Michigan's Moritz Wagner rounds out game

Ann Arbor — When you’re 6-foot-11 and can shoot the ball like a guard, there’s plenty of temptation to simply become a shooter who happens to be tall.

However, that was never the plan for Moritz Wagner. At least, that’s the way coach John Beilein looked at it and he was determined to help mold Wagner into a complete big man, one that could score at any position on the floor while mixing it up near the basket.

“I didn’t want to give in to this idea he’s a 3-point shooter,” Beilein said on Monday as Michigan prepared to head to Wisconsin for Tuesday night’s matchup. “I wanted to establish he’s a big man who can shoot, not a shooter who plays big man. So we didn’t want to give in to that too early. You saw it in the post, he had a nice drop-step lefty (against Nebraska). Now we can complement those two things.

“I still have to remind him in shooting drills, he and D.J. (Wilson). They’ll be shooting three times more threes than post moves and we want that equilibrium between the two.”

That equilibrium has been a big part of Michigan’s offense recently as Wagner is coming into his own as a sophomore. He scored a career-high 23 points in Saturday’s victory at home over Nebraska while shooting 4-for-6 from 3-point range.

In five Big Ten games he’s failed to score in double figures just once. He’s averaging 12.2 points a game for the season while shooting 61.1 percent from the field, the best on the team. Wagner has also been the Wolverines’ best 3-points shooter, going 23-for-48 (47.9 percent).

It’s quite a jump from Wagner’s freshman season when he averaged only 2.9 points a game and 8.6 minutes while making just 2 of 12 3-pointers.

“I guess it’s more confidence,” Wagner said. “I have trust from my coaches, my teammates and the experience of having one season behind me and knowing how it feels.”

And the key for Wagner, he believes, is buying into the fact Beilein wants him to be a complete player, not just a shooter.

“I’ve always had the mindset that (shooting the ball) is one part of my game,” Wagner said. “I don’t want to define myself as a shooter. Coach B always says you’re a big shooter or a big who can shoot. I want to be a big who can shoot but still want to work under basket, get rebounds, play tough defense and all that type of stuff and attack the basket.”

It’s the sort of big man Beilein has always been more comfortable using in his offense, however, the Wolverines haven’t had that luxury in recent years.

Following Michigan’s win over Nebraska, Beilein compared Wagner to Kevin Pittsnogle, the 6-11 big man that helped lead Beilein’s West Virginia teams to deep NCAA Tournament runs in 2005 and 2006, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2005.

Wagner admitted he’s heard the Pittsnogle stories from Beilein but isn’t sure of much beyond that, including which team he played for.

“He’s apparently a famous player in Coach B’s history,” Wagner said with a laugh.

Whether Wagner realizes it or not, he’s at least providing the Wolverines with the type of player they haven’t had in some time. It’s limited them offensively, but Beilein believes now some of those limitations are beginning to diminish.

“It’s been difficult with a non-shooting big the last three or four years,” Beilein said. “If your big guy is not a knockdown guy, you can’t play that way. Now it appears we have that weapon so now, not exclusively, but there are some games you might do it more than you don’t do it. It gives us better flexibility to score.”

Offense hasn’t been a big problem, however, for the Wolverines. Getting stops has, and that will be at a premium tonight when they take on a Wisconsin team that might be as balanced as any in the Big Ten.

With Ethan Happ in the post along with the versatile Nigel Hayes and guards that can score, it’s a challenge for Michigan.

“You couldn’t ask for a tougher team right now to go to,” Beilein said. “But at least we go there with a little bit of bounce in our step.”

Wagner said he’s fine after taking a shot to the head against Nebraska and is 100 percent for tonight’s matchup. Whether he scored 23 again or not remains to be seen, but with his confidence soaring, there’s little doubt he’ll be a big part of Michigan’s game plan.

It’s something he’s glad he can provide and something his teammates appreciate.

“His confidence has been through the roof these past five games,” senior Zak Irvin said. “With how versatile he is on the offensive end is great for us. Hopefully he’ll show that again because Ethan Happ is a great player and maybe he can get him in foul trouble. That would be nice for us.”

And that would mean Wagner is playing like a big man, not just a big shooter.

Michigan at No. 17 Wisconsin

Tip-off: 9 Tuesday, Kohl Center, Madison, Wis.

TV/radio: ESPN/950

Records: Michigan 12-6, 2-3 Big Ten; Wisconsin 14-3, 3-1

Outlook: Michigan continues to lead the country with the fewest turnovers per game at 9.1. The Wolverines have had 10 or fewer turnovers in 13 games with a season-low four vs. SMU. Wisconsin checks in at No. 24 in the nation, turning the ball over 11.1 times a game. … Wisconsin already has wins over teams from the ACC, Big East (twice), Big 12 and SEC this season. According to KenPom.com, Wisconsin has seven top-100 wins, the most of any Big Ten team.

mcharboneau@detroitnews.com

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