After emerging as Michigan’s most reliable scorer down the stretch last season, the beginning of Franz Wagner’s sophomore season hasn’t delivered the offensive fireworks most expected.
Wagner hasn’t picked up where he left off after averaging a team-best 16.6 points on 62 percent shooting over the Wolverines’ final five games last season. He turned down NBA interest to return to Ann Arbor, but he’s yet to cement his role in Michigan’s 2020-21 offense.
The Wolverines overhauled their ball screen-dominant system to accommodate the graduation of Zavier Simpson during the offseason, forcing Wagner’s role to evolve. Wagner is no longer on the receiving end of Simpson’s drive-and-kick passes, and the arrival of 7-foot-1 freshman center Hunter Dickinson has clogged driving lanes he exploited last season.