Tag: bryson williams

Badger Countdown: Former number 91 successful away from football

The start of the Badger football season is now only 91 days away and we continue our countdown to the opener Sept. 2 against Buffalo.

The start of the Badger football season is now only 91 days away and we continue our countdown to the opener Sept. 2 against Buffalo at Camp Randall. Bryson Williams wore number 91 with Wisconsin, wrapping up his four-year collegiate career with the team’s 2021 Las Vegas Bowl win over Arizona State.

Williams was an interior defensive lineman from 2018-2021, recording 27 career tackles and a pass deflection. What makes him special is his story off the field.

After he was rejected from the Business School as a sophomore, Williams had to buckled down in class and he was admitted on his second attempt. He didn’t just relish in his admittance, he secured an internship with Morgan Stanley, the American multinational investment bank and financial services company.

Although his football career didn’t continue past 2021, the Lincoln, Nebraska native was hired out of school by Morgan Stanley and moved out to New York City.

Part of the reason why Williams chose Madison was because of the excellent Business School and he certainly took advantage of the academic advantages that UW provides.

Marcus Sasser among prospects invited to draft combine from elite camp

Sasser is among the draft-eligible prospects selected to advance from the NBA G League Elite Camp to the draft combine.

Houston junior Marcus Sasser is among the draft-eligible prospects selected to advance from the NBA G League Elite Camp to the draft combine, the league announced.

Sasser, who played just 12 games after undergoing season-ending foot surgery in December, emerged as one of the standouts from the two-day event in Chicago, Illinois. He averaged 17 points, 5.5 rebounds and five assists on 52.6% shooting from the field.

Along with Sasser, LSU forward Darius Days, Louisiana Tech center Kenneth Lofton Jr., UConn guard Tyrese Martin, Seton Hall guard Jared Rhoden, Texas Tech forward Bryson Williams and Kansas guard Jalen Wilson were also invited to the combine.

The full list was first reported by Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated.

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The combine will begin on Wednesday and feature 5-on-5 games, strength and agility testing, shooting drills, measurements and other related on-court exercises. With the addition of the seven players invited from the elite camp, the combine will have 83 prospects competing this year.

Those underclassmen that filed as early-entry candidates will also have the chance to interview with teams and gain feedback on their draft positioning. The information will be helpful in forming their decisions on staying in the draft or returning to school before the June 1 deadline.

The NBA draft will take place on June 23.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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NBA G League Elite Camp 2022: Top performers from Day 2 in Chicago

Rookie Wire took a look at some of the best performances from the second and final day of the NBA G League Elite Camp.

The NBA G League Elite Camp resumed on Tuesday for its second and final day as draft-eligible prospects competed in front of scouts, coaches and front-office executives in Chicago, Illinois.

In total, 44 individuals were selected to participate in the event this year. The first day saw several players emerge above the rest with the likes of Marcus Sasser (Houston), Jalen Wilson (Kansas) and Darius Days (LSU) among those that stood out.

With the event wrapping up, other prospects showed out on the second day in an attempt to impress those talent-evaluators on hand. Rookie Wire took a look at some of the best performances from Tuesday.

Hawks to host pre-draft workout with Julian Champagnie, others

Champagnie is among the six prospects set to work out with the Hawks on Monday.

St. John’s junior Julian Champagnie is among the prospects set to participate in a pre-draft workout with the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic.

Champagnie, who was named to the All-Big East first team, averaged 19.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, two assists, two steals and 1.1 blocked shots in 31 games. He finished second in scoring in the conference and 35th in the country, overall.

Atlanta enters the pre-draft process with the 16th and 44th picks, respectively. They also hosted workouts on multiple days last week and appear to be ramping up their draft preparation with the combine set to take place May 16-22.

Champagnie is most commonly projected to be a second-round pick. He will also work out with the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets this week and was recently invited to compete in the draft combine May 16-22 from Chicago, Illinois.

The NBA draft will take place on June 23.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Notre Dame can’t close deal vs. Texas Tech, out of NCAA Tournament

That’s all she wrote for this season.

For 38 minutes, Notre Dame battled Texas Tech as well as it could have. In fact, the Irish had a three-point lead on the Red Raiders and just needed to hold on a little longer to earn a date with Duke in the Sweet 16. Instead, everything on both ends suddenly went south at the wrong time. The Red Raiders scored 10 unanswered points and eliminated the Irish in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 59-53 win in San Diego.

