Reminder that Franz Wagner’s Game is about to tip (12:15 pm)
Search Germany U18 on YouTube.
They are playing Serbia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNsin-o0Lpg
Germany is in the white uniforms.
He’s # 22 (white jerseys) for those interested.
Good thing I looked back and saw this. I'd been checking out #11's skills. Pretty similar.
Haven't seen Franz sub in yet. He just subbed in and missed a short contested shot. He wasn't in long in the first two quarters.
Saw Franz play for a minute in second quarter.
Curb your enthusiasm.
He has Long way to go.
Are you basing these assertions on watching him play one minute, or on his lack of playing time? Regarding the latter, there are a number of reasons his time could be limited in this game unrelated to his ability.
Just too thin, Not strong enough, moves well without the ball, good vision and can make the open shot. Good positive teammate.
But not physical like iggy as a freshman. Needs a year with sanderson to bulk up and be able to play in the big. Can't get his own shot like poole and no way he plays the two on defense.
You can tell a lot in a short time if you LOOK.
Not sure why anyone would think he’d play like Iggy or Poole. He’s not the same style of player as either of them.
His shooting is good. He’s going to contribute for that reason alone. He’s not a primary ball handler. But he doesn’t have to be. He can attack close outs and has vision with the ball in his hands. He can guard the 2-3-4 depending on the matchup. Is he going to guard the opposing 2 if that player is a ball screen heavy, primary ball handler? Probably not. If the opposing 2 is mostly running off screens off ball or spotting up, he probably could. Just like he’s not going to guard the opposing 4 if it’s a traditional back to the basket burly post player. But if it’s a stretch 4, why not?
He’s a top 50 player, not a top 20. None of the scouting reports have suggested that he’s going to be a primary creator or a physical player right off the bat. So I can see why you’re underwhelmed if those were your expectations.
Can't get his own shot like poole
Dead wrong. He has one of the quickest and most accurate releases I've seen.
That's not what getting your own shot means
Like most young players, his off the dribble jumper is not his strength. He can get that quick release off the spot up or off screens, but is he going to do that consistently off the dribble early in the year? I doubt it. I’ve only seen highlights and a couple games, but I haven’t seen this from him consistently yet.
The kid is an incoming freshman.
I hope he is the greatest freshman to ever play at M. But the expectations that M fans have are simply unrealistic. He is Not Glenn Rice as a freshman. Let the kid be a kid. Grow, Mature and hopefully be a contributory factor as a freshman.
He will have his role on the team this year, cause we need shooting. He will work hard and stay positive. But to expect him to start and dominate are totally unrealistic.
Neg me all you want, it shows your ignorance as M unknowledgeable fans.
Go Blue,
Where are these arguments that he’s going to come in and dominate coming from? I haven’t seen any M fans treat him like a top 10 or 15 player. He is going to come in and contribute and averaging double digit points a game isn’t out of the question, but you’re making some straw men arguments.
I hope so. But averaging double digits as a freshman is tough.
Can be. Irvin and Poole averaged almost 7 per game in 12-15 minutes per game. Wagner will certainly be playing more minutes than they did as freshmen. If Wagner shoots 35%+ from 3 - which is not unreasonable - he should be around double digits if he’s getting 20+ minutes per game.
Do we think he can have a Joe Wieskamp-like year? Hit 60 threes. Ave 11 ppg? I'd take that. I think he'll get some decent shot volume on this team, given its makeup.
He’s going to come in and dominate.
He will be Big Ten Freshman of the year. He will be Big Ten Player of the year. He will lead us to an NCAA Championship. He will win the Naismith. He will tweet at Kate Upton and she will tweet back.
The only real unknown is where we will build the statue.
Iggy was over 20 as a freshman, of course he was going to be bigger. They are different players with a different skill set. He will provide better floor spacing and outside shooting ability, less ability to finish through contact when the offense breaks down and can’t create a good shot.
I had huge hopes for Iggy, and what a disappointment he was a one and done. Imagine had he stayed four years, how good he's have been.
Dude, you made a dumb comment. Happens to everybody. Just move on.
