2024 - 25 Wisconsin Basketball Thread

[Jim French Stepstool]

So, the exhibition tonight vs UW-River Falls. Other than finally getting to watch some college hoops, I'm hoping a smallish UWRF team has someone at the 4 that can shoot the ball & maybe even put it on the floor so I can see if Nolan Winter can at least show signs that he can handle the position defensively. Also interested to see the minutes distribution at PG behind McGee, who I assume starts.

John Tonje has taken some minutes away from Max Klesmit. For now I'll assume Klesmit is a bit behind due to his prior injury & hasn't hit his stride. Still interesting though; Tonje is a guy who can score from different levels. It also sounds like walk-on Jack Janicki has been very impressive & is pushing for minutes.

[Playing Catch]

Other than UWRF making it close early in the 2nd half, there weren't many surprises. Obviously, one can't glean too much from exhibition games, but I didn't see much different from last season --- which would be good.

While Storr is better, Tonje seems to supply a similar game. He likes to score in all facets. That will be important for this team.

Blackwell and Klesmit were the other starters at guard, with Blackwell bringing the ball up as the "point" in the Ryan/Gard system. We know what those guys offer.

Crowl is the same. Hopefully he's got an extra half-gear this season against primo competition. Winter didn't look much different to me, either. Perhaps a bit more confident.

The other returnees also didn't look different. Ilver had his early scoring surge. I suppose he could take a Dukan-like leap this season.

Amos looks a little gangly. I think he'll get abused by B1G forwards. Freitag doesn't stand out, but it's early, and the other guards are big, strong, experienced. I actually like Camren Hunter's look, but he won't get to play much if he can't adapt to the disciplined Badger game on both ends. Janicki looks like he wants Gilmore's scholarship (not sure if he's still on schollie or not, I am no longer willing to follow/track that stuff). Was Robison injured? Janicki is clearly the guy for Robison to try and catch up to, and he may never do it. Janicki looks like a nice little energy guy as a 9th/10th player who can put it in the bucket.

Overall, they've got a lot of guys that can shoot. I think they will suffer with interior defense and rebounding. It will be PARAMOUNT for the forwards to block out well enough that the guards can clean up missed shots. But this has always been a staple of Ryan/Gard, so I would guess Blackwell, Klesmit, and Tonje get a lot of boards.

On first look, they look like they'll be competitive in most of their games, and if they are able to get a few big wins, they just may make the tournament.

[Jim French Stepstool]

5 hours ago, Playing Catch said:

Other than UWRF making it close early in the 2nd half, there weren't many surprises. Obviously, one can't glean too much from exhibition games, but I didn't see much different from last season --- which would be good.

While Storr is better, Tonje seems to supply a similar game. He likes to score in all facets. That will be important for this team.

Blackwell and Klesmit were the other starters at guard, with Blackwell bringing the ball up as the "point" in the Ryan/Gard system. We know what those guys offer.

Crowl is the same. Hopefully he's got an extra half-gear this season against primo competition. Winter didn't look much different to me, either. Perhaps a bit more confident.

The other returnees also didn't look different. Ilver had his early scoring surge. I suppose he could take a Dukan-like leap this season.

Amos looks a little gangly. I think he'll get abused by B1G forwards. Freitag doesn't stand out, but it's early, and the other guards are big, strong, experienced. I actually like Camren Hunter's look, but he won't get to play much if he can't adapt to the disciplined Badger game on both ends. Janicki looks like he wants Gilmore's scholarship (not sure if he's still on schollie or not, I am no longer willing to follow/track that stuff). Was Robison injured? Janicki is clearly the guy for Robison to try and catch up to, and he may never do it. Janicki looks like a nice little energy guy as a 9th/10th player who can put it in the bucket.

Overall, they've got a lot of guys that can shoot. I think they will suffer with interior defense and rebounding. It will be PARAMOUNT for the forwards to block out well enough that the guards can clean up missed shots. But this has always been a staple of Ryan/Gard, so I would guess Blackwell, Klesmit, and Tonje get a lot of boards.

On first look, they look like they'll be competitive in most of their games, and if they are able to get a few big wins, they just may make the tournament.

Good observations that I pretty much agree with. It appears Gard is set on Winter playing the four based on his comments, and it's a real fire drill right now as to who gets the other minutes at that spot. Someone recently thought Amos resembled Aleem Ford, which is a pretty good call. Ilver looked exactly the same to me except he hit a few for a change. We'll see if that continues. Gilmore obviously shoots up the charts if he continues to knock down shots.

As you alluded to, Janicki & Robison are pretty much fighting for the same minutes. Janicki has the year of experience in the program & it shows. I think it's very possible Robison takes a redshirt, which some people think is no longer a thing but I believe would be a wise choice in this case.

[Jim French Stepstool]

It also stuck out like a sore thumb to me how much some of the new guys struggled defensively. When Gard went to a more program-experienced lineup after UWRF made their run the lead quickly ballooned. Not surprising the transfers would be behind in that area, but it surprised me that it was such a blatant difference. Work to put in, as I'm sure they will.

