It was not always going to be this way. By “this way,” I am referring to Micah Potter scoring very few points and grabbing very few rebounds in Wisconsin’s 2020 Big Ten games. Potter didn’t play a ton of minutes on Wednesday night against the Illinois Fighting Illini. Potter played 15 minutes, a clear upward progression relative to his previous games against Power Five conference opponents.
Potter played seven minutes against Tennessee of the SEC on December 28. He played 11 minutes this past Friday against Ohio State in Big Ten play. Greg Gard isn’t throwing him into the deep end of the pool in terms of minutes, slowly integrating him into the rotation. We can debate the wisdom of that move, but that is obviously the plan right now. Against Illinois, Potter finally made the absolute most of his minutes.
Against Tennessee and Ohio State, Potter barely scored and snagged a small number of rebounds. In these 15 minutes against Illinois, Potter busted loose for 13 points, nine rebounds, and three blocked shots. He was, in short, a force. He was all over the floor, and he injected life into an offense which shot a respectable 43 percent. Most of all, Potter earned eight free throws. He helped Wisconsin do what we said the Badgers had to do: Get to the foul line more often.
A lot of Wisconsin games this season have involved no more than 15 or 16 free throws. Potter’s eight foul shots (he made all of them) enabled Wisconsin to create 23 attempts and make 20. Wisconsin outscored Illinois by 12 at the foul line, 20-8. That plus-12 differential and a 70-point outing by the offense should ALWAYS translate to a win in the Kohl Center. Instead, Illinois shot 49 percent from the field and coughed up only seven turnovers. Wisconsin’s poor defense wasted Micah Potter’s improved performance.
If it seemed that Wisconsin blasting Tennessee and then handling Ohio State without big statistical contributions from Potter was unsustainable… you’re right. Unfortunately, Potter’s development was not accompanied by the evolution of his teammates. It is an odd confluence of realities in a season which has been odd from the start.