Michigan Basketball: Predicting stat leaders for the 2020-21 season
By Max S.
Points: Franz Wagner
Last season for Michigan basketball, Isaiah Livers and Xavier Simpson led the team in points at 12.9 PPG. They were two of five players who averaged double digit points. That is incredibly balanced scoring.
But just behind those top two was true freshman Franz Wagner who averaged 11.6 a game. I think Wagner takes that next step and will easily lead Michigan in scoring this season. Over the last two months of last season, Wagner showed how good he can be.
At times he was Michigan’s number one option on offense. The biggest step that Franz took in my opinion was shooting from deep. He shot 38 percent from three over his last seven games.
No, That’s not Duncan Robinson or Nik Stauskas efficient, but it’s plenty good for a player who will do most of his work driving to the basket.
If Wagner can shoot between 35 and 40 percent from deep, it elevates his game astronomically. He showed he could do that at the end of last season and there’s no reason to think he won’t keep that up in year two.
Livers is back for Michigan and could give Wagner a run at points leader. If Livers continues to be one of the best shooters in the conference and continues to develop his shot creation, watch out for another big year from Livers.
With Simpson and Teske gone, I fully expect Wagner to take and to make a lot more shots this season and lead Michigan basketball in scoring.