Michigan Football: Is there good news about Franz Wagner?

We keep hearing whispers and different rumors about Franz Wagner, while others indicate good news. What does it mean for Michigan basketball?

When it comes to the Franz Wagner saga, Michigan basketball fans are getting a little impatient. There have been numerous rumors and whispers about the German wing, yet still nothing solid about whether or not he will be a Wolverine next season.

After Wagner’s professional team in Germany, Alba Berlin, wrapped up its season earlier this week, a decision was expected soon. Unfortunately, it still hasn’t happened, leaving Michigan basketball and its fans in limbo.

There had been some whispers that Wagner was applying to school and took his SAT test. Both of those things were confirmed by Sam Webb of the Michigan Insider ($). It’s not known if that means Wagner, is leaning towards the Wolverines but if he was going to re-sign with Alba Berlin, which already offered a contract extension, why hasn’t he?

Regardless, the fact that Wagner took those steps to go to school to Michigan has to be a good sign. That at least means the Wolverines are a legitimate option.

Webb also reports a couple of new tidbits that could give Michigan basketball fans hope when it comes to Franz Wagner. One is his brother Moritz Wagner.

While Moe Wagner obviously can’t tell his brother what to do, Webb said he believes Moe wants his brother Franz Wagner to have a similar experience that he did. Here is what Webb wrote:

"I’m hearing that Moe Wagner’s preference is that his little brother have the cultural experience that comes with playing stateside."

Another key thing for the Wolverines was the retention of assistant coach Saddi Washington, who was crucial to the development of Wagner when he played for Michigan basketball. He worked closely with Moe and the fact that he’s still an assistant should make the old Wagner’s recommendation even stronger.

On top that, some German flags started trending among some Michigan twitter accounts, most notably the account of Anthony Wright, a former Michigan basketball player under Beilein. Maybe he knows something we don’t?

Twitter rumors have always been accurate in the past, so we can all feel good about that right?

In all seriousness, it’s hard to gauge what the silence means. Yet, the fact that Wagner has worked on enrolling at Michigan and seems to have developed a relationship with Juwan Howard through Moritz and Saddi Washington is a good thing.

The program also knows how to get players to the NBA, as both Juwan and Moritz can attest to. Bottom line, whether Franz comes to Ann Arbor or not, I think I speak for every Michigan basketball fan when I say I hope we found out much sooner than later. The wait is killing me.