The expectations for Franz Wagner coming into the season were sky high. How couldn't they be,

right? After a strong finish to last season, his raw talent, and the rave reviews coming from

inside and outside the program. Prior to Wednesday night, he had posted two modest scoring

nights in the wins over Bowling Green and Oakland. Franz was doing plenty of things beyond

scoring. His rebounding numbers led the team at almost 10 per game.

His defenses noticeably progressed.

And he dished down five assists in total.

But we all know Franz can be a lethal score from inside and out.

And we saw a glimpse of that against Ball State in two different instances that were

different from games

one and two.

He stormed out of the gates with seven of Michigan's first nine points, including an and one

that preceded a burst of emotion from the sophomore.

Then, Franz tallied seven more in the first five minutes of the second half, capped by really

a counterpunch three that started Michigan's

overwhelming push down the stretch. What will be fascinating to watch the season is how all of

Michigan's offensive options ebb and flow in terms of doing what they're all capable of,

scoring and scoring in bunches. In the opener, Mike Smith and Sean D. Brown Jr.

really led the way. In the victory over Oakland, it was Hunter Dickinson as the focal point

in the second half and in overtime. Tonight, Wagner had those bursts at times. They didn't last the

whole game, but they teased what this young man can do consistently and what we saw from him

so much last season. I know we haven't seen a full Franz Wagner explosion this season, but his

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