Moritz Wagner an unlikely leader for Michigan

The email pitching the German prospect sat unanswered in the Michigan coach’s inbox for a few weeks because it didn’t seem urgent among the flood of messages he received each day.

The coach’s email to the prospect sat unanswered for a few weeks because it landed in his spam folder.

Their eventual replies might help send the Wolverines back to the Final Four.

The improbable connection between coach John Beilein and junior forward Moritz Wagner has supplied the Wolverines with their leading scorer and emotional sparkplug heading into an NCAA West Regional final on Saturday evening at Staples Center against Florida State.

“I got lucky,” Moritz said Friday of moving from Berlin to Ann Arbor to play for Michigan. “If I had written it down when I was little as a dream, this would have been it. That’s exactly what it would have been like and what it would be like.”

Moritz had first become familiar with Michigan after watching the Wolverines on television in the 2013 national championship game against Louisville. A year later, Moritz and his father watched the Wolverines play Kentucky in a regional final and were struck by the excitement of the moment — the sound of the band, the buzz of a big college basketball game.

Less than a year after that, Beilein was standing in his elevator.

It was an unlikely ride. Beilein had received an email from Yenal Kahraman, a talent scout who worked out international prospects and had previously pitched Beilein on eventual Connecticut star Niels Giffey. Kahraman’s latest pitch included video footage of Wagner that intrigued Beilein when he finally got around to watching it.

Wagner, a budding talent on the German club team Alba Berlin, was equally captivated when he ultimately saw the message from Beilein in his spam folder.

“I was like, OK, I better answer this guy,” Wagner said. “It seems like a pretty good chance.”

Not wanting Wagner to be discovered by other potential suitors, Beilein quickly made travel arrangements to meet his newest recruit. He tried to be discreet, showing up at Wagner’s flat wearing nothing that signified he was from Michigan.

Beilein said he found Wagner so engaging that he decided to offer him a scholarship by the end of their elevator ride if he was “good at all.”

But first, they ate.

“I asked for a big German dinner and a beer,” Beilein said. “I got both of them.”

The coach also came away with a steal after Wagner turned down a professional contract with his club team to sign with the Wolverines. He came off the bench exclusively as a freshman before moving into the starting lineup as a sophomore and breaking through with 26 points during his team’s upset of second-seeded Louisville in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Wagner has averaged 14.4 points and 6.9 rebounds this season, both team highs. He helped Michigan win a second consecutive Big Ten Conference tournament championship, selected as the tournament’s most outstanding player, and scored 21 points Thursday during the Wolverines’ regional semifinal victory over Texas A&M.

He was briefly shadowed Friday by a Sports Illustrated for Kids reporter who inquired about his girlfriend back in Germany and seemingly every other aspect of becoming an international sensation.

Reporter: “What’s a German word you use a lot that no one understands?”

Wagner: “Kompliziert” (complicated).

Reporter: “Do you ever bump your head on doors?”

Wagner: “Always.”

Michigan’s Moritz Wagner celebrates after making a three-pointer against Texas A&M during the first half of their Sweet 16 game on Thursday.

(Ezra Shaw / Getty Images )

Constantly ducking at 6 feet 11 has remained more challenging than mastering a new language for someone who speaks impeccable English when he’s not trying to trick his coach. His name is pronounced MORE-rhetz VOG-ner, but nearly everyone just calls him Moe.

Wagner has also diversified his game, improving his passing ability and quickening the release on his shot. He’s now widely projected as a first-round selection in the 2018 NBA draft.

He’s already a professional tongue-wagger throughout games, a gesture that has irked some but is not intended as disrespect. Wagner said it comes from his dad, a handball player who encourages emotional displays that his son tries not to let run amok.

“You’ve got to kind of balance that in a good way,” Wagner said. “Use it for your benefit and not get emotional drunk.”

Wagner’s mother, Beate, has watched him win two Big Ten tournaments in person but has never attended one of his games in the NCAA tournament. Asked about her coming to what might be one of his final college games, Wagner at first declined to engage the question.

“I’m not going to talk about this,” he said politely, before nodding when asked if she would come to the Final Four. “But I’m not trying to talk about the Final Four too much.”

The possible symmetry of having his mother on hand to watch him hoist another championship trophy doesn’t seem implausible given Wagner’s backstory. He’s already living out the same scene he once saw on television with his father.

“Now I’m playing in the Elite Eight with Michigan,” Wagner said while reminiscing about the Wolverines’ 2014 regional final, “so it’s kind of ironic with a big band and a lot of people in Los Angeles. It’s kind of crazy.”

ben.bolch@latimes.com

Follow Ben Bolch on Twitter @latbbolch