Michigan Basketball: Wolverines will miss Moe Wagner next season
Michigan basketball will move on without Moe Wagner after the junior forward declared for the 2018 NBA Draft. This is a really tough loss for the program.
The Michigan Wolverines were spared in 2017 when Moe Wagner decided to forego in the NBA Draft and return to school. He wasn’t going to repeat that decision, though. Wagner took to The Players’ Tribune on April 14 to announce what everyone already suspected: that he would be moving on to the NBA.
“I’ve decided to sign with an agent and enter the 2018 NBA draft,” the German native wrote, ending one of the most important collegiate careers in recent Wolverines lore. This past season, Wagner averaged 14.6 points and 7.1 rebounds for the Wolverines. Both of those stats led the team, as did his 39.4% shooting from 3-point range.
At no point of the year did Wagner look more dominant than the team’s Final Four win over Loyola-Chicago. He scored 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the benchmark performance of his collegiate career.
He tried to push his team to a title against Villanova in the final but found himself as overmatched as his teammates. Nevertheless, Wagner leaves a big hole in the Wolverines. It may not be a debilitating hole, though.
The team is losing two of their top four scorers in departing seniors Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and Duncan Robinson, in addition to Wagner. But they’ll (likely) get another year out of Charles Matthews, a pivotal season from Zavier Simpson, and the return of NCAA Tournament hero Jordan Poole.
Nevertheless, the team will miss Moe Wagner next year, whether they’re ready to accept it or not. John Beilein also reeled in a huge recruiting class. 247 Sports ranks their class as third in the Big Ten and 16th overall. They are bringing in four four-star recruits, including East Lansing’s own Brandon Johns. The Wolverines will skew young, but that doesn’t have to inhibit them from making a third straight Sweet Sixteen appearance.