Jim French Stepstool

Yeah, the 5-out is something you see from most teams nowadays. In UWs' case it's compounded by Winter really being the only big that might concern an opponent when posting, and when he gets the ball down low it's usually not a post up so much as a result of good man-ball movement or a screen-and-roll. It works OK when the driving lanes are there as a result of the 5-out, or the propensity of the defense to clog the lane results in the threes. But as you alluded to, none of that works if they stand around---watching Tyler Wahl or Ethan Happ backing down might've been boring to some, but if they had an advantageous matchup it could end well, even if the other four guys are caught watching. Can't do that now & get away with it. I actually saw Garlock make a nice post move & finish in their scrimmage, and he made a nice post move or two vs UWM. So it's in there. But in his case, yeah, it's gonna take a while. As the clock runs down, I'd certainly like to see Boyd more aware of driving the ball, and I'd like to see Blackwell get back to that, too. Blackwell took over as the primary ball handler late in the game, and the two of them kinda alternating the role might go a long way toward stressing a defense a little more.

Still wondering how consistent this team can be, and what the ceiling is if the good can outweigh the bad a little more often. When the bad stuff happens it seems to come in bunches. Like tonite. After a so-so start to the 2nd half, they built a 17-point lead. Then the UCLA kid puts up a three from the deep right corner--they hadn't hit one all night up to that point. He misses, but Carrington fouls him. Three FTs. Shortly afterwards Garlock bellys up on his man, who has the ball a good 15 ft from the hoop. I don't know if he'll ever have the ability to guard out on the floor like that when he's a vet, much less now. Easy blow-by for a layup. Seconds later Garlock commits an offensive foul on an illegal screen. So the lead is quickly down to something like 10. Those three things don't happen, I wouldn't be surprised if we cruise to the end & win by 18-22 pts. It didn't cost you the game, but it's stuff like that that's put them in holes vs some of the better teams they've played. So you continue to build, and get ready for the game vs the Media Darlings this weekend.

If I'm Cronin, going into the 2nd half I'm feeding Bilodeau a LOT more than they were. Thank you very much. Never should've let the thing get even remotely close to uncomfortable, but after UCLA made their run Janicki & then Rohde hit huge threes to keep them at arm's length. Kudos to a couple guys who haven't always put points on the board but combined for 18 (combined 6-11 from the floor) tonite. Blackwell wasn't great tonite but IMO was 'better'. But Boyd really profiles as the team leader, which is fine with me but not something I expected.

Yeah, from Bilodeau, also Kyle & Mara who are both gone. I get the feeling UW might use up a lot of fouls on Bilodeau in the 2nd half. We'll see.

Nice half shooting the ball, and the defense in the first twelve minutes or so was great. But let's be honest, UCLA stunk up the joint early. Their problem is that the positive run they had to end the half was fueled by aggressiveness on the defensive end, and they have a little bit of foul trouble as well as some people banged up so hopefully they run out of gas. They started to play through Bilodeau, which caused problems for Bucky. The bigs defending him w/o fouling might be job#1 in the 2nd half. TO bug seemed to be nonexistent tonite, then reared its' ugly head again for a few minutes. If UW is smart & takes care of the ball there should be FTs & some cuts to the rim coming.

Rapp out tonite. Unspecified (as per usual). Also Skyy Clark out for UCLA. Pretty hefty hefty absence for them. Averaging over 13 per game & just under 49% from three.

If adding Daniel Vogelbach to your organization isn't weighty enough to move a needle, nothing is.

Another test tomorrow vs UCLA. A challenging one for sure, but focusing on the bigs not named Nolan Winter I'm still looking for some sort of watermark between feast & famine. Bieliauskas & Rapp (even Garlock) are mostly fine vs the people you'd expect them to be fine against, and vs someone with one good post player & another one who's average or better it's been tough. In UCLA I see a middle ground between the low-to-mid majors we've played and Nebraska & Purdue AFA toughness and effectiveness around the hoop. And Michigan looms next. #'s 22, 23 & 32------it's time. An interesting history lesson, at least to geeks like me: this is UCLAs' first visit to Madison since 1962. That's pre-Alcindor. And two years later (Dec '64) UCLA played in the Milwaukee Classic. I once read that they sponsored a coaches' clinic featuring the four coaches in town for that tourney. That would be UW coach John Erickson, along with Bob Cousy, John Wooden, & Al McGuire. And given the era & the fact it was sponsored it was probably free. That just blows me away.