I don't know if he'll continue to come off the bench or start (I thought he'd be starting) but Kamari McGee had an excellent game on both ends. It'll be interesting to see how that turns out, if Gard decides to continue to start the game with the three scorers on the perimeter.

Not a huge deal since it was his first time vs a different color uni, but Freitag IMO had a really poor game. A couple things didn't go his way early on & he spent the rest of his minutes trying to compensate by forcing the issue. Lesson learned I'm sure, but it appears he's a little more behind than I thought.

Good exhibition opponent that presented a couple problems, which is what you want. RF is well-coached & may wind up as one of the top 2-3 teams in their league.

[Jim French Stepstool]

A disappointing 1st half tonite, trailing Holy Cross by a point. Not disastrous, not necessarily any kind of a harbinger, but disappointing, annoying. It looked like a few guys actually looking to expend energy on defense started the game on the bench, while the ones on the floor didn't seem to feel like it. Throw in a reluctance to drive the ball or touch the post during the first 8 minutes. Still, I've seen many really good Badger teams start out cold from the floor, but those teams wouldn't give up 23 points in the first eight-and-a-half minutes to Holy Cross. A great 10 minute defensive stretch followed. That needs to be the norm.

 

[RedStickBrew]

1 hour ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

A disappointing 1st half tonite, trailing Holy Cross by a point. Not disastrous, not necessarily any kind of a harbinger, but disappointing, annoying. It looked like a few guys actually looking to expend energy on defense started the game on the bench, while the ones on the floor didn't seem to feel like it. Throw in a reluctance to drive the ball or touch the post during the first 8 minutes. Still, I've seen many really good Badger teams start out cold from the floor, but those teams wouldn't give up 23 points in the first eight-and-a-half minutes to Holy Cross. A great 10 minute defensive stretch followed. That needs to be the norm.

 

One thing this team can’t do is play Crowl and Winter together against a much smaller team IMO. That seemed to be a big part of the problem in the early going. On that note I’d like to see Crowl come off the bench but Gard would never do that. 
 

It’s going to interesting to see how this team comes along this year

[Oxy]

I turned the game on when it was 21-5.  Thus I'm just going to pretend UW won 80-40, cuz that's all I saw. 

Montana St. and App St. are a tier or two above HC.  It's going to be a roller coaster this year.

[Jim French Stepstool]

2 hours ago, RedStickBrew said:

One thing this team can’t do is play Crowl and Winter together against a much smaller team IMO. That seemed to be a big part of the problem in the early going. On that note I’d like to see Crowl come off the bench but Gard would never do that. 
 

It’s going to interesting to see how this team comes along this year

I questioned that for a long time now, Watching him tonight guarding on the perimeter, he moved better than I expected him to but yeah, there will be lineups where it'll be a tough ask.

I'm just glad they guarded better after the lousy start. After allowing 23 PT by the 11:30 mark, only a point a minute over the next 24, which is outstanding. Lesson learned, hopefully.

[Jim French Stepstool]

On 11/4/2024 at 11:45 PM, Oxy said:

 

Montana St. and App St. are a tier or two above HC.  

Many are picking Montana State to win the Big Sky. They return a decent nucleus & added what is probably a little better cache of transfer talent than you'd think they'd attract. So like everyone else in the current age of college hoops it's a question of how the introductions go & how long it takes for people to accept & mesh into their roles. This is the Bobcats' 1st game so maybe that'll be an added edge.

[Oxy]

Interesting game vs. MoSt. Much to the chagrin of highlight reel Badger fans, Kamari McGee and Carter Gilmore are better basketball players than Daniel Freitag and Xavier Amos.  Gilmore even played over Tonje down the stretch in the 2nd half....although Tonje played well enough in the 1st half.  I assume Hunter is still out?/recovering?  Max Klesmit (MKUltra?) will end his career among the more under-rated/under-appreciated Badgers of all-time.  He is a winner.

[Jim French Stepstool]

The screen action, drive-and-kick, and ball-player movement by Montana State was really impressive. Throw in a ridiculous 12-26 from 3PT range & it was a pretty good test for UW. Would've liked to see them do a better job of adjusting to the kickouts for Bobcat shooters, but for their first game the halfcourt offense was awfully good. Certainly would like to see the defensive board work improve. I'm starting to get the reason for the perimeter emphasis. It feels like Gard knows 3PT shooting & taking whatever dribble-drive you can get is going to have to be their bread-and-butter when they get in the league. Still, I think it would serve them well to at least touch the post more. Crowl is what he is. He's off to a slow start but I feel will still give them 8 PPG or so.

Love Tonjes' knack for getting to the line.

[Jim French Stepstool]

1 hour ago, Oxy said:

Interesting game vs. MoSt. Much to the chagrin of highlight reel Badger fans, Kamari McGee and Carter Gilmore are better basketball players than Daniel Freitag and Xavier Amos.  Gilmore even played over Tonje down the stretch in the 2nd half....although Tonje played well enough in the 1st half.  I assume Hunter is still out?/recovering?  Max Klesmit (MKUltra?) will end his career among the more under-rated/under-appreciated Badgers of all-time.  He is a winner.

