NCAA: Moritz Wagner – the German hope in NCAA with Michigan Wolverines

Moritz Wagner plays for Michigan Wolverines in the NCAA – the League for College Basketball – and has now been selected as the Big 10 Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. This ensures a place at the March Madness, which could also increase Wagner’s chances of drafting.

For the second time in a row, Michigan Wolverines have won the prestigious Big 10 Conference title, with Moritz Wagner playing a major role in the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player (MOP) following his 75:66 win over the Perdue Boilermakers.

Wagner scored 17 points (7/11 FG) and 2 rebounds in the final and helped the Wolverines to defend their title and are automatically qualified for the March Madness. Michigan had only finished the main round of the Big Ten in fifth place, but was able to win three victories against higher seeded teams. Especially the victory against top-seed Michigan State in the semi-finals was a big surprise, with Wagner contributing 15 points.

Wagner plays in the NCAA for Michigan Wolverines in the college league in the USA. Meanwhile, the German is in his third year overseas and has become a top performer for the team of coach John Beilein. In the beginning things didn’t go as well for Wagner. As Freshman, the Berliner was only used sporadically, but this changed in his second season.

He helped the Wolverines win their conference, the Big 10, to earn a ticket to the March Madness. In the NCAA finals, Wagner once again drew attention with good performances and helped Michigan advance to the Sweet Sixteen, the round of the last 16. In the second round, Wagner presented the Louisville side with a career best score of 26 points. In the next round, however, the Wolverines lost Oregon 68:69.

In his Junior Season Wagner made another jump. The Foward became the undisputed top performer and already played double doubles in the first two games. Wagner scored 27 points (8/13 FG) against Michigan State’s rival, a new career high. Wagner was particularly dangerous from the outside and scuttled 47 threesomes in the season, more than any other NCAA player listed 2.11 metres or more.

The Wolverines are among the hottest teams in the NCAA, not least thanks to their success in the Big 10 Tournament. However, Michigan is unlikely to be rated very high due to the not exactly intoxicating balance of 28-7. The bracket of March Madness is determined by a committee and the performances play throughout the whole season.

The bracket will be delivered on 11. March, on the so-called Selection Sunday. It is to be assumed that Michigan will be bet no more than number three. Nevertheless, the chances for the Wolverines are not bad. A run to the final four, which will be held this year at the Alamodome in San Antonio, does not seem to be out of reach.

That’s not certain yet. Wagner had already signed up for the Draft 2017, but then withdrew. The German even received an invitation to the Draft Combine, where he could show the biggest hands of 66 players together with Harry Giles (now Sacramento Kings). Measured 27.3 cm for Wagner.

If Wagner is convinced again by this issue of the March Madness, this could be his ticket to the NBA. In the Mock Draft by nbadraft. net, the German is even ranked 30th. Pick led, other side didn’t have the Seven Footer on the radar.

However, this is still to be enjoyed with caution anyway, as it is still unclear whether Wagner will return to Michigan Wolverines for a fourth and final season.

Before his time in Michigan Wagner played for ALBA Berlin, where the native Berliner was trained. Wagner was also employed at BBL before moving to the USA. At the age of 17, the native Berliner already played several games for the men’s team of ALBA. When the record champion in the Global Games took on the San Antonio Spurs, Wagner was also allowed to play for one minute when he was blocked by Danny Green on his only roll.

In the future, Wagner will undoubtedly also be an option for the national team. For the juniors, the forward was already in use several times. In 2014, he helped the U18 to rise from the B-group when the DBB won the tournament in Bulgaria. Last year Wagner was once again on duty for the U20 and scored 16.1 points per game. The German team reached seventh place with their top scorer at the tournament in Greece.