The Irish (24-11) had a 52-49 lead thanks to taking care of the ball, playing solid defense and making shots when they needed to. All of that changed in the game’s final two minutes, and the Red Raiders (27-9) were the beneficiaries.

Out of an Irish timeout with the lead cut to 52-51, Terrence Shannon Jr. stole the ball from Blake Wesley to set up the possession that ended in two free throws for Kevin Obanor, which he earned after being fouled on an offensive rebound. Wesley tried to answer, but his go-ahead layup attempt was blocked by Marcus Santos-Silva, who hit two free throws himself after he was fouled immediately.

The nightmare wasn’t over for Wesley. He turned it over again, leading to another foul that resulted in two successful Red Raiders free throws, this time from Kevin McCullar. Down five and desperate for points, the Irish came up empty on three straight shots. The last of those was blocked and thrown down the court so a completely-alone McCullar could dunk with authority to erase any doubt about this game’s outcome.

Obanor was the star for the Red Raiders as he achieved a double-double of 15 points and 15 rebounds. McCullar had 14 points, as did Bryson Williams. Adonis Arms grabbed seven boards and a game-high four assists.

Dane Goodwin led the Irish with 14 points. In what likely will be his final game for the program, Wesley scored 11 and also had eight rebounds. However, those three turnovers he had in the final two minutes are sure to weigh on him and Irish fans for a long time.

While it was a tough way to end the season, surely any Irish fan would have taken how this team got after such a rough start. Now, we wonder who will be back next year to join highly-touted commit J.J. Starling. Maybe he will get the Irish even deeper in the tournament next year. It sure will be exciting to find out the answer to that question.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Oklahoma vs. No. 14 Texas Tech: injury report, broadcast info for Friday

Everything you need to know as the Oklahoma Sooners get set for their semifinal matchup with No. 14 Texas Tech in the Big 12 tournament.

Oklahoma added a jolt to its NCAA Tournament hopes by upsetting No. 3 Baylor in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament, 72-67. Junior forward Jacob Groves led the way with 15 points and nine rebounds, while redshirt senior guard Marvin Johnson added 12 points off the bench.

Senior guard Umoja Gibson finished with 14 points and it was his driving and-one finish that put the Sooners in front 68-62 with 49 seconds remaining. Redshirt senior point guard Jordan Goldwire and junior forward Jalen Hill each scored 10 points apiece to also help pace OU.

“Really happy for the guys to stick with this and be resilient. When we lost Elijah Harkless, we found out like the day before I think it was the Iowa State game and it kind of took us by surprise. Now, we’ve regrouped. We’ve regrouped and we’ve won four in a row and we’re confident, we’re hot.

“That was a huge win for us. People kind of counted us out and we started one at a time, beating Oklahoma State, then West Virginia, then had to go to Kansas State on their senior night and now this. But it’s a testament to this group on how close they’re becoming and how resilient they’re becoming of blocking out all the outside noise and just trying to focus in on what we need to do to win games,” Oklahoma head men’s basketball coach Porter Moser said following the win over Baylor.

Meanwhile, No. 14 Texas Tech dominated Iowa State from start to finish in its 72-41 win over the Cyclones. Texas Tech junior guard Terrence Shannon Jr. led all scorers with 15 points. It sets up a third meeting between Oklahoma and Texas Tech. The two teams split their season series with OU winning in Norman on Feb. 9, 70-55, and Texas Tech capturing the second tilt in Lubbock on Feb. 22, 66-42.

How to watch

Date: Friday, March 11

Time: 8:30 p.m. CST

TV: ESPN2

Radio: 107.7 FM The Franchise

Stat leaders

Oklahoma:

  • Umoja Gibson: 12.4 points per game, 37.4 percent 3-point field goal shooting
  • Tanner Groves: 12.1 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game, 38.2 percent 3-point field goal shooting
  • Jordan Goldwire: 10.3 points per game, 3.5 assists per game
  • Jalen Hill: 8.9 points per game, 5.9 rebounds per game

Texas Tech:

  • Bryson Williams: 13.8 points per game, 4.3 rebounds per game, 42.1 percent 3-point field goal shooting
  • Terrence Shannon Jr.: 10.6 points per game, 2.9 rebounds per game
  • Davion Warren: 10.1 points per game, 3.1 rebounds per game
  • Kevin McCullar: 10.0 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game
  • Kevin Obanor: 9.8 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game

Injury report

Oklahoma:

  • Elijah Harkless: Harkless suffered a season-ending injury during the Texas game on Feb. 15.

