For Wisconsin basketball to be the team that people think they can be, there is an x-factor that ties everything together.
Senior forward Aleem Ford has been an enigma through three-plus years in Madison, Wisconsin. At times, he has been a confident shooter and ready defender on the perimeter like he was in Wisconsin’s late-season winning streak a year ago. The Georgia native can also be non-existent at times in massive Big Ten games, leading to him losing minutes in the middle of last year.
When he plays like did yesterday afternoon, Wisconsin is the best team in the Big Ten conference. It’s not some secret sauce or magic formula. There is no “Michael’s secret stuff,” from the movie Space Jam sitting in his locker on certain nights. It’s all very easy to see and understand in terms of when he plays well and when he struggles.
Being tasked with guarding Green Bay’s most talented scorer in Amari Davis for much of the first ten minutes, Ford was everywhere and gave the smaller guard issues with his length. It was on the defensive end where he made his mark and that in turn got him going on the opposite end. Box scores in basketball often tell false narratives if you haven’t actually watched the game, and they did in Ford’s case early.
Take a look at this first half stat line if you don’t believe me: 0-2, 0 points, 2 fouls. Probably was a non-factor, right? Wrong. Before picking up his second foul, on two aggressive plays that I am sure Greg Gard won’t mind in film today, Ford hounded Davis and was the best player Wisconsin had on the defensive end of the floor. His energy was up on offense even though he didn’t finish a few plays.
Then, stats did what they usually do. They rewarded energy. Ford led the team with 13 second-half points to help Wisconsin comfortably blow the doors off of the Phoenix in the second frame. If the Badgers can get that type of energy from another senior starter, the sky is the limit for this experienced group.