Michigan Basketball: Wolverines offer little on Franz Wagner return

Michigan basketball coaches Juwan Howard and Phil Martelli each addressed Franz Wagner’s status this week and it’s clear the expectations are still high.

Believe it or not, the Michigan basketball team will be back in action Friday night. Unfortunately, when the Wolverines take the floor it will be without Franz Wagner.

The former four-star recruit and top signee from the 2019 class has yet to make his debut for Michigan basketball after suffering an injury last month.

And after hearing both head coach Juwan Howard and top assistant Phil Martelli address Wagner in separative media interviews, it sounds like Franz is still a ways off from playing.

“Alex and our medical staff have done a great job in helping Franz get through the process,” Howard said via UMHoops ($), “but we don’t have a timeline right now at this moment.”

Wagner certainly won’t play Friday against Houston Baptist in the final tune-up before Michigan basketball travels out of the country for the Battle 4 Atlantis.

And from the sounds of it, Wagner won’t be playing in the opener of that tournament next Wednesday against Iowa State. In fact, it would be surprising if he saw the floor at all in next week’s tournament, even with some top teams potentially on tap.

“This process has been a frustrating process for him,” Howard said ($). “Any player would be frustrated, upset to see his teammates out there competing in practice and the games. Unfortunately, you cannot join them, but throughout the process, he’s been working extremely hard on his conditioning, doing as much as he can do, what’s allowed for him to do.”

While it’s fair to be concerned about Wagner’s health, the fact that his issue was a wrist fracture should prevent it from having long-term effects on his game.

That’s a topic that Martelli addressed with The Michigan Insider ($), saying basically, that whenever Wagner is on the floor, it will be without restrictions.

"“Basically, when he comes out to practice, he is able to do some warm-up. Some with the ball. He works extraordinarily hard with a manager on his footwork defensively. Jon Sanderson has him in peak condition. We’re not going to be dealing with any load management. All that nonsense, we’re not going to have worry about all of that. When he is given a full-go, he will be a full-go player in the rotation. I’ve noticed on the side baskets, he is starting to do some form shooting. And Alex Wong and Jon Sanderson have this young guy finely tuned.”"

Through three games, Michigan has scored an average of 76 points per game and does have a solid win over Creighton. But with teams like Iowa State and others such as North Carolina part of the Battle 4 Atlantis, it would be nice to have Wagner, giving the team its full complement of weapons.

But whenever Wagner is ready to play, we should expect him to play heavy minutes and start right away. The kid is that good and his scoring ability will be needed.

And just like the coaching staff, Michigan basketball fans are anxious to see what Wagner can do in a Wolverines uniform. For that though, the wait continues.