The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Thursday, April 12, 2018 — 7
Wagner, Matthews weigh the NBA
It’s the age-old question The
Clash famously put to music in 1982.
Should I stay or should I go?
That’s the predicament in front of
Moritz Wagner, as he mulls leaving
Michigan and entering the NBA
Draft for the second straight season.
As expected, though, the junior
center was non-committal about his
plans at the Wolverines’ end-of-year
banquet on Wednesday.
“It’s definitely a good problem to
have because I have great options,”
Wagner said. “This is the second
year in a row with no major injuries,
where I can stand here in front of you
and try to avoid questions about my
future.”
Wagner tentatively entered the
Draft a season ago, moving without
an agent to gain feedback on his
abilities and stock. He ultimately
decided against it. Scouts said he
needed to bolster his defense and
rebounding. The NBA was simply
“too risky.”
But the process wasn’t entirely
futile.
“(I learned) you got to give
yourself time,” Wagner said. “You
gotta be selfish, listen to your own
heart, gut, talk to your people (and)
take the time you need. Obviously,
there are deadlines, but at the end of
the day, listen to yourself.”
Time is even more of the essence
this time around, however. With a
late ending to the Wolverines’ season
following the run to the Final Four,
Wagner has 10 days to decide and
meet the league’s April 22 deadline.
“I’m old enough now to measure
that and be confident in my ability,”
Wagner said. “It’s more about a
very, very special place, and that’s
something that was very important
to me last year that I wasn’t ready to
(leave).”
The readiness of Wagner’s game
is, of course, the other side of the
equation.
Wagner indeed bettered his
rebounding, averaging nearly three
rebounds more than did a season
ago. He also scored a hair below 15
points per game and was virtually
unstoppable down the stretch,
leading the Wolverines to the
National Championship Game.
Still, Michigan coach John Beilein
— although undoubtedly considerate
of
his
players’
professional
aspirations — would rather prospects
be overcooked than underdone.
“We want you to be over-ready,”
Beilein said. “…We’re getting the
final information from the different
sources. Just make an educated
decision, and don’t turn back.”
That’s also the approach Beilein
will take in advising Charles
Matthews — the redshirt sophomore
guard
who’s
rumored
to
be
pondering the NBA too.
After a sluggish start to the
Big Ten slate, Matthews excelled
down the stretch as he continually
picked his spots more efficiently.
The turnovers, and more specially
the walks, dipped. The field-goal
percentage
rose.
That’s
why,
suddenly, the Draft is a possibility for
the Chicago native.
Matthews also has the option of
simply testing NBA waters. That
was, of course, the choice of Wagner
in 2017. Ultimately, it’s a nuisance
Beilein sees both sides to.
“There’s reasons both ways (to
enter or not),” Beilein said. “People
have seen them, people have come to
our practices. Sometimes, the testing
could show weaknesses they’re still
developing on. On the other hand,
testing could be, ‘Okay, I’m the real
deal.’ That’s what we’re all trying to
sort out.”
Will Matthews be one-and-done
in a Michigan uniform? Will Wagner
leave for good? One way or another,
April 22 is decision day for the pair.
“We’ve got a lot of data for
(them) to look at,” Beilein said. “And
whatever decision (they) make, it’s
gonna be a good one.”
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Junior forward Moritz Wagner decided to return for his junior season, and now he weighs his future prospects again.
Michigan takes first loss in Big Ten
It’s a match she’ll surely want
back.
Yes, many other components
factored
into
the
Michigan
women’s tennis team’s loss to
Northwestern on Sunday, but
all senior Mira Ruder-Hook will
remember is the third set she
couldn’t close out.
After blanking No. 11 Illinois
on Saturday, 4-0, the Wolverines
entered Sunday ready to face No.
13 Northwestern. The Fighting
Illini and the Wildcats were the
only two teams that were likely
to challenge Michigan for the Big
Ten Championship, and due to
Northwestern’s narrow 4-3 victory,
the title will likely belong to the
Wildcats.
