2024 - 25 Wisconsin Basketball Thread

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

11 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

I wish Crowl/Winter could spend a little more time trying to get postups (Crowl anyway). It seems like Gard feels he needs bigs as a release valve vs pressure in the half court. Just about all teams use their bigs in that way, but maybe our reliance on that takes away from the offense. Sure, if you're Crowl & you get a good look or two from deep, let it fly until you've shown you just don't have the touch that day. But I'd like to see him get fed down low more often, at least to see if there's going to be a double-team.

Nothing should be taken for granted vs Minnesota. Ben Johnson is a pretty good coach who the powers that be up there hoped would get more of the big-time talent from the TC to stay home.

Good point about Crowl. I don't mind him in the pick-and-roll, but I don't trust him as a true 5-out guy. Just not strong enough against ball pressure.

Having watched Minnesota a fair bit, they play hard. I know that seems like a backhanded compliment, but I don't mean it that way. For a mediocre team, they play with a lot of belief and energy, and that's a testament to Johnson. He's struggled with roster construction a little (I don't know what MN's NIL situation is, but I'd assume bad, so probably not his fault), but as far as being a motivator and in-game decision-maker, he seems pretty darn good.

Three seed seems most likely for the Badgers. Hard to see them moving up or down too much. Just take care of the next two and that should lock it in.

[Jim French Stepstool]

10 hours ago, RedStickBrew said:

Looking through some stats from yesterday’s game and saw that Winter ripped down 17 rebounds. His size, athleticism and ability to shoot the three make him an NBA prospect. He really needs to work on getting stronger and could really be a beast next year

Yeah, when I first learned that I assumed it was a statline screwup. And I watched the entire game.

Added strength w/o affecting the shooting touch is the goal for him. As you said, everything else is pretty much there. Stronger hands in particular.

[Jim French Stepstool]

8 hours ago, Cool Hand Lucroy said:

Good point about Crowl. I don't mind him in the pick-and-roll, but I don't trust him as a true 5-out guy. Just not strong enough against ball pressure.

Having watched Minnesota a fair bit, they play hard. I know that seems like a backhanded compliment, but I don't mean it that way. For a mediocre team, they play with a lot of belief and energy, and that's a testament to Johnson. He's struggled with roster construction a little (I don't know what MN's NIL situation is, but I'd assume bad, so probably not his fault), but as far as being a motivator and in-game decision-maker, he seems pretty darn good.

Three seed seems most likely for the Badgers. Hard to see them moving up or down too much. Just take care of the next two and that should lock it in.

Crowl HAS had issues lately making the effective pass, which is disappointing because he did that really well earlier in the season. It's part of the reason I'd like to see if he could draw doubles in the mid-to-low post area. If he gets the decision-making mojo back he could carve people up from there, finding cutters or throwing it out for my favorite 3PT shot.....the one you step into.

Was hoping Minnys' SR day was over the weekend but they're on the road so it's Wednesday. Should we be able to take care of business anyway? Yeah, but sometimes weird crap happens under those circumstances so it's always nice to avoid it.

[Playing Catch]

21 hours ago, Cool Hand Lucroy said:

Having watched Minnesota a fair bit, they play hard. I know that seems like a backhanded compliment, but I don't mean it that way. For a mediocre team, they play with a lot of belief and energy, and that's a testament to Johnson. He's struggled with roster construction a little (I don't know what MN's NIL situation is, but I'd assume bad, so probably not his fault), but as far as being a motivator and in-game decision-maker, he seems pretty darn good.

They had a rougher offseason than Wisconsin did. They lost Cam Christie to the NBA, Pharrell Payne to Texas A&M, Joshua Ola-Joseph to Cal-Berkeley, and Elijah Hawkins to Texas Tech. Based on rumors, NIL was to blame.

After their rough start in B1G play, I figured things would get ugly in Dinkytown, and that Johnson would be gone by February. But instead, that team really galvanized. They play with so much discipline and conviction. To a player, they play within millimeters of their potential, and they play for the team. The only reason Garcia has had such a huge season is that the team knows they need him to score points.

They remind me a little bit of the old Dick Bennett Badger teams. I don't know how voting works, but Johnson deserves some down-ballot B1G CotY votes.

[Jim French Stepstool]

Add another 'Zeelander to the fold. Jackson Ball, a 6'4" point guard & U-17 teammate of Hayden Jones, announced he's coming to UW. 2026 recruit.

He announced that he can't wait to put on the Wisconsin singlet. I guess that's better than saying leotard.

[RedStickBrew]

35 minutes ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Add another 'Zeelander to the fold. Jackson Ball, a 6'4" point guard & U-17 teammate of Hayden Jones, announced he's coming to UW. 2026 recruit.