Both McGee & Gilmore are just so damned reliable. In the league it might be tough to have them on the floor at the same time, but then again McGee is finding the bottom of the hoop so maybe not. A little disappointing Amos didn't see the floor in the 2nd half. It looks to me like they 'want' to see him get minutes over Ilver but it appears to be a tight competition right now.

Agree 100% about Klesmit. It's rare to have someone as productive as he is on both ends of the floor.

.

[Oxy]

Appalachian State is terrible.  UW was once again a bit slow out of the blocks...then realized how bad App St. actually is and dominated every facet of the game the last 12 minutes of the half without even trying too hard.  The slightest pressure caused turnovers and the slightest aggressiveness toward the hoop led to easy lay-ups.

If this one gets back to single digits it will be disappointing.  I don't see a lot of anything one can glean from this game though...except maybe it's time to start Kamari?

[RedStickBrew]

4 hours ago, Oxy said:

Appalachian State is terrible.  UW was once again a bit slow out of the blocks...then realized how bad App St. actually is and dominated every facet of the game the last 12 minutes of the half without even trying too hard.  The slightest pressure caused turnovers and the slightest aggressiveness toward the hoop led to easy lay-ups.

If this one gets back to single digits it will be disappointing.  I don't see a lot of anything one can glean from this game though...except maybe it's time to start Kamari?

I think I agree with starting McGee. The offense seems to just run better through the true point guard. Blackwell is just better playing off the ball and attacking the rim or getting the post touches. 
 

I would also be getting Winter more than 20 minutes/game. He deserves it the way he shoots and hits the boards

[Jim French Stepstool]

The slow shooting starts--whether it's due to settling or just missing good looks (today it was the latter)--is getting annoying. Once they got in rhythm though it was pretty impressive. Even when it was 17-8 I felt they were defending OK, but as @Oxymentioned above once the intensity picked up a bit App State had all kinds of trouble and they started resembling what they are--a team with an entirely new roster save for 2 or 3 guys.

Definitely a step forward for Amos today. Still not sure if he can matchup physically at the four, but if he can be adequate in that area he's a nice weapon. And it was good to see Crowl be a 7-footer today, if you know what I mean. I get Gard wanting to establish him & Winter playing together, but I still think that jury is out. The good news is Gard has a smorgasboard of options at the four. We may see mixing & matching depending on what the opponent throws out there.

Even against a discombobulated offense, fourteen steals is a very impressive number. Klesmit with five by himself is Mike Kelley-like.

[Jim French Stepstool]

3 hours ago, RedStickBrew said:

I think I agree with starting McGee. The offense seems to just run better through the true point guard. Blackwell is just better playing off the ball and attacking the rim or getting the post touches. 
 

I would also be getting Winter more than 20 minutes/game. He deserves it the way he shoots and hits the boards

I was about 90% sure McGee would be starting. Now that they're three games in, I can see the benefits of Klesmit-Tonje-Blackwell out there together. One of the issues is, who of that trio comes off the bench if McGee starts? I think it's a combination of GG liking three versatile scorers out there to start the game, and (maybe) McGee having the best mindset for coming off the bench--embracing the role, understanding the importance of it. Not sulking about it, but observing the opening minutes, seeing what's going on & giving the team what they need when he enters. Some guys are just better at that stuff. If they run into smaller lineups down the road, I wouldn't mind him playing WITH the other three at times, although that'll probably be rare. Another factor is all three starters on the perimeter can defend. Tonje is probably the most iffy, and he ain't bad. If one of those three were a Storr or Essegian-level defender we'd see McGee starting.

Blackwell IS better off the ball. No disagreement there.

Very nice start to the season for Winter. You're right, he's just over 21 MPG. I thought it was more. One way or another, I think it increases as the season unfolds. Lotsa competition for frontcourt minutes right now.

 

[Oxy]

I would just go with seniority for starting.  If UW needs size up front, bring Blackwell off the bench and keep the twin towers in the starting lineup.  If they can get away with a smaller starting 5 bring Winters off the bench.

Blackwell is an excellent "spark of energy" to bring off the bench just like McGee has been (and you often hear about).

[Oxy]

LOL. This is weird. So not UW BBall. And yet....

[Oxy]

I would have been very happy if suddenly Bo went down to the bench once UW was up EIGHTEEN POINTS. It's like Longo is our offensive coordinator....

[RedStickBrew]

10 minutes ago, Oxy said:

I would have been very happy if suddenly Bo went down to the bench once UW was up EIGHTEEN POINTS. It's like Longo is our offensive coordinator....

The first half track meet turned into a slugfest in the second. Probably gonna need some clutch Klesmit to pull this out

[RedStickBrew]

Or clutch Tonje

[Oxy]

Travesty of a basketball game...I mean free throw contest...

[Oxy]

That's the least satisfying 15 point W over a top 10 team I've ever experienced as a fan.  UW played GREAT...like, they should have won...by like maybe 5 points.  

[yourout]

So far they don't appear to miss Chucky or Storr very much.

[bjkrautk]

Wow.  Happy to see them returning the favor to Arizona with the Home-and-Home.