Texas Tech:

  • Ethan Duncan: Duncan’s status is listed as questionable with an undisclosed injury according to oddschecker.com.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

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Wisconsin to Push Back Start Date of Spring Football

Paul Chryst on Monday announced that he was going to push back the start date of spring football.

Wisconsin spring football was officially supposed to start on March 10th but it was announced on Monday that Paul Chryst has elected to push back the start of spring football.

Wisconsin will be on spring break next week and with winter conditioning recently wrapped up Chryst wanted to give his team two weeks to recover in order to maximize the 15 spring practices. The new tentative start date for spring football is March 22nd.

It was also learned on Monday that the Badgers will be without eight players for the entire spring due to injuries. They are nose tackle Keeanu Benton (core), long snapper Josh Bernhagen (left leg), safety Eric Burrell (left arm), wide receiver Jack Dunn (left leg), offensive lineman Kayden Lyles (right and left leg), safety Scott Nelson (left leg), running back Brady Schipper (right and left arm), and nose tackle Bryson Williams (left leg).

It shouldn’t be surprising that Nelson and Williams aren’t available this spring considering both were lost at some point during last season because of an injury. Nelson only played in one game last year and Williams appeared in six games.

Not having Lyles available during spring football will hurt as he was expected to fight for a starting spot on the interior of the offensive line. Offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Joe Rudolph wasn’t going to name a starting five by the end of spring football but Lyles needed the reps in order to set himself up to have a productive fall camp and to allow Rudolph his first chance of trying out different offensive line combinations.

Wisconsin will officially open the season against Indiana on Friday, September 4th at Camp Randall Stadium.

 

Projecting Wisconsin’s 2020 Spring Defensive Depth Chart

Who will open up on Wisconsin’s spring depth chart on the defensive side of the football?

Wisconsin’s defense in 2020 will be missing not only two key players but also two key leaders to not only the defense but the entire team. Those two players being 2019 team captains outside linebacker Zack Baun and inside linebacker Chris Orr. Despite Wisconsin losing Baun and Orr to graduation the Badgers still return an impressive nine starters from last year’s defense.

In this Badgers Wire feature, we project what the spring depth chart on defense will look like when the Badgers open up spring practice.

Projected Spring Depth Chart Defensive Line: DE 1. Isaiahh Loudermilk and Garrett Rand, 2. Matt Henningsen and Isaiah Mullens NT 1. Keeanu Benton 2. Gio Paez

Loudermilk and Rand were able to stay healthy over the course of their redshirt junior seasons and as long as they stay healthy they have established themselves as starters at the defensive end positions. Henningsen used last year’s spring practice to put him in a position to have a terrific redshirt sophomore season. If Henningsen can put together a productive spring like he did in 2019 should allow him to take another step in his development. Mullens appeared in 13 games mostly on special teams as he registered one tackle. With backup defensive end David Pfaff graduating he’ll have a chance in spring football to show why he deserves to be apart of the defensive line rotation. At nose tackle, Keeanu Benton will be going through his first spring practice and will receive plenty of valuable practice reps as Bryson Williams could miss all of spring football as he continues to recover from his left leg injury that he suffered this past season. If Williams can’t go that will mean more reps for redshirt freshman Gio Paez as it will be critical that he takes advantage of his reps.

Projected Spring Depth Chart Linebackers: OLB 1. Noah Burks and Izayah Green-May, 2. Spencer Lytle and Jaylan Franklin ILB 1. Jack Sanborn and Leo Chenal 2. Mike Maskalunas and Maema Njongmeta

Christian Bell would’ve had a chance at competing for one of the starting outside linebacker positions opposite of Noah Burks but instead elected to transfer. That leave’s Green-May as the likely starter opposite of Burks when Wisconsin opens spring football. Green-May initially started the 2019 season as a starter but suffered a right arm injury early in the season, which caused him to miss time. Green-May was able to put together a productive fall camp and the practice habits he developed last year will need to continue if he wants to establish himself as the starter once again. Outside linebackers coach Bobby April will also give Franklin and Lytle a look as a starter opposite of Burks. Making it an important spring for both of them as the Badgers look for a starter who can complement Burks. Wisconsin may lose Chris Orr at middle linebacker but the transition between Orr and Leo Chenal should be a smooth one. Chenal gained valuable experience last year as he played as a true freshman. Chenal will receive plenty of reps over spring football and he should be able to take a nice step in his development. Maskalunas will be Chenal’s top competitor for the other starting inside linebacker position as he’s been serviceable during his time at Wisconsin. Njongmeta redshirted last season and will be going through his first spring practice.