He announced that he can't wait to put on the Wisconsin singlet. I guess that's better than saying leotard.

Looks like he could eventually be a good player.  I think we are continuing to see the strategic changes Gard has made in recruiting in the last couple classes.  Most of these incoming kids look like they are pretty raw and will need to be in the program to develop over time.  I think we will also continue to see us dip in the portal for veteran players with one or two years left to fill some of the starting and rotation spots open each year.

[Jim French Stepstool]

Klesmit ruled out for tonite's game. Despite the uneven shooting from him this season, it's hurtful in the sense that it takes one of the better sixth men in the league out of his role & bumps everyone else up a notch. Fortunately Janicki has been really consistent in his floor game & showing the ability to score a little. Also, this should be a game where Amos matches up fairly well, unlike the last time out.

Try, try, try to make Garcia shoot tough twos.

[yourout]

Maryland is the most talented team in the B10

[yourout]

I know I probably shouldn't b**** when we only have four fouls called against us in a half but holy crap that second one on Tanjie was terrible. Hope that doesn't come back to be a problem late in the second half.

[Jim French Stepstool]

I guess it says something when you can give up as many possessions as UW did & still go into the break up six. I think we'll be OK if this is one of those games where we clean up the TOs after halftime, provided we also continue to put pressure on them with driving the ball & looking for Crowl inside. If we can do that & hang on to the damn thing, should continue to pile up some fouls.

I don't know why but I have an irrational annoyance w/Rigsby. Don't let him get his feet set.

Oh, and Parker Fox sounds like a character from an 80s sitcom.

[yourout]

And the third one on Tonje might be worse than the second one.

[yourout]

I guess they've decided to stop calling moving screens again because they could tag Minnesota on pretty much every possession

[Jim French Stepstool]

Obviously they don't win this game w/o Blackwell. But I'm reminded of when UW had the FB players that sat out due to the Shoebox situation, and Barry Alvarez used the term 'program win' when they struggled but had people step up in a couple early wins. Tonite you had Klesmit out, Tonje with fouls, McGee just not as effective in a starters' role, and you had big plays made late on both ends---on the road--- by a couple of kids that were originally walkons. This was a program win. A Greg Gard win. A win for every assistant coach that helped to mold Carter Gilmore & Jack Janicki.

18 Assists on 24 buckets. And given the misses at the rim could've been an even higher ratio.

Tonje just needs to be smarter. A ? call or two on early fouls, but his 4th foul, with a lot of time left, was incredibly obvious & very dumb. And he was extremely fortunate he didn't get whistled for his fifth w/the play in the lane.

My foot through the screen moment was when they went up 11 in the second half. Minnesota cut it to five quickly on a pair of 3-pointers, both open looks w/feet set, and both shots put up by probably their two most likely guys to make them. We mostly did a nice job of allowing the better looks to guys that probably aren't going to beat you, but that was an ugly sequence. Funny thing, it was when Cam Hunter was in the game but I'm pretty sure the 1st one wasn't his fault & I know the second one wasn't.

So looking forward to Klesmit getting back & folks going back to familiar/effective roles.

[Playing Catch]

It was a good game. Both teams played hard wire-to-wire. The officials had a devil of a time calling every foul on senior night, so they didn't, including the Tonje drive late. But that no-call was earned. Just a classic old-school B1G grinder. If you are gunna beat Minnesota, you have to defend, and match their consistent effort. The Badgers did just that.

That game almost makes up for the Oregon game. If they had switched the two outcomes, I'd probably have been fine with it.

[yourout]

9 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Obviously they don't win this game w/o Blackwell. But I'm reminded of when UW had the FB players that sat out due to the Shoebox situation, and Barry Alvarez used the term 'program win' when they struggled but had people step up in a couple early wins. Tonite you had Klesmit out, Tonje with fouls, McGee just not as effective in a starters' role, and you had big plays made late on both ends---on the road--- by a couple of kids that were originally walkons. This was a program win. A Greg Gard win. A win for every assistant coach that helped to mold Carter Gilmore & Jack Janicki.

18 Assists on 24 buckets. And given the misses at the rim could've been an even higher ratio.

Tonje just needs to be smarter. A ? call or two on early fouls, but his 4th foul, with a lot of time left, was incredibly obvious & very dumb. And he was extremely fortunate he didn't get whistled for his fifth w/the play in the lane.

My foot through the screen moment was when they went up 11 in the second half. Minnesota cut it to five quickly on a pair of 3-pointers, both open looks w/feet set, and both shots put up by probably their two most likely guys to make them. We mostly did a nice job of allowing the better looks to guys that probably aren't going to beat you, but that was an ugly sequence. Funny thing, it was when Cam Hunter was in the game but I'm pretty sure the 1st one wasn't his fault & I know the second one wasn't.