I noticed that too. That's a good thing; theoretically. The qualifier of course is all these guys could be just as apt to be one-year players as they are to stick around. Hopefully the latter. It looks like they had a productive weekend. I applaud those of you here that are keeping close tabs on it. Hoops is one thing, but I can't stomach wanting to keep up with the movement of 20, 30 or more people on a FB roster, year after year. So thanks. 👍

Erickson has been a good soldier. That & being a Wisco native make you want to cheer for him. Whether deserved or not 3B coaches here have been criticized recently (don't get me started on Sedar) so hopefully he can at least hurdle the perceived low bar. Let's keep in mind though, 3B coach is a position that is pretty much a criticism magnet. Allen has the same big shoes to fill that Borbon had. IMO Quintin Berry was a huge loss after '24. It's always interesting when a former player is given his first coaching gig. Vogelbach is certainly that.

@Lathund, the service time factor re Made is a great point.

Interesting thought. It looks to me like the shots he got last year, are mostly the shots Boyd is getting now. I loved the idea of Blackwell playing off the ball but like a lot of stuff w/this team, it's an adjustment, a process. Stay tuned, I guess.

He's a better defender than anyone else coming off the bench, which is why he plays. And his decision-making is usually solid (it wasn't as good tonite). I think Janicki is a backcourt version of Carter Gilmore (before Gilmores' SR year), when he was offensively challenged but still saw a lot of minutes due to the toughness, defense & good decisions in the halfcourt. I made the comment in this thread about Carrington maybe taking minutes from him. Carrington is physical enough, but especially tonite just doesn't look as connected on the defensive end as you'd hope from a vet. He came in with a decent rep in that area but I don't see it right now. I hope that changes as he can provide offense, but Gard isn't going to play someone in that role who might score seven & give up ten. "Play within yourself" is something Janicki usually espouses on offense. Not tonite so much. Certainly needs to be better.

I loved what he brought to the program, but it was mostly on the offensive end & IMO that isn't what's going to hold them back. Defense & overall toughness; 50-50 balls. If you're talking recruiting, I hope he still can be in the ear of kids in the NZ-Australia area. If that dissipates then yes, it'll be a challenge.

Well-put assessment. Another way to look at it is the age-old consistency lament. If you take the best of Bieliauskas & the best of Rapp, and get that 3 or 4 out of every five games you're most likely OK. Even the best of Garlock IMO makes him an acceptable 4th big. Is it youth (we're talking a SO & two FR), and with time the consistency eventually comes? Or is the ceiling just not that high? One thing to keep in mind is that judging them strictly on today vs Cluff, Kaufmann-Renn & Jacobsen is a test many bigs won't pass. But the big oppo Winter definitely has to get better. The opponents where you can consistently play Carrington or Jones at that spot & go small are few & far between from here on out, and they don't seem compelled to do that anyway.

Despite the bad foul on the 3PT shooter Janicki had a pretty active half, making good decisions & even contributing on the boards. That said, you might be getting closer to Carrington taking some of his minutes, assuming he can lock in consistently on the defensive end.

I thought the D looked not great but acceptable early on. As the half wore on, the defense was simply being beaten by Braden Smith. I get sick of hearing game announcers constantly kiss his arse whenever he's on the floor but dammit, he's a terrific PG. I think they just need to make his shots as tough as possible & seldom if ever help off the other players.

If we don't take care of the ball, yes. Down seven due to the shots we DIDN'T get up due to the miscues. Usually UW cleans that up after halftime when need be, and it needs to happen tonite. Gotta be on top of your game vs a veteran team that knows how to guard & implement a scouting report.

I think the 'moving on' from Ortiz---if that happens---would involve Monasterio getting more time there in '26 if need be (although not the majority of reps) & then the final hammer falling after the season, be it Made, Pratt, whoever. Maybe this is overreaction on my part but the brief shoulder issues Turang had after playing SS a few days last spring, I can't get that out of my head. I'd much rather leave well enough alone--leave the GG 2B at 2B. I think you may be correct re Pratts' being closer than some think. But does he get passed by Made in the interim? Nice problem to have.

