Wagner Credits U-M Strength and Conditioning for Successful First Season
9/24/2020 12:18:00 PM | General, Men's Basketball
Not too long ago, Franz Wagner made a trip to Washington D.C., to visit his older brother, Moritz, now a member of the Washington Wizards.
Moritz, affectionately known as "Moe" by the Wolverine faithful, guided Franz on a tour through the Wizards' practice facility. On that tour, Franz did a double-take when seeing the weight room.
"I remember thinking, 'Our weight room is twice as big as theirs,'" Franz recalled. "That we have more space, more machines, more weights than an NBA team tells you right there how important it is to us."
For Wagner, training on the court is only part of the equation. To get ready for the rigors of a college basketball season, hours of hard work occurs in the weight room at Crisler Center, far away from cameras, microphones and screaming fans.
Strength and Conditioning is one of the seven pillars of the Champions Fund, an investment of unprecedented support in the most meaningful areas for student-athletes at the University of Michigan. The other six pillars are athletic counseling, nutrition, athletic medicine, international travel, career and leadership development, and recruiting.
Being from Germany, Wagner has seen both sides of strength and conditioning, contending that it is emphasized more in the U.S. than in Europe. The style of basketball is different overseas, requiring more finesse than pure strength.
To improve his own game, Wagner knew it was something he needed. Beyond that, he wanted it.
And so Wagner became a project for Jon Sanderson, the program's longtime strength and conditioning coach. His workout program -- dubbed 'Camp Sanderson' -- has been instrumental in helping nearly a dozen former Wolverines reach the NBA.
Wagner came to Michigan long and lanky, barely weighing more 200 pounds. He arrived one week before the start of his freshman year -- fairly late compared to the other newcomers, but not totally uncommon for international student-athletes.
In terms of development, he was behind. Sanderson brought him up to speed quickly.
"I needed everything last year," Wagner said. "I was skinny and wasn't used to the way we do things. Once he saw I had the potential to get a lot of minutes, he targeted me. We put in a lot of work before practices. He knows a lot about his field and he's very passionate about it."
Of the many things freshmen get adjusted to when coming to college, the routine has among the biggest learning curves. Wagner would lift before practice, mostly lower body and core, then hit the court for a two-hour practice. Then it was back in the weight room for upper-body work.
The emphasis on the lower body is no accident. Wagner says it is the most important thing for a basketball player.
"If you go back and look at my first couple of games, you can definitely see a difference in my body," he explained. "A lot of it was just getting used to the game, getting used to the practices. After a while, I wasn't tired anymore. I started to feel stronger during games. I posted up more and began to use my size to my advantage. And it helped defensively, too."
Occasionally, he would even work out after games.
"Sometimes it was tough, but at the same time, it could feel real good to get another workout in," Wagner said. "Most of the time, we'd do it if we had an off day coming up. Kind of like, 'Let's work out right now and worry about being sore tomorrow.'"
Michigan Athletics has six strength and conditioning facilities that total more than 74,000 square feet of space. The South Campus Performance Center (above) and Football Performance Center both opened in 2018.
As important as getting stronger is, basketball players need to be able to run up and down the court for minutes on end. Wagner and his teammates work on conditioning more during the summer because during the season, your conditioning comes during games.
"Conditioning is something Coach Howard stresses a lot," he said. "He always wants us to be in our best condition. It's so important for us because of the way we want to play. Better conditioning allows us to run faster in transition and get back to prevent any easy buckets."
"If you aren't in good shape, you won't play. If you're tired after one defensive possession, you can't be counted on offense. It's really important for the way we want to play."
Today, Wagner is listed at 220 pounds, a net gain of 15 pounds over his playing weight as a freshman. That's all muscle -- or "good weight," as athletes say.
Nutrition plays a role in those gains, too. For all the energy that is exerted through lifting or running, getting stronger requires eating properly.
"Sandman always tells me to get another plate," Wagner jokes. "After practice, we always make sure to get protein shakes. At training table, it's a lot of carbs, protein, vegetables. It can be hard, but if you're getting a lift in, you have to fuel up right away."
Every student-athlete at Michigan uses strength and conditioning programs, as they are crucial to development. Without it, games are harder to win and championship trophies become tougher to hoist.
Wagner came to Michigan with high expectations, figuring that a robust strength and conditioning regiment would be a vital piece to helping him improve his game. After a freshman year that saw him start 27 games and make the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, he is a burgeoning star.
"First, it prepared me for what to expect the Big Ten to be," he said. "The teams we play against, their players are very strong. You have to be ready for that. Because I got stronger during the year, I felt like I had more advantages. I could exploit players smaller than me.
"At the end of the day, basketball is a skill sport, but strength and conditioning is really important. If I didn't have it, I'd be a much different player. I wouldn't be as strong, wouldn't be posting up as much. If you want to be a top player in the Big Ten, you had better be strong."
The Champions Challenge is a fundraising campaign that aims to reinforce critical support areas for student-athletes at the University of Michigan, including counseling, career and leadership development, nutrition, athletic medicine, strength and conditioning, and recruiting. More than 20 percent of the Michigan Athletics annual operating budget comes from private philanthropic donations.
With rising costs and the significant financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Champions Challenge campaign comes at a time when the sustainability of these programs is very much at risk. Without the support of our generous donors, Michigan Athletics would not be able to comprehensively support our more than 900 student-athletes.
To learn more about the Champions Challenge, visit MGoBlue.com/challenge.