So looking forward to Klesmit getting back & folks going back to familiar/effective roles.

+1 on the Tonje 4th foul. That was pretty dumb on his part but the two prior to that were just total crap.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

10 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Obviously they don't win this game w/o Blackwell. But I'm reminded of when UW had the FB players that sat out due to the Shoebox situation, and Barry Alvarez used the term 'program win' when they struggled but had people step up in a couple early wins. Tonite you had Klesmit out, Tonje with fouls, McGee just not as effective in a starters' role, and you had big plays made late on both ends---on the road--- by a couple of kids that were originally walkons. This was a program win. A Greg Gard win. A win for every assistant coach that helped to mold Carter Gilmore & Jack Janicki.

18 Assists on 24 buckets. And given the misses at the rim could've been an even higher ratio.

Tonje just needs to be smarter. A ? call or two on early fouls, but his 4th foul, with a lot of time left, was incredibly obvious & very dumb. And he was extremely fortunate he didn't get whistled for his fifth w/the play in the lane.

My foot through the screen moment was when they went up 11 in the second half. Minnesota cut it to five quickly on a pair of 3-pointers, both open looks w/feet set, and both shots put up by probably their two most likely guys to make them. We mostly did a nice job of allowing the better looks to guys that probably aren't going to beat you, but that was an ugly sequence. Funny thing, it was when Cam Hunter was in the game but I'm pretty sure the 1st one wasn't his fault & I know the second one wasn't.

So looking forward to Klesmit getting back & folks going back to familiar/effective roles.

Yeah, Klesmit is really important to this team. I know three-point shooting is prone to random fluctuations, but 5/22 again tonight shows you what Kelsmit brings, even if it's just opening up a little space for others to get open looks.

Good news, of course, is the team adjusted and ended up winning without TOO much stress in the final couple of minutes. This game felt like anything from a Minnesota +5 or +6 or Wisconsin +10 or +12 finish, so glad it came in on the good end of that. We were favorites. We should've won. A loss would've been disappointing. But it's a much better win than throttling Washington at home last week.

[yourout]

Unrelated question.

What would you do with the decades long dumpster fire that is Wisconsin women's basketball?

Is it a hopeless cause or can the right coach make them at least competitive?

[owbc]

1 hour ago, yourout said:

Unrelated question.

What would you do with the decades long dumpster fire that is Wisconsin women's basketball?

Is it a hopeless cause or can the right coach make them at least competitive?

Increase their NIL fund? 

[nate82]

9 minutes ago, owbc said:

Increase their NIL fund? 

I think that would cut into their women’s volleyball fund.  

[owbc]

27 minutes ago, nate82 said:

I think that would cut into their women’s volleyball fund.  

Yeah they wouldn’t want to do that. Need an independent source of funds. Someone deep pocketed who wants to resurrect women’s bball. 

[tmwiese55]

WI high schools have really been pumping out high D1 players the last ten years too.  Really squandered it by not having a legit program.    I don't know the answer, its basically the only sport at UW that sucks.   It seemed this new coach was going on the right track until this year, going up in wins every year and have a legit star player.   Then all the drama this year so I assume she'll be gone.

Really no answer I see than you have to find the right coach and pump money into it.  If vball can be this good there's really no reason bball can't also.  Years and years ago they probably should've paid the UWGB coach whatever he needed, but that ship has sailed. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

2 hours ago, tmwiese55 said:

WI high schools have really been pumping out high D1 players the last ten years too.  Really squandered it by not having a legit program.   

I don't follow the womens' program closely, but it seems to me that there is some similarity to the Minnesota mens' program-----enough talent produced by the state, but it's taken for granted that the top crust of that talent has no chance of staying home. When Arike Ogunbowale was at Milwaukee DSHA we saw her often as I coached in the Greater Metro Conference at the time. The narrative was that there was no real chance for UW, and she had a brother on the FB team at the time. 

I suppose, if there's an assistant coach at a high-powered program somewhere & he/she has state ties, I'd go in that direction. I have no idea if anyone fits that profile.

[RedStickBrew]

Thank to the Illinois win, a UW win tomorrow over PSU should earn them the double-bye in the Big tournament 

[yourout]

20 minutes ago, RedStickBrew said:

Thank to the Illinois win, a UW win tomorrow over PSU should earn them the double-bye in the Big tournament 

Everybody needs to thank me. I turned it off when Purdue was up by 5:00 late thinking that I was probably the jinx.

[Oxy]

What an eclectic group of seniors!  Transfers, walk-ons, preferred walk ons, all americans, all-conference players, development stories, Wisconsinites, Minnesotans, foreign players, graduate students, little guys, big guys, medium guys, shooters....scorers....more shooters.