The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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DECEMBER 2016 THE WOLVERINE 43 meant a lot, Wagner readily admitted. "Oh, it was very important, espe- cially since I wasn't able to go home at Christmas," Wagner said. "My folks came over here and we celebrated Christmas together, which was awe- some. I could show them everything. But being at home, in that environ- ment, is just so different. "Seeing all the friends … it was funny. Being back home, even though it had been eight months, it took two days and I was back in that family rhythm. Mama makes breakfast, and you don't have to take care of any- thing. It was kind of hard to get out of that." At the same time, he found himself looking forward to the return. This time, he wasn't venturing into the un- known. He instead jumped back into a world of opportunity, knowing his way around. "The atmosphere in the locker room every day … when you grow up play- ing basketball, from 8 until 16 or 17 years old, it's a hobby, then you real- ize: okay, I want to really do this," Wagner said. "I want to be serious. "You stay long in the gym. You work harder than others on the team. I was kind of used to being one of one or two guys on the team that did more. Now you come here and every- body on this team wants to do more. "We were all in the gym this sum- mer at any time, together. That feels really good for me, personally." Plus, he got a little taste of the Prom- ised Land last spring. He'd watched the NCAA Tournament. He'd heard all about it from older teammates. Getting there, and experiencing it, ramped up his game — not to men- tion his anticipation for this season — even more. "I remember last year, when we were on the bubble," Wagner said. "I remember talking to Caris [LeVert] and Spike [Albrecht] about being in the Tournament. I remember Caris saying there is nothing like it, and how hungry he was to be in New York and to play in March Madness. "When we were there, it just seemed so easy. It was just about this game. It wasn't about, okay, where are we in the league? What seed have we got? It's not about that. It's just about the opponent, five against five, and the ball. "It was so much fun, waking up in a different city." It wasn't so much fun, watching Notre Dame wipe out Michigan's 12-point halftime lead and sending the Wolverines packing with a 70-63 loss. For Wagner, the game featured way too much watching. He picked up four fouls in eight minutes, limiting him to six points and two rebounds after the strong perfor- mance against Tulsa. That one hurt. "Losing that game, even though it felt like we were dominating in the first half and halfway through the sec- ond half, was very, very frustrating on one hand," Wagner said. "On the other hand, it made us hungrier for the next year. "The standard increased right away — immediately. You feel like, okay, we made it here. Now we have the same starting five, the same team almost, with four incoming freshmen. Why can't we win two, three or four more games next year?" The sophomore carries a why-not attitude about everything into a sec- ond season in maize and blue. It's not about sitting. It's about how high the Wolverines will stand when all is said and done. "We're a very determined group, very confident," he said. "It sounds weird, because I'm a part of that group, but I don't think we know yet how good we can be. I'm very excited to find that out." ❏ Big Freshman To Sophomore Jumps Sophomore center Moritz Wagner hopes to take a major step up from his freshman season, when he adjusted to the college level in this country. Doing so certainly wouldn't be unprecedented for John Beilein's players at Michigan. Here is a look at a handful of performers who put it on fast-forward during their sophomore seasons in maize and blue: 1. Darius Morris, G, 2009-11 — Morris came in looking to take over as Michigan's point guard his true freshman season. He struggled to find his way early, and wound up averaging 4.4 points, 2.6 assists and 1.8 rebounds as a rookie. His sophomore season, those numbers jumped to 15.0 points, 6.7 assists and 4.0 rebounds. Morris led the Wolverines within a possession of beating Duke in the NCAA Tournament, and then moved on to the NBA. 2. Caris LeVert, G, 2012-16 — LeVert rode the wave all the way to the NCAA championship game as a freshman, but fit in as a role player, averaging 2.3 points per game, with 25 assists and six steals. The following season, LeVert stepped up to average 12.9 points per game, delivering 109 assists and 44 steals for a squad that reached the Elite Eight. 3. DeShawn Sims, F, 2006-10 — Sims saw his modest averages of 3.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game as a freshman soar to 12.3 and 5.4, respectively, his sopho- more season, with his scoring average the 12th best in the Big Ten. 4. Zak Irvin, F, 2013-17 — Irvin fit in well as an accompanying piece on an Elite Eight team his freshman year, averaging 6.7 points and 1.3 rebounds while serving up 13 assists. He asserted himself as a soph- omore, averaging 14.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game while tossing off 49 assists. 5. Nik Stauskas, G, 2012-14 — Stauskas didn't exactly struggle as a true freshman at Michigan, averaging 11.0 points per game with 52 assists. But he made himself the No. 8 pick in the NBA Draft after his sophomore season by soaring to a scoring aver- age of 17.5 points per game, with 118 assists. His two years as a Wolverine included the title game run and the Elite Eight effort. — John Borton Point guard Darius Morris more than dou- bled his point, rebound and assist averages from his freshman to sophomore year en route to becoming a second-round pick of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2011. PHOTO BY ERIC BRONSON