Michigan Basketball: Wagner Talks Draft, With Teammates
Michigan sophomore Moritz Wagner appeared on “The Dak and Dunc Show,” and talked about his decision to apply for the NBA Draft.
The podcast, hosted by teammates Andrew Dakich and Duncan Robinson, involved Wagner talking about declaring for the draft, without an agent.
Asked what that meant, he responded: “It doesn’t really mean a lot, other than just saying I look into being drafted and you tell teams that your name’s out there. Other than that, it doesn’t mean anything.
“For two years now, there has been a rule that you can pull your name back out.”
Wagner has submitted his name to the NBA Advisory Board, a panel of experts able to give insight as to where a prospective NBA player might be taken in the draft.
“It’s definitely interesting, the feedback itself,” Wagner said. “It’s a great experience. You just sit in that room and hear somebody talk about your draft stock.
“One year ago, I was sitting at that same table, talking about how I was going to be on the court playing college basketball. Now I’m in this situation, which I’m very grateful for. It’s a lot of fun, to go through that process with all the other guys.”
Wagner noted he sat in on a conference with head coach John Beilein, Michigan’s assistant coaches and redshirt sophomore forward D.J. Wilson, who has also submitted his name for the NBA Draft, sans agent.
“It’s a business, dude,” Wagner said. “You have those certain ranges, and they’re going to tell you where you’re expected to be, to get picked. I don’t want to go into this too deep, but it’s very interesting. All of a sudden you’re sitting there talking about the NBA. It’s crazy.”
Robinson asked Wagner what he thinks has changed the most, since the time he was even trying to get playing minutes as a Wolverine.
“My confidence level just increased a lot, over last summer,” Wagner said. “Just by being here, working on my game. It gave me a huge confidence boost, and helped me this year.
“I had a different mindset coming into the season. As a freshman, you come in and you’re trying to figure out how to survive. All of a sudden you’ve got to spend a lot of money. All of a sudden you’re not at home anymore. Your mom’s not cooking your breakfast.
“You’re supposed to play your best basketball, and I wasn’t able to do that. The second year is a lot different. That’s a factor as well.”
Wagner is hoping to deepen his experience against better players in the NBA Combine, and further his knowledge, even if he returns to Ann Arbor in the fall.
“I can tell my kids, at least I have put my name into the draft once in my life,” Wagner quipped.
He also added he’s not thinking about returning to Germany to play basketball.
“I’ve made it very clear, I want to stay in college as long as possible,” Wagner said.
Here’s the full podcast.
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