Projected Spring Depth Chart Cornerbacks: 1. Faion Hicks and Rachad Wildgoose 2. Caesar Williams and Semar Melvin

Hicks has been a regular starter at cornerback for Wisconsin the past two seasons and that shouldn’t change heading into spring practices. Wildgoose and Williams started eight and seven games respectively a season ago. The trio has been Wisconsin’s most consistent group of cornerbacks. Semar Melvin is coming off a redshirt season but he was able to take advantage of the redshirt rule by playing in four games without burning a year of eligibility. Melvin was up and down, which is understandable but the reps he does receive during spring practice will be invaluable as he looks to build off of his freshman season. Jim Leonhard will also likely rotate in Donte Burton and Deron Harrell too as the starters at cornerback or with the second string cornerbacks too.

Projected Spring Depth Chart Safety: FS 1. Eric Burrell, 2. John Torchio SS 1. Reggie Pearson, 2. Collin Wilder

Wisconsin Football Season Review: Defensive Line

How did Wisconsin’s defensive line play over the 2019 season?

Wisconsin finished its fifth season under head coach Paul Chryst as Chryst improved his overall record to 52-16 and has a posted a 34-10 record in conference games. After not winning the Big Ten West Division title in 2018 the Badgers were back in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship game as the West representative for the fourth time in the last six years since the Big Ten went to its current format.

In this Badgers Wire feature we will examine the play of Wisconsin’s defensive line from the 2019 season and take a sneak into what the 2020 season may have in store for the position:

If the tight end position was hit hard by injuries in 2019 that award goes to the defensive line in 2018.

Wisconsin’s projected starting defensive line was Isaiahh Loudermilk and Garrett Rand at defensive ends and Olive Sagapolu at nose tackle in 2018. But Rand missed the entire season with an injury, Loudermilk missed four games due to an injury, and Sagapolu missed Wisconsin’s last five games after sustaining an injury against Northwestern.

One player who was forced to step up because of the injuries a season ago was Matt Henningsen. Although the coaching staff wasn’t expecting much from him in 2018 prior to the injuries the experience he did gain as a redshirt freshman was invaluable.

Henningsen was able to make a noticeable leap in his play as he started to become more of a playmaker along the Badgers defensive line in 2019. Henningsen finished the season with 24 tackles and his five tackles for loss tied for the team lead among defensive lineman with Loudermilk and his four sacks were the most amongst defensive lineman. Henningsen also registered two defensive touchdowns too.

Loudermilk and Rand were the starters at defensive end as Loudermilk played in all 14 games but Rand did miss one game. Between Rand and Loudermilk they combined for 51 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and four sacks.

They helped set the edge for Wisconsin’s defense and their ability to take on opposing offensive lineman allowed for Wisconsin’s linebackers to consistently make plays an area that was missing at times in 2018.

It also helped that the Badgers received improved play at the nose tackle position. Bryson Williams like Henningsen improved from his freshman season but his season was cut short as he only appeared in six games.

Williams loss would have hurt Wisconsin’s defensive line a lot but due to the play of true freshman Keeanu Benton, the play by Wisconsin’s defensive line didn’t miss a beat.

Benton consistently improved throughout his freshman season as he was able to utilize his wrestling background to help him gain better leverage in the trenches. Benton finished the season with 12 tackles and had four tackles for loss and two sacks.

2020 Wisconsin Defensive Line

With everybody returning along Wisconsin’s defensive line with the exception of David Pfaff the Badgers should once again be strong in the trenches. The starters at defensive end should continue to be Loudermilk and Rand and the Badgers will have two capable nose tackles in Williams and Benton. Benton certainly had an impact as a true freshman and with him going through spring football for the first time should allow for him to only grow as he heads into his sophomore season. It will also be an important spring for redshirt freshman Gio Paez and Rodas Johnson in their development, in addition to Isaiah Mullens too. Wisconsin’s ability to continue to build solid and reliable depth along the defensive line will be critical for not only 2020 but in the future too and that will begin in the spring.