Franz Wagner hasn’t decided about his Michigan basketball future
Franz Wagner is expected to enter the NBA draft but according to Chris Balas of the Wolverine, he’s still deciding his Michigan basketball future.
Most Michigan basketball fans have been counting Franz Wagner as having declared for the NBA draft, even though he has yet to do so.
Wagner is being projected as a lottery pick in some NBA mock drafts but none have him lower than the early 20s. That’s why it makes complete sense for the 6-foot-9 sophomore to go.
However, some have started to wonder why Wagner hasn’t made an official announcement, and on the Wolverine.com Youtube channel, Chris Balas reports that according to two sources he spoke to this week, Wagner hasn’t announced anything because he hasn’t decided.
The entire episode covers a number of different topics, but near the end, the discussion turns towards Michigan basketball and Wagner specifically.
Now, to be fair, Balas and Austin Fox, as well as Clayton Safie, all clarified that they would be “shocked” if Wagner returned to the Wolverines for his junior season. That might not be the exact wording of all three but that was a general sentiment.
It also got me thinking, could Franz actually shock the Michigan fanbase and return?
Why Franz would be the one to do it
Then this thought popped into my head: If anyone was going to forgo the NBA draft and return for another season, it would be Franz Wagner.
For one, there’s no doubt that Wagner has a strong affinity for Michigan basketball. It started with his brother, Moe Wagner, who also passed up a chance to enter the draft after his sophomore season, to return for another run that ended with a national title game loss to Villanova.
And it’s not like Wagner needed to come to Michigan. He could have stayed in Germany, been paid well as a professional, and then entered the draft.
Wagner came to Michigan because he wanted to have that same experience as his brother and even though the Wolverines had a magical year in 2020-21, a COVID year isn’t really the same as a complete experience.
Think about the fact that Franz has never played in an NCAA Tournament packed with fans. Regardless of what happens next year, he would be a first-round pick.
He might even cement his status as a lottery selection and if he did return, Michigan could make a serious run at a national championship (it might anyway).
Like the others and everyone else who follows Michigan basketball, it would be shocking. But if anyone was going to shock us, it’d be Franz Wagner.