You don't have to be solid to play the game anymore. Trae young was a twig and still is and he dominated.
Jesus. Making a sweeping assessment after one minute. A new low.
The German coach is a big dude. He makes his players look small.
He missed a 3 and pulled down a board in the second half so far.
he is just nervous because he knows that you all are watching him.
Germany inexplicably removed Franz when they were down by 2 in the 4th, and Serbia proceeded to go on a 10 zero run. Franz just nailed a beautiful 3, but probably too little too late. Serbia is up by 11 with four minutes to go
Maybe we can see Juwan on the video tomorrow when he sees Franz in person. Hope tomorrow's game goes better
Franz showed a propensity for a hustle plays and smart decision making. His shot was not on today, something like two for 10 from the field. However, he took generally good shots in the flow of the offense. He has good hands and seemingly good instincts on defense. This was clearly not his best game, but I saw plenty of what has made so many people so excited about his commitment.
I would caution anyone looking for big performances out of him in this setup. It’s a national team event. These guys practice together a handful of days every couple of months. It’s like how Messi looks great for Barca but can’t get it done with the national team. Barca is built around him and the national team can only work with what it’s got.
I don’t know anything about Germany’s overall talent and their coach or system for the national team. No idea if it plays to his strengths or weaknesses. What I saw today was Serbia playing much more physical than Germany and going at them. Franz got in early foul trouble, so who knows how much that affected him the rest of the game. But Serbia was the more aggressive team top to bottom throughout the game and it showed in the result.
Yeah agree with that. Small sample, but it looked like Serbia was more talented. It was really tough for Germany to score at the rim, when contested, which was most of the time. Serbia looked to have some length that could run, put it on the floor, and get to the bucket.
I'm sending a case of Windex to FIBA and $25 so they can pay some kid to clean the frickin' glass. Those camera shots from behind the backboard ... good god.
I think it’s been noted by several knowledgeable posters that the hype train following Franz needed to be cooled off. The biggest thing for young players is consistency. He will have a few games or moments where he will look great, and certain posters and fans will be quick to deem him the next coming of Micheal Jordan. But there will be many times where he looks lost and out of place. He doesn’t move the needle much for projection of the season, this team just has too many holes and not enough quality depth. He will be nice piece for the next few years however and once he figures it out and his body matures, he can be a very good player for Coach Howard.
I see three top starters in Z, Teske, Livers. I envision Johns and Castleton both with a huge uptick. I see Brooks who is grossly underrated here. I see Franz coming.
What holes are you referring? I think we will be fine. Sure, we lost three great players, but effectively it was two, as Matthews was hurt most of year,and we did fine without him.
Our bench will be thin, but after this season is when we will have real holes....but not yet. And I expect a bunch of five stars who like Christopher, Burnett, Kessler, will be filling them.
I’ve always been extremely skeptical of Franz as a projected impact player as a freshman....the good folks here have him penciled in as perhaps the leading scorer on next year’s team, which is interesting.
That said, anyone can have a bad game. All that to say I’d probably advise to refrain from drawing conclusions from a single outing. My general rule of thumb is that you need 3 full games of evaluation to get a solid grip on where a prospect is at a given time in their development.
Do I think Franz is worthy of a top 40 type ranking....no. Nor do I think he’s lackluster based on one game.
He is 100 percent overhyped by this site. He will be a good freshman but people talk about him like a guy who’d be a top 10 prospect fighting for a top 5 draft pick after a one and done year
I haven’t seen anything close to what you’re saying, take a few plays off and fire some rounds into a tree stump
Being excited he’s playing for Michigan doesn’t mean people think he’s going to dominate every aspect of every game...
Don’t you realize that one game in the middle of the summer with a bunch of U18 teammates you’ve known for 2 weeks is the ultimate test of one’s college potential?
Serbia #13 is Iggy lite.
And it sounded like Mama Wagner was at the game.
Was Juwan Howard yelling expletives at him from the stands when he made a mistake?
Franz will be fine/better when he plays with a group he knows and can figure out what role(s) to play. Clearly the German kids did not know how to play well together/off of each other.