Los Angeles — The word in German is “dummkopf,” and like so many of us, John Beilein learned what it meant from an old television show.
“Hogan’s Heroes,” he said.
The literal translation is something close to “stupid head,” or blockhead, if you will. And when Beilein finds himself at wit’s end, looking for a way to express his displeasure with Moritz Wagner’s penchant for careless fouls, Michigan’s basketball coach wants to make sure nothing gets lost in translation.
So, yes, Wagner admits with a laugh, “Sometimes he calls me a dummkopf.” Or that fouling is “dumm,” which the junior big man insists he already knows.