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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It was the biggest game he’s been a part of to date, and setting foot into the Breslin Center to take on rival Michigan State certainly had a daunting effect for true freshman guard/forward Franz Wagner.
Wagner finished the game with 10 points on 40% shooting, adding 7 rebounds, but the Wolverines couldn’t pull out the victory, falling to the Spartans 87-69 on Sunday.
The environment certainly took its toll, and Wagner shared why it was such a different experience to go on the road and play a big rivalry game like he just did on Sunday.
“Great experience, a lot of fun playing there,” Wagner said. “Obviously, you’ve gotta be well-connected as a team, because everybody hates you. But I enjoyed playing there. Just good experience. I’ve never had anything like that happen before, where everybody hates you. You kind of feel that, that different energy in the arena. Had a lot of fun playing there.
“Obviously we would have liked to win, but yeah.”
The experience aside, Wagner is still searching for his footing.
Some games, he breaks out — like when he scored a career-high 21 points against Oregon in December. But in others, he disappears completely, as he had in the two interim non-conference games last month.
Against MSU, the players hesitated to shoot their shot at times, head coach Juwan Howard noted, which was something that was exemplified on film afterwards. Wagner saw that too, but also is careful not to spend too much time in hindsight.
So how does he fix that, passing up good looks in a game? Part of it is just continuing to get comfortable on the practice floor.
The more time he spends draining shots in non-competitive moments, the more likely he’ll be to take those shots in game time.
“I think, when you look at the film, you can see some shots we could have taken,” Wagner said. “But at the same time, after a game, it’s always easier to say we should have taken that shot. Because the possession doesn’t play out the way we wanted it to. I think it’s just important that we keep going into the gym, keep working on our shots. When the time comes in the game, you’re confident to take those types of shots.
“Sometimes, you just don’t feel good in the game and you’re not taking that shot, but just missing a shot can stop you from taking the next one. If it’s a good shot, you should take it. That confidence just comes from working out, I think.”
But it’s not a lack of confidence that makes a player like Wagner hesitate, per se.
Part of it is waiting for the right opportunity to strike. But, he’s aware that might not necessarily come on a given possession.
That said, he plans to continue to be aggressive in looking for offensive opportunities, hoping to see more games like December’s loss to Oregon than some of the 3-5 point efforts in non-conference play.
“Sometimes when I don’t shoot it, it’s not because I don’t think I can make it,” Wagner said. “I think I could make a better play shooting the ball. I’m never not gonna be aggressive when I’m out there. Stay confident, that’s what everybody’s telling me to do. So definitely trying to do that more.”
Wagner will have his next chance come Thursday, when Michigan hosts Purdue at Crisler Center. That game will tip-off at 7PM EST and will be televised on FS1.
