Franz Wagner (basketball)

Franz Jacob Wagner (born 27 August 2001) is a German college basketball player for the Michigan Wolverines of the Big Ten Conference. Standing 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in), he mainly plays the shooting guard position.

Franz Wagner
Wagner in December 2019
No. 21 – Michigan Wolverines
PositionShooting guard
LeagueBig Ten Conference
Personal information
Born (2001-08-27) 27 August 2001
Berlin, Germany
NationalityGerman
Listed height2.05 m (6 ft 9 in)
Listed weight93 kg (205 lb)
Career information
CollegeMichigan (2019–present)
Career history
2017–2019Alba Berlin
2018–2019→SSV Lokomotive Bernau
Career highlights and awards

Wagner, a native of Berlin, started his career with Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) club Alba Berlin. In 2019, he was named BBL Best German Young Player. Wagner has played for the German youth national teams, winning a gold medal at the 2018 Albert Schweitzer Tournament.

His older brother Moritz Wagner, a former Michigan standout, plays in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Early career

In the 2018–19 season, Wagner played on a dual contract for both Alba Berlin in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), top German league, and SSV Lokomotive Bernau in the third-tier ProB league. In May 2019, he won the BBL Best Young Player Award.[1] In Game 2 of the BBL Finals against Bayern Munich, Wagner scored a team-high 14 points, making all six of his shots.[2] By the end of the season, he was averaging 4.6 points in 12.4 minutes per game in the BBL and played limited minutes in the EuroCup.[3]

Recruiting

Wagner was considered a four-star recruit by 247Sports and Rivals.[4][5] Among the NCAA Division I programs that recruited him were Butler, Michigan, and Stanford.[6] On July 6, 2019, Wagner committed to play college basketball for Michigan under head coach Juwan Howard.[7] In doing so, he turned down an opportunity to sign a professional contract with Alba Berlin.[8]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Franz Wagner
SF		 Berlin, Germany Germany 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jul 6, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:
Overall recruiting rankings:   247Sports: 43
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2 September 2019.

    College career

    On 21 October 2019, Wagner fractured his right wrist and was expected to miss four to six weeks.[9] He made his season debut for the Wolverines on 27 November 2019, and finished the game with six points, three rebounds, and one block in 23 minutes in an 83–76 victory over Iowa State in the quarterfinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis.[10][11] On 6 December, Wagner posted a career-high 18 points in a 103–91 victory over Iowa in its Big Ten Conference season opener, as Michigan had six double-digit scorers, including all five starters.[12][13] On 1 March 2020, Wagner posted 18 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double in a 63–77 loss to Ohio State.[14][15] Following the regular season, he was named to the 2020 Big Ten All-Freshman team.[16][17]

    National team career
    Wagner with the German U18 team at the Albert Schweitzer Tournament in 2018

    Wagner played for Germany at the 2017 FIBA U16 European Championship in Podgorica, Montenegro. In five games, he averaged 7.4 points per game as his team finished in 13th place.[18] In 2018, Wagner averaged six points per game and helped Germany win the gold medal at the Albert Schweitzer Tournament, an under-18 competition in Mannheim, Germany.[19] In the 2019 FIBA U18 European Championship in Volos, Greece, he averaged 13 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, leading his team to 11th place. He missed one game with a back injury.[20]

    Honours

    Career statistics
    Legend
      GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
     FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
     RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
     BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

    College
    Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
    2019–20 Michigan 272730.8.452.311.8335.61.01.3.611.6

    Personal life

    Franz is the younger brother of National Basketball Association (NBA) player Moritz Wagner.[8] Moritz played three seasons of college basketball for Michigan and was a first-round pick in the 2018 NBA draft.[22]

    References
    1. "easyCredit - Franz Wagner". www.easycredit-bbl.de. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
    2. "Bayern vor der Titelverteidigung? München holt sich mit 82:77 in Berlin den zweiten Sieg in der Finalserie". www.easycredit-bbl.de. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
    3. "Franz Wagner Player Profile". RealGM. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
    4. "Franz Wagner, 2019 Small forward". Rivals.com. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
    5. "Franz Wagner, Germany, Small Forward". 247Sports.com. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
    6. Daniels, Evan (5 March 2019). "German star Franz Wagner considering college, pro options". 247Sports.com. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
    7. "German Guard Franz Wagner Signs, Will Join Wolverines This Fall". University of Michigan Athletics. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
    8. "Franz Wagner in Michigan - "Ich musste selber entscheiden"". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). 16 July 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
    9. Sang, Orion (21 October 2019). "Michigan basketball's Franz Wagner to miss 4-6 weeks with fractured right wrist". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
    10. "Michigan beats Iowa State 83-76 in Battle 4 Atlantis". ESPN. Associated Press. 27 November 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
    11. Wywrot, Tom (27 November 2019). "Michigan Earns Victory over Iowa State in Battle 4 Atlantis Quarterfinal". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
    12. "No. 4 Michigan tops Iowa 103-91 despite 44 points from Garza". ESPN. Associated Press. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
    13. Wywrot, Tom (6 December 2019). "Michigan Rolls Past Iowa Behind Six Double-Figure Scorers". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
    14. "No. 23 Buckeyes surge late to beat No. 19 Michigan 77-63". ESPN. Associated Press. 1 March 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
    15. Wywrot, Tom (1 March 2020). "Wagner Goes for First Double-Double, but U-M Falls to Ohio State". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
    16. "Big Ten Unveils Men's Basketball Postseason Honors on BTN" (Press release). Big Ten Conference. March 9, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
    17. Wywrot, Tom (March 9, 2020). "Simpson Named All-Big Ten Second Team; Wagner on All-Freshman Team". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
    18. "Franz Jacob Wagner (GER)'s profile - FIBA U16 European Championship Division A 2017". FIBA. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
    19. Sang, Orion (6 July 2019). "Franz Wagner, brother of Moritz, picks Wolverines". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
    20. Burkhardt, Dylan (5 August 2019). "What we learned about Franz Wagner at FIBA U18 Euros". UM Hoops. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
    21. "17-Jähriger gewinnt den Titel: Franz Wagner ist „Bester deutscher Nachwuchsspieler U22"". easycredit-bbl.de. 8 May 2019.
    22. "Moritz Wagner". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
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