I can't think of any times where Monasterios' defense definitely cost us a game. But there were times when Ortiz' defense, in large part, helped make the difference in wins. And his bat doesn't have to rebound THAT much for him to be the clear choice. Hell, it was clear last year even with his struggles w/the bat & Monasterios' hot stretch. IMO the scenario where Mona beats out Ortiz in the spring is highly unlikely.

Wait!!! Do I need the rabbit ears for that? Will I still be able to get Wheel of Fortune?

Let's understand, this isn't as simple as saying the colleges & NCAA are greedy. Trust me, colleges aren't thrilled with having to pay out millions. What they CAN be accused of is short-sightedness. Or more to the point, a kick-the-can-down-the-road mentality. @JosephCpointed it out in his recent post, and I have numerous times; the original idea of a stipend, or a player being compensated for his name, image & likeness, is hell & gone from what's going on now. But that idea was resisted for an awfully long time. Now throw in the fact that the NCAA is gun shy about ANYTHING being taken to court due to their long losing streak in that forum & here you are. Yes, I attach a % of the blame to the courts for not allowing the NCAA to run its' organization as it sees fit, regardless of the obvious warts. In my own perfect but increasingly delusional world a student athlete, especially in a revenue-generating sport, certainly deserves either a stipend or the ability to go out & market his or her self--WITHOUT the universitys' name, image or likeness being involved. And any athlete who deems that unfair certainly has the option to not accept the free education offered. Pay for your own schooling & deal with a couple decades of paying off the loan. Go straight to the NBA or NFL, or if you aren't good enough at age 17 there's the G-League. Europe. Asia. NFL Europe. Or go out & get a service industry or blue-collar job. Distasteful? Look into a career in a white-collar field (nevermind I forgot, you've already decided to turn down the free education). And now you have college athletes making money, some of them six & seven figures, playing alongside student-athletes making little or nothing. Think THAT doesn't have the potential to sow some seeds of discontent among young adults who haven't quite grown up yet? Think about that, and now think about the proliferation of gambling. Organized crime has always preyed on the young & stupid who look for a quick buck. Adding envy ("Man, you've done a lot for your team, yet they aren't paying you s***!!! Look at so-and-so, he's gettin' paid, why not you?") is a big, big weapon in their possession. No one knows where this'll end. But hang on tight.

I liked the defense, especially on the interior in the 1st half. In the 2nd, I couldn't figure out if we were actually fouling more or the refs just decided to start exercising their whistles. Bottom line, you're happy holding someone to 60 pts. The 'connectivity' on that end is getting better. I credit UWM with continuing to try to drive the ball & finally getting to the line. They needed to b/c the 3pt shooting from them was pretty atrocious..... As was UW's. If the Badgers shoot even a mediocre/average % from 3 & the FT line they're somewhere btwn 90-95 pts. But I'm happy if the defense continues to head northward. If they struggle on that end like they did vs Nebraska & BYU they won't outscore people in the B10 enough to turn in a solid resume. Just maintain the defensive curve & hope shots start dropping consistently. Word is that Winter is a little hobbled w/the ankle. I'm hoping Blackwell is OK. He wasn't bad last night but didn't seem overly engaged (5 shots).

He didn't get in until the 2nd half. I was there, so didn't hear anything about availability & until he was finally used I assumed he was being held out. In the postgame, Gard addressed it. No injury, no doghouse, the way he put it was that the backup guards are going to be by committee & the 'committee leader' will not always be the same guy due to fouls, matchups, etc. It'll be a challenge for minutes in the backcourt, game-to-game. Right now Gard is very pleased with Kinzigers' first couple games. And with good reason.

So it's UWM tomorrow night. The battle for consistency---in running the offense properly, in finding & recognizing good shots, in defending for as much of 40 minutes as possible---continues. Some good things, mostly on the defensive end, vs Villanova & a mostly impressive outing vs CMU. But they've been idle for a little over a week, so it'll be interesting to see how much carryover there is. UWM is not without talent; from what I saw of them in Fiserv earlier this month you need to keep them from turning you over. Whatever they accomplish, on either end, make them earn it in the half court. Any recipe for them making a game of it most likely includes our bigs not showing up. If Bieliauskas & Rapp perform well, move EFFECTIVELY w/o the ball, then combined with Winter the paint area should be no problem. Looking forward to seeing how the minutes shake out re Janicki, Carrington & Kinzinger.