Two years ago, Franz Wagner had a decision to make. Stay in Germany and play professional basketball with Alba Berlin or play college hoops at Michigan. He chose the latter.
Two months ago, Wagner had another decision to make. Return to Ann Arbor for his junior season or forgo his remaining collegiate eligibility and enter the NBA Draft. Once again, he chose the latter.
Those leaps of faith paid off as Wagner was selected by the Orlando Magic with the No. 8 overall pick on Thursday night, becoming the first Juwan Howard-coached Wolverine to be drafted.
Wagner is the 14th Wolverine to be taken in the top 10 and is the highest-draft Michigan player since Nik Stauskas, who went No.