Wisconsin Badgers Thread

[Kerb Hohl]

Speaking of Blackwell, that'd be the guy I'd be worried about losing in the portal, not Storr.

Eh, I think he's gonna stay but even if not...he's not as high of a ceiling player. Like, I'm not saying every single player is expendable and he's a guy that's got a higher ceiling as a really solid college player, but they could replace him even if so.

They can replace him in a future where we do a better job with the transfer portal and/or recruiting (hopefully 'and').

It's not as easy in our current world. Losing Blackwell in a scenario where we keep Gard and either aren't committing more money to NIL/portal or Gard doesn't do better with what he has, that's a pretty big loss then.

Yeah, I didn't want to say he's entirely expendable or something. He's one of the top guys I hope is around for 3 more years.

[ShootingtheJ]

I think this is a little bit off. I think Gard is a decent(not great but decent) recruiter. He's had 3 straight freshman make the 1st team All Freshman team in the Big 10, he landed a transfer commit that became 2nd team All Big Ten as a sophomore, the Freitag commitment was one of the highest rated recruits they've ever landed. I think it's moreso a development problem. Chucky, Crowl, Wahl all are decent players but none are great. Guys like Davison, Trice, Ford, Reuvers all similarly became solid but not great players. Johnny Davis is really his only big developmental win.

Name the greatest developmental coach in the history of basketball - he's not getting much more out of Steven Crowl or Brad Davison. These guys are limited athletically.

This is your problem.

I personally think Crowl has shown incredible development under Gard.

I think Bo Ryan got a little bit more out of some of these guys - but I think recruiting is entirely Gard's problem. It's not like any of these guys have gone on to shock us by ascending to the NBA or something (sans Aleem Ford making it due to COVID rosters).

Crowl might be a bad example because I do think Crowl is a bit underrated, but my broader point still stands. I think for the most part Gard is decent at bringing talent into the program but has struggled to really develop anyone into a really good player outside of Johnny. It's not like Bo regularly developed NBA players either but he got more out of guys than Gard has.

Davis developed with Team USA.

[Turk Nowitzki]

I too am going to adopt a posting style where I just say my opinions as if they are facts.

[trwi7]

I too am going to adopt a posting style where I just say my opinions as if they are facts.

You've been posting for 14 years and are just going to start doing this? Confidence is key, my man.

[chonestown]

I too am going to adopt a posting style where I just say my opinions as if they are facts.

Something I've been experimenting with is stating facts as if they're opinions.

Giannis went for 30-20 last night.imo

It's fun.

[midranger]

How much Kobe Johnson going to cost in portal? Are his folks still here?

[DingleJerry]

How much Kobe Johnson going to cost in portal? Are his folks still here?

I don't know if the folks are still here. I'd guess not with the kids gone and older having kind of 'made it' now. But, just adding that based on the bits I've heard on the family or specifically how the dad operates that UW wouldn't even bother engaging. Granted, transfer/NIL is a whole new world so what do I know.

[GoldenAntlers]

In terms of recent history 12-5 losses, I think that JMU team kinda sucked and the Badgers played like ass. The way the game was called early on didn’t help.

The Oregon game 5 years ago was a really good team that was underseeded due to a rough start.

I don't follow college much, but I could tell that game was over after five minutes.

[ReasonablySober]

Read on Twitter

LOL

[tski1972]

I mean, I get it, but….lol

Read on Twitter

[MikeIsGood]

There probably isn't much reason for him not to go in and get feedback. It'll be interesting to see what he does with it, though.

[Kerb Hohl]

The problem is now the timeline. They have to allocate money and roster spots all while not knowing if Storr will be back. My guess is they operate like he’s gone.

[DingleJerry]

Right, no harm in going through it all to learn more. I'd really be really surprised if he gets told that he'd be a 1st rounder and even surprised if he's told he'd get drafted at all. Pre Nil a guy like this probably goes pro anyway to play D league or europe for money and not worry about school BS. Now, UW or whatever college pays better than that and is more fun.

[Kerb Hohl]

Also, yes, I was also on the take that he's not an NBA guy (yet) all season other than the BTT.

But some guys just don't want to play school. He still can "develop his game" in the G-League and get an early contract if he really thinks he's that good. It doesn't have to be college.

That said, with NIL $ being what it is, his best option is probably still to come back for big $ now. But if he bets on himself, he could get himself a 3 year NBA deal at age 22 by leaving now...or just make NIL-caliber money overseas.

[jute2003]

Doesn't hurt to try. I still really don't see an NBA player though.
Good size but just not good enough at anything

[Diggr14]

This is really something. You'd think a professional coach paid millions of dollars could look at the tape from high school and get them to shoot like they did in high school.

Or maybe, you know, these guys just aren't great shooters.

Wahl has never had any sort of touch. I mean, the guy consistently misses shots at the rim. It's just not in his wheelhouse and his FTs are a prime example of this.

