Wisconsin Badgers 2019-20 Season Thread

[Kerb Hohl]

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Very good read/demo on the defensive principles that makes the defense good. Given their ability to do this, I wonder if teams take advantage of it as the year goes by. Of course teams can try things like this against UVA or any other stout defensive team, the difference being UVA, others near the top of this list just have better talent and could overcome it on offense last year.

[sdn40]

What is the fine line of Wisconsin basketball ? Everything. Bennett and Ryan were excellent coaches and could succeed with lesser talent. Can Gard ? The jury is still out but early returns are mixed. I commented early last season that our guards were horrible and didn't belong at the D1 level. Of course I was told I was an idiot and not a fan. Turns out they don't belong. More experience, a year older, blah blah, I don't see it. They aren't big enough or athletic enough. Could Bo win with them ?? I don't know. That's where the fine line comes in. Borderline coach and borderline players are fine if you want to watch borderline basketball. Should Wisconsin be better than that ? Yes. Better players or better coach or both. I see no logical reason to settle for less. 5'-9" Opey Taylor from Crandon Wisconsin will never be Finley, Matthews, Tucker, Wade, etc etc. It's a waste of time. I don't know why these types of opinions have to be linked to what kind of fan a person is.

People complained literally every single season except the Final Four years that Bo's teams were not talented/athletic enough.

Gard is past the point of really getting much for excuses, Wisconsin generally puts a PG into place and that PG is heir to the throne as a freshman and has 2-3 years. Gard's one year where he was at a massive disadvantage in recruiting but probably should be setting up his new PG he got -- you guessed it -- Trice. I don't think this will be a problem going forward. Davison is fine.

Here's the great thing: If you actually followed this thread and team, you'd see that they have picked up rising PG Lorne Bowman who is athletic and can get to the basket. They also got Johnny and Jordan Davis, slashing wings that are developing shots and play great defense. Wahl is a do-everything forward. King will have much more confidence this year off of his injury.

So this year may be somewhat frustrating in your quest for an "athletic" team, but going forward, they'll be right up to par in terms of guys that can get to the basket.

I'll grant some that Trice/Ford is a modest step down from some of the guys they "settled for" in the past but I think the big problem of all the trolls coming in here is that they are expecting Jalen Johnson and Herro to always come to Wisconsin. That has never happened and will never happen. The guys they have coming in in the next few classes are right on line with what they've always had. Good players that aren't top 50 NBA talents.

And I can guarantee the same people will still complain about the talent even if those guys play well. And maybe we could grab Shaka Smart after he succeeds at his rebound job in the Sun Belt conference 5-7 years from now to appease everyone (and suck worse).

Final note: Wow, way to go out on a limb to note that Wisconsin last year was not going to go that far. You could say that literally every year and be right. I will make the prophetic claim that Wisconsin (and I will actually name 50 other schools) will not win a football or basketball national title next year. Please crown me when this occurs. My guess is that you would have vastly underrated UW before the season started last year as well.

I was out on a limb because everybody in here was telling me I was an idiot for taking Oregon over Wisconsin. And how it reinforced why I should be on everyone's ignore list because I am not a fan of the team. How soon we forget all the little details. So yeah - your twist on the story is not accurate, but I have a hunch you already knew that. So don't use that as part of your agenda.
The rest is just your usual "everything is gonna be fine" routine, which is fine by me. That's your opinion. I happen to disagree, which apparently isn't fine. The proof as they say, is in the pudding. And I could care less if we sign guys from Wisconsin, or 4'-0" tall little green men from Mars, as long as the brand of basketball doesn't resemble whatever the hell that was last year.

[jute2003]

It's hilarious to me that people believe any of Bo's teams were significantly more athletic than the one from last year.

The only thing I'll grant is that Trice is probably worse at getting to the basket than basically any PG in the past. Couple that with Davison being on the lower end of run-and-jump talent that they've had at the other guard and that is where problems were present. But it wasn't a wild difference. Plus, you had Iverson who was extremely talented in the athleticism department but was lacking in shooting/ball-handling to even things out.

