Michigan freshman guard Franz Wagner played his best game of the year.
That line has been said multiple times throughout the season, because the freshman from Berlin is only getting better and better as the season progresses. His 22 points on 9-for-13 from the field and 3-for-5 from three, with five rebounds and three assists in a win at Purdue is just the latest "best game."
Michigan is in a stretch run, with four regular season games left before the Big Ten Tournament and a more than likely appearance in the NCAA Tournament. What do the Wolverines have in Wagner, its starting wing, that's averaging 10.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game? To examine this, we'll take a look at Wagner's season by splitting the journey up into three acts — his slow start, the ups and downs in the middle and the more consistent Wagner as of late.
Act I: A Slow Start
Wagner, started the year a bit behind. He didn't only have to adjust his game coming from overseas, but he arrived to campus later than fellow freshman Cole Bajema (Wagner arrived in August, as opposed to June). Then, Wagner had some bad luck. He had to recover from a wrist injury that held him out of practices leading up to the season, and forced him to miss the first four games. He didn't return until the Wolverines played in the Bahamas, winning the Battle 4 Atlantis behind wins over Iowa State, North Carolina and Gonzaga.
Wagner struggled out of the gate in the tournament. He hadn't practiced much in live action in over a month and hadn't played in a game since August in the European Cup. He was thrown into the fire against good competition, which is important to note.
He wasn't very comfortable in the offense, and looked a step slow on defense in the first four games of his season.
His start was a bit underwhelming, but who could blame him? There's an adjustment for any college freshman, even more for a freshman college basketball player and an even bigger one for someone who took the path Wagner did.