He doesn't have touch anymore. Good shooter in HS, before he got ruined

The level of defense is eons better in college than HS, so naturally most shooters regress from one level to the next. The biggest problem with Gard is his management of players. I think there was serious coddling of AJ Storr this past season. They clearly wanted to keep him happy, and keep him in the program. There was substantial investment timewise and narrative wise that NIL/Portal players can be given ample oppurtunities at Wisconsin. Blackwell also was a player that got a huge leash. He was a decent defender (no one outside of hepburn was in the top quartile of the B10). He had an average shot, never took shots under duress. Essegian was asked to take many shots under duress early in the year and at the end of shot clocks from 3. That is not how to get a guy momentum and confidence as a shooter. He was often subbed out for defensive mistakes, while essentially the whole team, AJ Storr specifically were given HUGE leashes on the defensive end. No one defensively was any good, outside of Hepburn, so let the kid find himself. They needed another scorer outside of Klesmit that could hit from range reliably. You need to roll the dice and hope the kid finds it.. otherwise, pack your bags 1st or 2nd weekend... and lose the kid to the transfer portal. Greg Gard is trash. This was all entirely predicatble. I wanted to support Gard and consitency within the program. But all I see is a downward incline in results and recruiting. He is the Paul Chryst (if not worse) of Basketball. Time to get us a Fickell for the basketball program. It might take 2-4 years to turn this **** storm around too. After this upcoming season, over half of the scholarship spots are open and we really dont have recruits in place yet. Still early, but the early conjecture is more of the same or worse.

[chonestown]

I ain't listening to it, but the CE crew might find this to their liking.

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Mike Lucas and Tom Oates react to the news that the Badgers are losing sophomore guard Connor Essegian to the transfer portal. Last season, Essegian made the Big Ten’s All-Freshman team and played in every game. It was a different story this year.

https://captimes.com/sports/how-wisconsin-squandered-connor-essegians-shooting-skills/article_643f92a0-ebb1-11ee-be3c-ef95e9d798d0.html?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter_CapTimes

Lot of bellyaching for someone who was the 5th best guard on the team.

[Kerb Hohl]

Wahl has never had any sort of touch. I mean, the guy consistently misses shots at the rim. It's just not in his wheelhouse and his FTs are a prime example of this.

He doesn't have touch anymore. Good shooter in HS, before he got ruined

The level of defense is eons better in college than HS, so naturally most shooters regress from one level to the next. The biggest problem with Gard is his management of players. I think there was serious coddling of AJ Storr this past season. They clearly wanted to keep him happy, and keep him in the program. There was substantial investment timewise and narrative wise that NIL/Portal players can be given ample oppurtunities at Wisconsin. Blackwell also was a player that got a huge leash. He was a decent defender (no one outside of hepburn was in the top quartile of the B10). He had an average shot, never took shots under duress. Essegian was asked to take many shots under duress early in the year and at the end of shot clocks from 3. That is not how to get a guy momentum and confidence as a shooter. He was often subbed out for defensive mistakes, while essentially the whole team, AJ Storr specifically were given HUGE leashes on the defensive end. No one defensively was any good, outside of Hepburn, so let the kid find himself. They needed another scorer outside of Klesmit that could hit from range reliably. You need to roll the dice and hope the kid finds it.. otherwise, pack your bags 1st or 2nd weekend... and lose the kid to the transfer portal. Greg Gard is trash. This was all entirely predicatble. I wanted to support Gard and consitency within the program. But all I see is a downward incline in results and recruiting. He is the Paul Chryst (if not worse) of Basketball. Time to get us a Fickell for the basketball program. It might take 2-4 years to turn this **** storm around too. After this upcoming season, over half of the scholarship spots are open and we really dont have recruits in place yet. Still early, but the early conjecture is more of the same or worse.

"Momentum. Confidence."

I love the things you cannot quantify that are once again opinions.

How about he makes some effing shots? I'm not doubting that either regression to the mean or he figures something out and succeeds elsewhere, but that's odd.

He doesn't have a great ball-handling or dribble-drive game. That is literally his job is to make such shots under duress.

[Kerb Hohl]

I implore you to watch some of the early season games against decent teams. Watch the moment Essegian checks in. Watch the ball happen to go to the guy he is guarding 90% of the time and they immediately go to the basket because he's not a good enough athlete to defend.

It's not a "mistake" - it's that he cannot defend at the high major D1 level. Blackwell and Storr - even with mistakes or lack of effort - can do so most of the time.

[Diggr14]

I implore you to watch some of the early season games against decent teams. Watch the moment Essegian checks in. Watch the ball happen to go to the guy he is guarding 90% of the time and they immediately go to the basket because he's not a good enough athlete to defend.

It's not a "mistake" - it's that he cannot defend at the high major D1 level. Blackwell and Storr - even with mistakes or lack of effort - can do so most of the time.

The guy had a pretty significant back injury, should not have even been out there the first two months. He looked fine on defense in BT play. No worse, probably better than Storr if we are being honest. Clearly at that point Storr was their best finisher at the rim. Storr cant shoot. I'd take Essegian all day and Sunday if that's a competition. Storr was a better option though, but the 42% shooting and the amount of turnover he resulted in, plus the sieve defense didnt inspire much confidence out of me either. He will need to improve his ballhandling, shot, and defense if he wants to be a 3 and D wing on the next level. Can he make it, of course. Will he... a lot of work needs be done.

Next season, Frietag will cut into Blackwell's minutes at a guard spot. Blackwell will have to play more wing. If storr comes back, that is a lot of shared minutes.

If Gard's contract wasnt so long, we'd be talking about who the new coach will be here. He'll be given one last season to see what he can do with potentially 7 or more seniors. If he cant go deep in both tournaments and finish top 3... we got a problem. I guess it just depends how this transfer portal season and who stays/goes. All i know is they need a massive upgrade at the 4 and someone to challenge Crowl for minutes (he is tissue soft and a zero shotblocking presence).