A lot of different things needed
to occur for Ruder-Hook to find
herself in the situation she was in.
It started with a loss of the doubles
point.
The Wolverines found a recipe
for success against Illinois with
a hot start, clinching the doubles
point easily with a pair of 6-1 wins
in the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles slots.
Unfortunately for Michigan, it
wasn’t able to do the same against
the Wildcats.
The point came down to the
No. 2 doubles match. After fending
off two match points, sophomores
Chiara Lommer and Lera Patiuk
couldn’t prolong it any further, as
Lommer succumbed to an ace up
the middle, sealing the point for the
Wildcats.
It wasn’t ideal, but nothing the
Wolverines couldn’t manage.
Junior
Brienne
Minor
was
the first off the court in singles
competition, and she evened the
score with a 6-3, 7-5 win.
The score was 1-1.
As Northwestern’s Inci Oguy
tried to close out the match, Patiuk
fended her off for as long as she
could, but ultimately fell, 6-3, 6-2.
The score was 2-1.
An unlikely loss from junior Kate
Fahey at the No. 1 spot followed
quickly after. Fahey never seemed
to settle into the match, and her
frustration was clear in the 6-4, 6-3
loss.
The score was 3-1.
If anyone else lost their match, it
would all be over. If that added extra
pressure, it didn’t show. Freshman
Alyvia Jones captured a two-set
victory easily, winning, 6-4, 6-3.
The score was 3-2.
With the first set under her belt,
Lommer had a safety net. She was
down 5-3 in the second set, but
had no interest in going to a third.
Winning the next four straight
games, Lommer took the second set
— and the match.
The score was 3-3.
Ruder-Hook’s teammates had
done all they could, and then it was
up to her.
She fell into an early 5-1 hole, but
proceeded to win the next six games
to take the first set. Set point was
met with dispute — after a long rally,
Wildcat Alex Chatt hit the ball just
long. Complaints came from Chatt
and her coach, but Ruder-Hook
was already on her way back to the
bench to prepare for the second set.
When she returned for the
second set, Chatt took it easily, 6-3,
slowing Ruder-Hook’s momentum.
Instead of a 10-point super
tiebreaker, Ruder-Hook and Chatt
had the opportunity to play the
whole third set out — and it couldn’t
have been closer. They traded games
back and forth until it seemed as if a
tiebreaker was the only option. That
is until Ruder-Hook was up 5-4 and
the score was 40-15.
She hit it just wide, but two
match points remained. She tried
to fire a shot down the line and it
landed in the middle of the net,
but one match point remained. She
sailed the ball long, and the score
was even again.
“It’s not so much strategy, it’s
just fighting,” said Michigan coach
Ronni Bernstein. “Trying to keep
her calm, because really she knows
what she has to do there. It’s just
being there and supporting her.”
By the time the tiebreaker came
around, it was anyone’s guess who
would take — or even deserved —
the match.
But Chatt took control of the
situation and maintained a solid
lead until she closed it out, 7-4.
The
score
was
4-3,
and
Northwestern was on top.
“You’re not changing anything,
technique or strategy,” Bernstein
said. “It’s just being support because
it’s a very stressful situation for a kid.
Everything’s on you.
“…We just told her to keep her
head up and she gave us all she had.
There’s still a lot to play for.”
The Wolverines are no longer
perfect in Big Ten play and will
most likely have to relinquish
their reign of the Big Ten title. But
Michigan did prove it could hang
with the best, and if the Wolverines
meet the Wildcats in the Big Ten
Tournament, the team and Ruder-
Hook would want nothing more
than to change the outcome.
MARK CALCAGNO
Daily Sports Editor
PAIGE VOEFFRAY
Daily Sports Editor
DARBY STIPE/Daily
Senior Mira Ruder-Hook fell just short in her match-deciding matchup.