Wisconsin Basketball 2022-23

[UpandIn]

5 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Brad, when you consider all the tangibles & intangibles, was easily a sum positive in his Badger career. He also, on many occasions, was guilty of flopping. He'll always be someone you love to hate if you aren't a UW fan. After watching him perform for the last nine years (or so it seems?) my initial thoughts will always be the heart, the times he played hurt or out of position (sometimes both), and the leadership. Never met him, but from what I've heard from people who should know & whose opinion I value he was a polite, engaging kid off the court. Not to mention he was an actual student-athlete. Sadly, you can't always say that today. He was often officiated with a microscope, but if one wants to say it was his own fault that's fair.

 

I also think it's a little bit silly how much of the flopping rule was attributed to one player. People HAVE watched that team from Durham, NC play the last 30 years, right?

[CheeseheadInQC]

I often thought one of the best ways to lessen the flopping is to get officials to be willing to call more offensive fouls when the defensive player doesn’t end up sprawled out on the floor. Unless it has changed since they put the flopping rule in, it always seemed as if when the defense player made an effort to take a few steps back and steady themselves after contact it automatically became either a block or no call.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

Gard is a smart scheduler. Likes to get mid-level games (Stanford, Providence, etc.) and a strong MTE, and I think that always puts Wisconsin in a strong position to get Q1 and Q2 wins early in noncon without overwhelm a building team.

I know some get a little down on the guy for his NCAAT record, but lots of programs would take him in a heartbeat.

 

 

 

[UpandIn]

11 hours ago, CheeseheadInQC said:

I often thought one of the best ways to lessen the flopping is to get officials to be willing to call more offensive fouls when the defensive player doesn’t end up sprawled out on the floor. Unless it has changed since they put the flopping rule in, it always seemed as if when the defense player made an effort to take a few steps back and steady themselves after contact it automatically became either a block or no call.

Who was it that said last year you're not going to get the charge if you don't end up on your back/on the floor? It might have been Udoka or...Van Gundy. I'm pretty sure it was from the Boston series and had to do with Giannis. 

It's such a subjectively called sport...I think some refs do this...but there was a reason a ref was able to manipulate the point spread without anyone noticing for years. 

 

[CheezWizHed]

On 11/26/2022 at 9:18 AM, CheeseheadInQC said:

I often thought one of the best ways to lessen the flopping is to get officials to be willing to call more offensive fouls when the defensive player doesn’t end up sprawled out on the floor. Unless it has changed since they put the flopping rule in, it always seemed as if when the defense player made an effort to take a few steps back and steady themselves after contact it automatically became either a block or no call.

If they weren't going to call offensive fouls on Kofi "Flying Elbows" Cockburn, they weren't going to call offensive fouls other ways... 

Personally, I think the easiest way to stop the flop is to just let the offensive player continue playing.  If you flopped and are laying on the ground, it makes it really easy for your guy to drive or take an open shot. Then you look pretty foolish laying there on the ground.

[Oxy]

I haven't seen Wake Forest play, but their T-Rank profile looks like a balanced team...but guard dominant on offense. Lots of ineffective size.  I'd hope Wahl can take advantage of that on the offensive end and that Hepburn and Klesmit can shut down their guards from scoring.

[yourout]

If the refs don't get off handle on this one that big guy in the middle for a wake is going to knock somebody's teeth out with his elbows.

[Jim French Stepstool]

3 hours ago, Oxy said:

I haven't seen Wake Forest play, but their T-Rank profile looks like a balanced team...but guard dominant on offense. Lots of ineffective size.  I'd hope Wahl can take advantage of that on the offensive end and that Hepburn and Klesmit can shut down their guards from scoring.

Appleby had, I suspect, a career game for WF tonight. Still, the on-ball defense on him needed to be much better.

Just not the consistent halfcourt defense that you normally see from UW. That should be there more often than not, but once again they were beaten on the boards. Wahl & Crowl are so vitally important because there isn't much effective size behind them. Carter Gilmore is turning into a whipping boy with some fans. He does what he can with what he has; the guy is about 6' 6". You could argue that, if you want to spew vitriol it might be better directed at Ilver & Hodges for not passing him up (yet).

[Samurai Bucky]

11 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Just not the consistent halfcourt defense that you normally see from UW. That should be there more often than not, but once again they were beaten on the boards. Wahl & Crowl are so vitally important because there isn't much effective size behind them. Carter Gilmore is turning into a whipping boy with some fans. He does what he can with what he has; the guy is about 6' 6". You could argue that, if you want to spew vitriol it might be better directed at Ilver & Hodges for not passing him up (yet).

Wisconsin has no beef up front.  They can't box anybody out because they don't have the strength.  Crowl is 7'0" and 245?  I don't know what a strong seven footer would be, but Crowl doesn't have it.

Also, for all of the praise Wahl gets for playing "exceptional defense," his frequent matador impersonations are a joke.

Wisconsin needs a guy who can go to the rim and either score, draw the defense, or get a foul.  Wisconsin has employed the "run the swing for 7 seconds," then stand around while somebody dribbles the ball for the rest of the clock.  They still have a lot of learning to do.

[Jim French Stepstool]

1 hour ago, Samurai Bucky said:

 

Wisconsin needs a guy who can go to the rim and either score, draw the defense, or get a foul.  Wisconsin has employed the "run the swing for 7 seconds," then stand around while somebody dribbles the ball for the rest of the clock.  They still have a lot of learning to do.

