Michigan Basketball: Franz Wagner a breakout candidate in 2020-21

Great cutting/slashing

Wagner’s ability to create good looks for himself (without the basketball in his hands for an extended period of time) isn’t exclusive to out on the perimeter. He also can use his strengths (elite court positioning and awareness) to find great looks at the rim as well. He does this by acting as a cutter, which as previously mentioned, is his second most used “play type” in the half-court (behind spot-up shooting) again per Synergy. It also might be his most effective.

He ranked in the top 14 percent of all college basketball players in terms of cutting efficiency last season by averaging 1.4 points per cut and shooting 75 percent on all cut attempts. Backdoor cuts are already the most efficient ways to score the basketball (it almost always leads to a wide-open look at the rim) and Wagner is a master at the craft:

Notice the first snippet from the video above. Wagner bolts to the perimeter off of the inbound, which draws in his defender for the heavy closeout. Then, like clockwork, he passes it to Teske on the elbow and blows by his committed defender for the easy look inside. Notice how he uses his hands to initially shove by his man, almost reminiscent of a wide receiver bolting downfield for a hail mary pass; that is a pristine cutting technique, even at the professional level.

Wagner is like a hawk waiting to attack its prey off his cut actions. The second he notices that his surrounding defenders have their head turned away, he’s making a beeline for the basket. If not that, he’s leading his defender through a maze of screening and colliding players before slipping away towards the rim. His height makes him an easy find for passers (especially if a smaller guard is assigned to him) and his controlled finishing ability helps him when at the basket.

That promptly leads to the next part of this slide; Wagner’s role as an effective straight line, on-the-move finisher (otherwise known as a slasher). Take a look here:

The fact that his handle is rather limited has already been discussed; but as has been the theme of this breakdown, Wagner can work around it. He still finds a way to get to the rim (with the ball in his hands) rather consistently. 34.2 percent of his shot attempts were around the rim last year (post-ups not included); a lot of this was done in transition, attacking closeouts, and coming off of screens, as is displayed in the above video compilation.

He’s a pretty savvy finisher around the rim; he can finish with both hands and can also drive from either direction. He made 67 percent of his 97 shots inside (disregarding dunks) last season, which speaks to his effectiveness. He has good upper body control which allows him to finish through defenders, if need be, and uses his height to his advantage by using a scoop/hook layup (as can be seen in the first two clips from the video above); it’s tough to successfully contest.

Wagner’s offensive repertoire, in a nutshell, can be described like this: he makes the most out of doing the stuff that “takes the least.” He thrives in what can be called the “easy buckets” such as scoring in transition, off of quick drives/cuts, and out of catch-and-shoot situations. At Michigan next season, where many ball-heavy scorers will be present, that’s all Wagner will need to do.

He was good in his role this season and could become great in that same role next season, as he progresses and becomes a bigger focus within the Wolverine offense. On the other side of the ball, he will be just fine; as that might arguably be the loudest calling card for his game.