Jim French Stepstool

How Bieliauskas & Garlock develop over the season will be extremely important. Elijah Gray sat out the scrimmage w/what was reported as illness (he was on the bench), and was not present in Milwaukee for the exhibition game for 'personal reasons'. Pure speculation on my part but I can't help but think he's behind the other two for bench minutes, is in his last year & regrets coming to Madison. Hope I'm way off base. One of the things I loved about last season was how Janicki & Kamari McGee could come off the bench & provide defensive energy. It kinda felt like Janicki & Braeden Carrington did that a little bit vs Oklahoma. And supposedly Janicki has upped his offensive game from last season; we'll see. But the versatility & depth in the backcourt looks pretty solid.

I've touched on this before---I think Woodruff is legitimately happy with the organization & living his professional life in the Milwaukee area. It's a fools' errand to predict that someone would stay somewhere where he'd be making less coin, but it's happened before & he's always struck me as the type who might be made of that type of stuff. Then throw in possible health concerns some organizations might have............I wouldn't predict it, but would not dismiss it either.

I'm not an NFL guy so I didn't know he was in hot water, or even where he was currently working. I agree he's someone worthy of being on a short-to-medium list.

Still too early to say what with the position change & all, but when you talk about fast movers through the system not named Made we may have another contestant.

That's a bad look, especially after reviewing it, and especially after what happened in the NBA this week. There is no explanation.

Mason Posa. Holy crap did he look good, and straight out of the blue. Gotta credit Tressel & the defensive game plan. I think their best hope offensively is to keep pounding the ball with Ituka & maybe Yacamelli effectively enough that you can draw an extra defender in the box at just the right time, then hit on something with Anthony. Their third string QB not getting it done through the air conventionally isn't a huge surprise, especially given the lack of mobility.

I don't really follow the womens' BB program so I haven't followed the story closely. But I know Mac has taken heat from some for a 'back burner' approach to the student-athletes' concerns. Depending on what happens, it could certainly be a factor re Mac. I know it's certainly not easy to paint it as a big nothingburger after your coach resigns.

It WAS only one year added. But it came after a 12-13 start to his tenure, with the 2nd year being worse than the 1st. And from the change in philosophy on both sides of the ball (with obviously questionable results), to the merry-go-round with assistants IMO not slapping on the extension would've been justified. Traditionally an extension can help recruiting. But that's minimized in todays' era when large chunks of everyones' roster lines up on the gym floor every off-season to get picked up by a new team. I didn't like the extension.

And so it begins......... A pretty entertaining exhibition in Milwaukee, UW falling 84-83 to an Oklahoma team that I would imagine will be a tourney participant. OU made 9 of their first 13 shots from deep, causing the Badgers to play from down 4-9 points for the lions' share of the game. They really picked up the defensive intensity late, which led to a brief 1-pt lead. Before that, some poor perimeter closeouts & just not enough consistent defense. Nolan Winter was stuffed early a couple times by the former Tosa West big Kai Rogers, and I don't know if that got in his head but he definitely needs to be more of a presence around the hoop, on both ends. Too long of a stretch where he seemed MIA. Austin Rapp was impressive. 17 PTS, and is moving great w/o the ball. Definitely not the one-dimensional 3PT shooter I was afraid he may prove to be. Looks for now at least like Bieliauskas is ahead of Garlock in the rotation, although both played. Bieliauskas hit a couple threes but frankly I'd be happier if he cleaned the boards, was a defensive presence & averaged about 2 PPG. Hopefully he'll get better in those areas. A Greg Gard team struggling early on the defensive end isn't a revelation, but Rapp isn't really a banger & Garlock is a freshman. Bieliauskas & Winter being a physical presence is kinda critical. Once Nick Boyd settles in, he & Blackwell should be a fun combo to watch. One more exhibition (Platteville) then it starts for real.

For sure, firing Mac would be much cheaper. The issue would be hiring an AD that's A) a good hire and B) willing to keep Fickell around, if that's some sort of a condition of taking the job. That would be a tricky combination.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. It wouldn't be nearly as big a deal if this was going on at Oregon, as I suspect Phil Knight or whoever controls the checkbook in that family these days would just write out a check. Or some SEC school where the alums/fans just can't stomach incompetence on FB Saturdays & would open up their wallets. Getting one or both implicated in a gambling operation would be an easy way out; that seems to be the popular thing. But I have a difficult time picturing either of these two consorting with Frankie the Hammer or Jimmy the Snake. They just ain't the type.

Having events cancelled due to him not showing up is........bad. I also think we have two people that need to be replaced. Unfortunately, what I see in the immediate future is one contract being eaten max, and in that case it would have to be Fickell. That means Mac would be making another football hire. Ugh. Fantasizing here, but if you WERE replacing the AD IMO Mike Finley would be a terrific hire. People bring up Troy Vincent but I think his NFL gig is much too good for him to consider making a move. Not much administrative experience outside of running his foundation but JJ Watt would be incredible as a fundraiser.

W/all those vowels & consonants piled atop one another, I wonder if there will be a price hike on the Adamczewski jerseys in the clubhouse shop when he reaches Milwaukee.😁 Seriously though, it's great to see him swingin' it despite the position shift. That can sometimes derail a younger player at least temporarily.