I still maintain that Trice was more unwilling than unable to get to the rim. He turned the corner often but always dribbled back out. Davison would often do the same thing but it was usually after flopping and throwing the ball up in the air a couple times with no call.

I expect the offense to look much different this year with Ruevers at the 5. If they are to be successful, Trice and Davison need to get better at the dribble drive to take advantage of the added spacing. They are both more than talented enough to play at this level. Whether or not they're talented enough to be lead guards is to be determined

[Kerb Hohl]

What is the fine line of Wisconsin basketball ? Everything. Bennett and Ryan were excellent coaches and could succeed with lesser talent. Can Gard ? The jury is still out but early returns are mixed. I commented early last season that our guards were horrible and didn't belong at the D1 level. Of course I was told I was an idiot and not a fan. Turns out they don't belong. More experience, a year older, blah blah, I don't see it. They aren't big enough or athletic enough. Could Bo win with them ?? I don't know. That's where the fine line comes in. Borderline coach and borderline players are fine if you want to watch borderline basketball. Should Wisconsin be better than that ? Yes. Better players or better coach or both. I see no logical reason to settle for less. 5'-9" Opey Taylor from Crandon Wisconsin will never be Finley, Matthews, Tucker, Wade, etc etc. It's a waste of time. I don't know why these types of opinions have to be linked to what kind of fan a person is.

People complained literally every single season except the Final Four years that Bo's teams were not talented/athletic enough.

Gard is past the point of really getting much for excuses, Wisconsin generally puts a PG into place and that PG is heir to the throne as a freshman and has 2-3 years. Gard's one year where he was at a massive disadvantage in recruiting but probably should be setting up his new PG he got -- you guessed it -- Trice. I don't think this will be a problem going forward. Davison is fine.

Here's the great thing: If you actually followed this thread and team, you'd see that they have picked up rising PG Lorne Bowman who is athletic and can get to the basket. They also got Johnny and Jordan Davis, slashing wings that are developing shots and play great defense. Wahl is a do-everything forward. King will have much more confidence this year off of his injury.

So this year may be somewhat frustrating in your quest for an "athletic" team, but going forward, they'll be right up to par in terms of guys that can get to the basket.

I'll grant some that Trice/Ford is a modest step down from some of the guys they "settled for" in the past but I think the big problem of all the trolls coming in here is that they are expecting Jalen Johnson and Herro to always come to Wisconsin. That has never happened and will never happen. The guys they have coming in in the next few classes are right on line with what they've always had. Good players that aren't top 50 NBA talents.

And I can guarantee the same people will still complain about the talent even if those guys play well. And maybe we could grab Shaka Smart after he succeeds at his rebound job in the Sun Belt conference 5-7 years from now to appease everyone (and suck worse).

Final note: Wow, way to go out on a limb to note that Wisconsin last year was not going to go that far. You could say that literally every year and be right. I will make the prophetic claim that Wisconsin (and I will actually name 50 other schools) will not win a football or basketball national title next year. Please crown me when this occurs. My guess is that you would have vastly underrated UW before the season started last year as well.

I was out on a limb because everybody in here was telling me I was an idiot for taking Oregon over Wisconsin. And how it reinforced why I should be on everyone's ignore list because I am not a fan of the team. How soon we forget all the little details. So yeah - your twist on the story is not accurate, but I have a hunch you already knew that. So don't use that as part of your agenda.
The rest is just your usual "everything is gonna be fine" routine, which is fine by me. That's your opinion. I happen to disagree, which apparently isn't fine. The proof as they say, is in the pudding. And I could care less if we sign guys from Wisconsin, or 4'-0" tall little green men from Mars, as long as the brand of basketball doesn't resemble whatever the hell that was last year.

Ummm, I was the one agreeing with you on them losing to Oregon before the game. Oregon was playing like a top 10 team for an entire month.

