Michigan Basketball: Mo Wagner rains on Purdue
By Adam Renuart
In Michigan basketball’s win over Purdue last Saturday, Mo Wagner looked a little bit like Dirk Nowitzki.
When you think of famous German basketball players, two big men come to mind: Dirk Nowitzki and, of course, Michigan basketball‘s Mo Wagner. On February 16th, the natives of Wurzburg and Berlin met after a Mavs-Pistons game.
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That was a Wednesday. The next day, Wagner would hang 21 points on the Wisconsin Badgers. Since meeting a childhood idol, the sophomore big man has been on a roll, save for an average performance against Rutgers. In Minneapolis, he put up 15 and 7 boards against the Badgers. Rutgers was a solid 8 point, 6 rebound performance.
Then came a season-making game against Purdue. On Senior Day, Wagner missed his first shot, a three point jumper. He then proceeded to hit his next four from behind the arc. After that, celebrated with own variation of Dirk’s three point celebrations. But Wagner wagged his three-ball finger guns to the crowd, imploring them to get louder.
Wagner is learning to choose his spots on offense
Wagner invigorates the Michigan attack. Michigan’s offense, as often noted by the TV commentators, is not overly concerned with going towards the basket. In steps Mo.
The German big man is able to drive by almost any post player the Big Ten throws at him. From ball fakes and a go to behind the back dribble, Wagner is a problem. Caleb Swanigan, one of the country’s best forwards, looked confused at the German’s agility. The fear of the sophomore blowing by them means that the 4 and 5’s give Wagner some space.
That’s when things like the above happen. Wagner excels at using ball screens to free himself. He will drift to the three point line, where he has a few options. The threat of a drive always leads to a softer close out from his counterparts, and Wagner loves to drive.
However, as the Mark Snyder of the Free Press pointed out, it doesn’t always please John Beilein. The Michigan coach noted on the “Jamie and Stoney” show: “He will maybe try to do a few things a game, ‘Moe, what are you thinking?’ He’ll just double-team somebody or drive the ball into a crowd and hope something comes up. But he’s getting better at that.”
It shows in games like Saturday’s victory. A lot of time, his best decision is to stay outside the arc, where he’s shooting 42% from deep this season. Once he hits that first three, the confidence grows exponentially. After that, Wagner will hit a shot in your face, as he did to Minnesota’s Reggie Lynch.
Then came Saturday. As you’ll notice, even when Wagner does drive into the double teams Beilein mentioned, it occasionally won’t matter.
Wagner may have scored 22 of his 24 in the first half, but Michigan didn’t need his efforts in the second period. He came out scorching hot, torching both Swanigan and Isaac Haas. He showed off post moves, spinning baseline for a lefty lay.
The sophomore showed his pass fakes, deftly looking to Zak Irvin before draining a three. Purdue was demoralized, and Wagner had helped Michigan to a big enough lead that a second half comeback fell way short.
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The Wolverines head to Evanston to take on Northwestern Wednesday night. The Wildcat big men mostly top out at 6’8, save for 6’10 Barret Benson. Wagner should feast on the smaller players. After all, he’s dominated foes much bigger than that. And with Dirk on his side, how could things go wrong?