KO Stradivarius

July 6th, 2019 at 5:06 PM ^

This is fantastic news.  Nice and low key.  I assume Weasley is a nickname?  Funny how every one of his Instagram posts has a comment saying, "Come to Michigan".

Joined: 12/16/2014

MGoPoints: 30809

LKLIII

July 6th, 2019 at 5:16 PM ^

I keep hearing this, but can somebody with some real basketball knowledge outline what this means exactly?

What was our reasonable floor/ceiling (in terms of Big Ten play, making the NCAA, etc) without Franz, and what is our reasonable floor/ceiling now?

Joined: 11/06/2013

MGoPoints: 8927

CRISPed in the DIAG

July 6th, 2019 at 5:25 PM ^

I'm not your expert. But I think we should expect ok production from Franz because he's played against older maybe better competition than your typical recruit. The overall record of our team obviously depends on whether we are able to replace Mathews defense. We're still at a net loss of production re offense.

Joined: 11/08/2010

MGoPoints: 47566

kjhager444

July 6th, 2019 at 5:26 PM ^

I find it really hard to have put the floor below middle of the big ten this upcoming year with or without Franz- the Simpson/Teske combo plus the hopefully improved sophomores (specifically DDJ, Johns, Castleton) should be talented enough to have the floor be the bubble of the NCAA tourney.

Mo wasn't very impactful his freshman year for what it's worth, but this definitely makes the team better.  Michigan is still probably in the 2nd tier of the big ten, but if they can slide Livers down to the 3 they can have a really big lineup where the 4 and 5 can potentially shoot from deep (depending on CC's progress there).  Wagner's development and then filling in the 2/3 spots are what could take this team from solid to good.  Gun to my head, Sweet Sixteen is probably the ceiling, but the tourney is weird.

Joined: 10/13/2012

MGoPoints: 2674

Mr Miggle

July 6th, 2019 at 5:49 PM ^

There's absolutely no doubt he's been playing against better competition than the typical recruit. He was playing on a team that brought Derrick Walton off the bench. Franz was part of the rotation playing with and against grown men in a fairly high Euro league. He was also getting high level coaching.

Moe and Franz both started out with Alba'a junior team. Franz played in almost all the games of Alba Berlin's top team this year. He led them in scoring a couple of times and he's still 17. By comparison, Moe played in only four games for their top team, a total of 15 minutes.

Not only should Franz be able to play right away, he's at a position of need and an excellent 3 point shooter. That's the biggest weakness on Michigan's roster.

Michigan has a strong core of Simpson, Livers and Teske. We're counting on improvement from players who haven't done too much yet and/or contributions from freshmen to reach a high ceiling. The core gives a pretty decent floor, probably middle of the Big Ten.   

Joined: 10/07/2010

MGoPoints: 47773

BlueinKyiv

July 6th, 2019 at 6:46 PM ^

I agree totally Mr. Miggle.  Franz is positioned to have a much bigger impact his freshman year then did his brother Moritz.  We also have to remember that the NCAA is adopting the international distance for three pointers this year....yes, it's just psychological and they can all practice this year..but having the floor change from what you have used your whole youth does impact shooters.  Here we are bringing in a guy that shot just short of 40% from that distance and knows no other distance.  Now like college players he will take some even further back quite a bit in games, but again, that familiarity with the line cannot be underrated in my view. 

Joined: 04/05/2017

MGoPoints: 4236

SolidarityForever

July 6th, 2019 at 5:16 PM ^

This seriously raises the potential for this years MBB team! Is Wagner set at playing the 3, or could we see him at the 2 as well? I'm curious if the versatility of this team means we can put out our best five on the floor regardless of position, and just need to find one functional starter out of DDJ, Nunez, Brooks, Bajema, Johns, or Castleton. 

Joined: 05/14/2019

MGoPoints: 116

1VaBlue1

July 6th, 2019 at 7:15 PM ^

Seriously?  WoW!!!  I didn't think he'd even be looked at for the two!!  Maybe he is Magic Johnson? LOL!!  Honestly, I'd be good with that.  Simpson, Wagner, Johns, Livers, and Teske is a formidable starting five that leaves a LOT of raw talent on the bench.  I kinda like the way that looks!

Joined: 01/31/2016

MGoPoints: 127787