You can simultaneously think Wisconsin is doing close to as well as they can (I do expect payoff down the road, of course) but know that some teams loaded with high 4 and 5 star players will crush them at times.

[Kerb Hohl]

Names on the back of their jerseys next year for the first time in a long time.

[ReasonablySober]

Names on the back of their jerseys next year for the first time in a long time.

**** thank god. I couldn't differentiate one mediocre scrub from the next.

[RiotPunch]

Names on the back of their jerseys next year for the first time in a long time.

[Beorn]

Ethan Happ to Olympiakos, this is...interesting

[DingleJerry]

I was also one expecting a very tough game with Oregon and a loss. I don't know if I posted here because I was on vacation though. I looked at our bracket and thought the opening game was toughest, if they got that they actually had a shot at elite 8. Oregon was a brutal match up for us.

I think the main point folks like Kerb and I have been trying to remind people on is that if you hated last year's team/style then I hope you also hated about the 06ish-13 Bo teams too. It's the same thing. I, for one, did hate watching those blah teams just like I did last year but I'm just realistic of what it was like under Bo outside 2-4 years and don't have tainted glasses on due to the FF teams.

[HaroldinGMinor]

NCAA tournament
wins since 2000
1. Kansas 50
North Carolina 50
3. Duke 49
4. Michigan State 46
5. Kentucky 45
6. Florida 38
7. Connecticut 33
Wisconsin 33
9. Gonzaga 31
Syracuse 31*
11. Arizona 30
12. Louisville 28
Villanova 28
14. UCLA 27

[Kerb Hohl]

NCAA tournament
wins since 2000
1. Kansas 50
North Carolina 50
3. Duke 49
4. Michigan State 46
5. Kentucky 45
6. Florida 38
7. Connecticut 33
Wisconsin 33
9. Gonzaga 31
Syracuse 31*
11. Arizona 30
12. Louisville 28
Villanova 28
14. UCLA 27

I feel like nobody was going to be happy last year because they had 2017-2018 in their back pocket to self-confirm their thoughts on Gard unless they somehow made a run. Even with a return to normal, "I knew they'd lose right away in the tournament" was waiting right there as a low-hanging fruit.

In theory Gard is here 10 more years they're going to make several runs. They'll be good enough most years like Bo's teams to be favored (better seed) so they can win a game or two most years. You'll get the occasional loss (Bo lost 2 in the first round).

Oregon was playing like a top 10 team for an entire month after they figured out their defensive issues post Bol. They were beating Virginia with 5 minutes left in the game the following weekend. It was a **** matchup and the Badgers didn't help it by just having Trice/Davison on whatever fatigue or wall they hit. If you watched, they played it "right" and were doing fine in the first half. But just like the MSU game, passing to Happ or Iverson and having them get it out for a wide open look to Davison or Trice was great...they just bricked it, which they were not doing the first 2-3 months of the season. Then Oregon went on a run and with 10 minutes to go the Badgers went into desperation mode and lost by 100 by correctly abandoning everything to see if they could miraculously get back into it.

[Turk Nowitzki]

What is this? Please don't be true.

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[Kerb Hohl]

Sucks ass if so. Damnit.

[Turk Nowitzki]

EDIT: still praying for him and his son

Twitter can be the worst sometimes.

[Turk Nowitzki]

Oh my god, but also thank god.

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[Kerb Hohl]

Well Moore is still alive but it sounds like he had another issue that resulted in cardiac arrest on his way to the hospital. Not coaching this year.

[LittleRooster]

Well Moore is still alive but it sounds like he had another issue that resulted in cardiac arrest on his way to the hospital. Not coaching this year.

Wow...that's really sad

https://madison.com/wsj/sports/college/basketball/men/howard-moore-placed-in-long-term-care-facility-won-t/article_e18bea64-ba64-5806-8e9c-c94885a142cc.html

[MikeIsGood]

Just terrible news about Moore. Feel so bad for his young son, too.

[Kerb Hohl]

Alando Tucker taking the role on an interim basis.

[Kerb Hohl]

Fake news