Getting to Know Halle Wangler
12/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2015
After joining the team as a walk-on in 2013, fifth-year senior Halle Wangler recently scored the first points of her Michigan career on Nov. 23. She comes from a family history of Michigan athletes, as her dad, John, was a quarterback at Michigan from 1976-80, and her brothers, Jack and Jared, are currently members of the football team. She talks about the basket she scored, what it was like growing up in a family that loves U-M, and her favorite story about her dad as the quarterback for legendary coach Bo Schembechler.
Q. You have had quite a winding journey to get to Michigan. How did that work?
A. I played basketball at Oakland during my freshman and sophomore years of college. I was offered a scholarship during my junior year of high school, so I committed pretty early. I redshirted my freshman season because of an ankle injury. At the end of my sophomore year, I decided to transfer. I had no idea where I was going to go, I just decided that I was going to leave. My dad is friends with Coach (John) Beilein. He was talking to him about how I was transferring and seeing if there was a chance I might be able to walk on here. I was then put in touch with (assistant) Coach Mel (Moore) and then had a meeting with Coach (Kim Barnes) Arico. The rest is history.
Q. What was it like realizing that you were going to get a chance to compete at Michigan?
A. It was unreal. If you would have told me that at the end of my sophomore year at Oakland that by the fall I would be a student-athlete at the University of Michigan, I would have said that you are crazy.
Q. What was it like for you putting on the Michigan gear for the first time?
A. I teared up. I remember it was right before classes were starting and the team was just getting back from the foreign trip. It was a surreal feeling. The first game I was able to put the jersey on was at Detroit and I really started to cry. That has been a dream for me since I had been a little, little girl. All I wanted was to play at the University of Michigan and wear that maize and blue. I wanted to represent the school that I love and that has been such a huge part of my life and my family's life.
Q. What is the earliest memory you have of Michigan?
A. I think I was around six or seven years old. I remember Bo (Schembechler) coming to my family's tailgate at the stadium. I remember talking with Bo and my dad and then going into the game with my dad and sitting on his lap. Just being around my family on those football Saturdays. We did it all the time as a family.
Q. What was it like growing up in a family that bleeds maize and blue?
A. It was unreal. You are surrounded by people who have so much invested in this university, and that carries over into family tradition. The University is so intertwined with my family, you almost don't know what is a "Michigan" tradition and what is a "family" tradition. There are so many pictures around the house of the kids dressed in maize and blue, me trying on my dad's helmet and jersey. He loves this place so much and this place, along with Bo, has taught my dad so much. I almost feel like I know Bo through my dad.
Q. What are your plans following graduation?
A. I really want to go into marketing, whether it is for the Big Ten or adidas. I might go into public relations as well. I would like to stay involved in sports.
Q. What is your favorite place on campus?
A: The Law Library. I love that place.
Q. What would you say is your favorite story someone has ever told you about your dad?
A. My dad actually told me this story. He was in practice during his senior year. It was cold, he wasn't practicing well and hadn't had a great last few games. He messed up in practice and Bo looked at him and said, "You are the worst quarterback in the history of quarterbacks." My dad looked back at him and said, "That's a lot of quarterbacks." Bo then kicked him out of practice!
Q. What was it like for you scoring your first Michigan basket in the game against USC Upstate (Nov. 23)?
A. Boogie (Brozoski) said that we were going to run this play for me. I came off the screen and got the ball. I was open so I thought I might as well shoot it. I didn't think it was going to go in. But it was so exhilarating. That has been my dream since I was a little girl. Everything I did basketball-wise, it was my goal to get to Michigan. Somehow, some way, I wanted to figure out a way to get here.
Q. When you look back on your experience at Michigan in 30 years, what do you think it will look like?
A. Such a bright spot. A spot where Coach Arico and the people around me have helped me become a better person. It has been such a joy. I am here with my brothers, I am here with my sister. Coach Arico, I can tell you from the bottom of my heart, I respect her so much. She has given me so many opportunities here. She is a huge part of my experience here. I would not be who I am today and where I am today without her in my life.
Q. What do you like to bring to this team?
A. Energy and just love. At the end of the day, people don't care how many minutes you played. Five years from now, no one is going to remember that you played 15 minutes or scored this many points. They are going to remember how you made them feel. Obviously I wanted to get on the court and score. That had been my dream. But I honestly don't care if I play another minute. I am content. I am fine because I know that off the court, helping other people and helping the university that I love is what is important to me.
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