’t wait to play Michigan State of course,” he exclaimed. “I also want to feel that Ohio State rivalry — I want to experience that intensity. We play them twice, so it’ll be crazy both times.”
Unfortunately, though, the Wolverines and Spartans will only meet once this season.
“It’s different, and I didn’t think they were going to do it that way,” the freshman said. “We have to take advantage of that one opportunity and beat them.”
Michigan State will likely be considered the Big Ten favorite heading into the year, but the Wolverines will be projected near the top of the league as well.
Wagner explained what it’s like going from the “hunters” last year, to now being the “hunted.”
“It’s something we’re embracing, but I also don’t want to overthink it,” he said. “That’s not my approach. I play basketball because I love it and it’s been like that my entire life. My mindset isn’t going to change just because the roles are a little different now.”
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