His defensive skills....the throwing in particular.....have been downgraded after his injury. But the downgrade should be taken with a grain of salt b/c he was looked at as being elite before being hurt. From what I understand he's still looked at as a pretty solid performer behind the plate, just not quite at the previous level. I agree that calling him 'hit first' is not an accurate assessment.

Schlagel just committed to Nebraska. Surprisingly early commit.

He might indeed be leaning on the perceived (by him, anyway) comparison between the beginning of the Alvarez era & what's going on now. But the sad reality is that 35 years ago the department was taken over by a man who held a high-level executive position in private business, was organized & knew how to delegate & appropriate funds. Mac had a career in private business between his retirement from the NFL & his hiring by the UW, and it was mostly unsuccessful. @JosephCmade a reference to public bureaucracy. It's something that I guess can be referred to as a necessary evil. But when a person enters that bureaucracy after going to bat in the business world & striking out it seldom (never?) seems to end well.

Not to pile on......OK nevermind, that's exactly what I'm doing..........but the team suffered back-to-back shutouts vs Iowa & O$U. The last time UW was shutout in consecutive games was in 1968, when they actually put up a donut three times in a row. Those three games had a nice, symmetrical combined score of 100-0. Right now they're working on 71-zip, with one to go in Eugene vs an Oregon team averaging about 44PPG. Fun times.

Yeah, even if he was more affordable than we may think, he still wouldn't be cheap & we don't have an established history of signing guys like that for the BP. And we don't know how effective Craig Yoho can be, but whatever his level is I don't think he needs any more seasoning.

So, we just returned from the Red-White scrimmage. It just doesn't feel right starting a new season thread on October 19th, too danged early. So I'll comment here. It was a two-point win for the Red team, with the score in the 40s. Before anyone wonders if Dick Bennett was coaching both teams, let me point out that there was a running clock through much of the game, plus the coaches were putting an emphasis on everyone defending, which wasn't surprising given the makeup of the staff. That means whenever someone was running an offensive set, the team on defense was guarding stuff they've practiced every day for quite a long time, so no surprises and a few more TOs than you'd be used to seeing (even so, a combined 17 or 18, which isn't a huge number). Can't ignore the fact that the 3PT shooting was sporadic though. I think the two squads combined for something like 10-44. They'll be better than that obviously. As to the new guys.........Austin Rapp came as advertised, a big that can shoot. He even showed a little bit of an inside/drive game. Not sure that'll happen in 'real' games, but he definitely looks like someone that can stretch a defense. Nick Boyd & Andrew Rohde both looked pretty solid (I believe Boyd scored 20-21 points). Boyd showed a versatility to his offensive game, and I'm looking forward to seeing him in tandem w/John Blackwell as they opposed each other today. Braeden Carrington looks like what I hoped for--a veteran who can guard people & good enough offensively to make people guard him. The newcomer who impressed me the most was Hayden Jones, the freshman from New Zealand. He didn't shoot a lot (maybe 5-6 points) but watching him in warmups he has one of the more fundamentally sound strokes you'd ever want to see, and a very smart, heady player. Just solid & reliable on both ends, and at 6'6" didn't look physically outmatched. Stuck his nose in there for 3-4 boards. Saw him make maybe one bad pass, and even that might've been more the fault of the recipient than him. Carrington & Jack Janicki might make it tough for him to get minutes but IMO he's definitely ahead of Zack Kinziger at this point. I hoped to be able to critique the guys looking for backup minutes at the 4/5---Will Garlock, Aleksas Bieliauskas & Elijah Gray---but Gray sat out so I'm left with the other two. Bielauskas looked....not terrible, but rather ordinary. He seemed to have a propensity to foul, and at least today not the best of hands. A couple chances to finish but came up empty, and missed a couple FTs. Garlock was sort of ordinary as well, not a weakling but could certainly use a little more strength, which is the case for most freshman bigs. He did have a nice 180 spin & finish for a bucket. I'd say a little more athletic than Bielauskas, but definitely room (hopefully) for growth from both. Also...Baboucarr Ann, an extremely athletic 6'5" guard ('27) received an offer this weekend. Fifteen PPG as a sophomore along with great defensive skills. 4-star. And he attends Maple Grove (Minn) HS, the alma mater of Brad Davison. Another connection? Lastly, the giant pretzel was delicious.

I'd prefer that but the timing just doesn't seem to match up for things to develop in that order,

That's true. But it's also true that Mac hired Fickell. I'd welcome BA's input.

Hearing much more bad than good things about McIntosh & his ability to run the department. It sounds more & more like something where you're better off with a new AD, a la 35 years ago when Richter came on, then hired Alvarez. The only problem is Mnookin is no Donna Shalala, and the Mac contract runs until the end of the 28-29 academic year. I wouldn't mind Alvarez being involved one bit.

I wouldn't dismiss Hall. He, Ashby, Myers, Gasser and Patrick are all guys who I assume would like to start, although IMO Ashby should stay in the BP. Patrick looked great as a 1-2 inning guy so maybe he should as well. Sort out the others for the final 2 spots (3 if Peralta is dealt). It's hard for me to decipher what they're thinking re Woodruff. I know the health gods haven't been good to him but I'd like to see some sort of mutual 'prove it' deal. He was surprisingly good for several starts & I absolutely love his attitude. Just to try to sound insightful, for a mid-season surprise (if needed) I'll go with Coleman Crow.

What a great point.👍

Apologies for not reading the entire article (yet, anyway) but to answer the question, I'd say yes. Lesson learned, hopefully.