Right now that would pretty much be Wahl from the mid-post area. Period. Hepburn isn't a confident finisher as witnessed by the constant pullups & fallaways in the lane. Would like to see him develop a feel for getting a defender on his butt & hips & ripping through. Also, Hepburn is taking too much on himself. I assume Johnny Davis & Davison being gone has a lot to do with that. He needs to get back to a PG mindset--he scored 23 points last night but IMO needs to be much better on his decision-making. And he joins a long list of people who really dropped the ball defensively last night. Appleby was terrific, but I saw little or no help defense, no making him go to his off-hand, nothin'.

I'm actually cautiously optimistic re Crowl physically. He seems lately to be more of a willing soul in the post offensively, and last night stepped out for a couple threes. Scoring 15 & doing it with versatility, I'd take that every night.

[Brewcrew82]

Me likey very much. 

[MrTPlush]

15 hours ago, Brewcrew82 said:

Me likey very much. 

Will you like it as much when he plays for Kentucky?

[Brewcrew82]

3 minutes ago, MrTPlush said:

Will you like it as much when he plays for Kentucky?

It’s certainly possible he follows the Tyler Herro route, but at the moment we are the rumored favorites to land his services so I’ll be optimistic. 

[LouisEly]

If he's watching Essegian he'll see that if he's good enough he'll get an opportunity to show it right away at UW.

[Jim French Stepstool]

1 hour ago, LouisEly said:

If he's watching Essegian he'll see that if he's good enough he'll get an opportunity to show it right away at UW.

Yep. I hesitate calling him a finished product but he's more than good enough in all areas to contribute immediately just about anywhere, and he fits what they do real well. And they DO seem to be in a good spot with him. Just sell the program, and let him & his family go through the process. Hoping to get a chance to see him play tonite at WLC.

And, whether he goes to UW, Kentucky, or Southern Hew Hampshire, this young man & his situation is nothing like Herro.

[Jim French Stepstool]

13 minutes ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

17 hours ago, Brewcrew82 said:

Me likey very much. 

 

He obviously can score points, but he's the type of player that can score 5 or 6 in a given game & still be instrumental to a win. That's about as big a compliment as you can give.

[RedStickBrew]

17 hours ago, Brewcrew82 said:

Me likey very much. 

Agree.  Not sure he has the explosive athleticism that the Blue Bloods desire, but he is a very skilled player.  His footwork is good and he uses his left hand really well. Would love to see him at UW.  Saw that a couple UW players were going to see him play tonight I think

[Brewcrew82]

3 minutes ago, RedStickBrew said:

Agree.  Not sure he has the explosive athleticism that the Blue Bloods desire, but he is a very skilled player.  His footwork is good and he uses his left hand really well. Would love to see him at UW.  Saw that a couple UW players were going to see him play tonight I think

Yep. Between Kneuppel, Yalden, and Essegian, that's a level of offensive talent that would rival our Final Four teams. 

[wallus]

I'm going to have to trust talent evaluators but that dude does not look like much of an athlete. 

[MrTPlush]

4 hours ago, RedStickBrew said:

Agree.  Not sure he has the explosive athleticism that the Blue Bloods desire, but he is a very skilled player.  His footwork is good and he uses his left hand really well. Would love to see him at UW.  Saw that a couple UW players were going to see him play tonight I think

UVA is the only notable program that has offered to him. Which even that is being a bit generous. The rest is mostly Midwest schools.

Good chance he goes to Wisconsin of what he has been offered from so far. But if he ups his stock it may be less clear as he could garner higher level offers.

[Jim French Stepstool]

7 hours ago, wallus said:

I'm going to have to trust talent evaluators but that dude does not look like much of an athlete. 

Compared to, oh let's say Khalil Iverson, he isn't. Athleticism isn't what attracts him to coaches. He's more than athletic enough when combined with his skill level & feel for the game. Believe me, I've seen a lot of HS kids over the years who were quite a bit more athletic than him. Then, you get them to the next level & find out they just aren't all that good at basketball when exposed to more size & quickness then they're used to.

[Jim French Stepstool]

12 hours ago, RedStickBrew said:

Agree.  Not sure he has the explosive athleticism that the Blue Bloods desire, but he is a very skilled player.  His footwork is good and he uses his left hand really well. Would love to see him at UW.  Saw that a couple UW players were going to see him play tonight I think

I saw him last night. Gard, Dean Oliver & Sharif Chambliss were in attendance (no players that I saw). Within the first 6-7 minutes, he drove the lane & finished with his left hand, did the same with his right, went baseline from the weak side & timed it perfectly to receive a pass for a layup, broke up a pass as the lone man back on a 2-1 fast break to force a turnover, and made 2 threes, one with a man in his face. His footwork is usually textbook. Seeing him last night, I'd say he's the type of kid where, if you're the opponent & you're playing a zone or trapping in the half court and he gets the ball at the FT line, you're in big trouble. My only skepticism is that the opponent was an athletic group that was constant up-tempo & overplay, which played right into his hands. Would love to see him vs Pewaukee if I get the chance.

[Jim French Stepstool]

12 hours ago, Brewcrew82 said:

Yep. Between Kneuppel, Yalden, and Essegian, that's a level of offensive talent that would rival our Final Four teams. 

Perhaps, IF they can add a PG to that group (post-Hepburn).

[Brewcrew82]

46 minutes ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Perhaps, IF they can add a PG to that group (post-Hepburn).

That's where Daniel Freitag hopefully enters the picture. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

9 hours ago, Brewcrew82 said:

That's where Daniel Freitag hopefully enters the picture. 

Interesting story there, as it seems he still hasn't decided which sport to play.