Franz Wagner got his taste of professional basketball in his native Germany. It was time to turn the page to the next chapter in his life, one that would take place in Ann Arbor.
Wagner was asked this week by a German newspaper why he chose Michigan over Alba Berlin.
“So that I can experience something new,” he told the Berliner Morgenpost. “So that I can get to know new people and a basketball culture. The players there have a completely different mentality. It’ll do me good if I can take in some of that.”
Wagner's comments, translated for MLive by a German professor, shed light on his decision to leave home and join the Wolverines, just as his older brother, Moritz, did several years earlier.
An Alba Berlin coach told MLive last week, before it was announced that Wagner would come to Michigan, that the 17-year-old would perhaps have better competition in Europe but would miss out on “the college experience.”
That assessment was spot on. Wagner said he had a great situation in Germany. In an Instagram post announcing his decision on Saturday, Wagner thanked his Alba Berlin coaches and added, "This club will be a part of me forever." It wasn't about what Alba couldn't offer. It was about Michigan.
"I'm just more interested in this college experience than I am in already becoming a professional basketball player -- leaving aside the fact that college basketball is already structured very professionally," he told the German paper. "But of course you don't spend your whole time thinking about basketball. You'll get enough of that afterwards (i.e. in the NBA)."
Wagner was asked if, in choosing college hoops, he worried about his basketball development.
"No, I don't have any concerns," he said. "Some things are done better over there, in ways we don't have in Europe. For example, the strength and conditioning is a completely different priority over there. With respect to the NBA, too, I know I need to get more physical."
Wagner will arrive in Ann Arbor -- after competing for Germany in the under-18 European Championship in Greece, July 27 through Aug. 4 -- likely needing to put on some weight. That was the case with his older brother as well. Moritz transformed his body over three years under renowned strength coach Jon Sanderson and became a first-round NBA draft pick in 2018.
Franz realizes he would play about half as many games in the NCAA as he would overseas, but sees the lesser load as a potential advantage for his body.
In weighing his future, Wagner had two good options. He discussed it with his parents, his brother, and trusted coaches.
“I am extremely excited to announce that I have committed to the University of Michigan,” Wagner wrote in his Instagram post, in English. “Ann Arbor, I can’t wait.”