Tag: Greg Gard

How to get your first live look at Wisconsin basketball in 2020-2021

The Badgers Red-White Scrimmage is this weekend

Saturday is heaven for a Wisconsin Badgers sports fan. After sitting through two weeks of cancelled games and waiting impatiently for college basketball season to begin, this weekend brings both live Wisconsin football and basketball to your television.

The first look at the Wisconsin Badgers basketball team always comes through the Red & White Scrimmage at the Kohl Center, and what is traditionally an open practice will be done a bit differently in this unprecedented year.

With the voice of Wisconsin sports Matt Lepay on the call, Wisconsin is streaming the Red & White Scrimmage on Facebook, Youtube, and the Badgers website.

Before catching Wisconsin football in primetime, get your first look at the Badgers on the hardwood as they go up against each other at the Kohl Center.

Wisconsin basketball in the top ten of the first AP Top 25 Poll

Wisconsin basketball ranked above Duke, Kentucky, and Michigan State in the first AP Poll

College basketball season is now officially close. We have rankings! Wisconsin, with high expectations for a senior-led group, opened in the top ten of the first AP Top 25 Poll of the 2020-2021 season.

The Badgers were not, however, the top Big Ten team in the primary poll, with that honor going to the Iowa Hawkeyes. There were three Big Ten teams, none of whom are named Michigan State, in the top ten with Iowa at No. 4, Wisconsin at No. 7, and Illinois at No. 8.

The Badgers also came in ahead of blue bloods in Duke and Kentucky, while falling one spot below Kansas. If there is one thing to take away from the top ten of the AP Poll, it’s that the peak of the Big Ten conference is as good as it has ever been.

The KenPom preseason rankings have the Badgers in the nation’s top 10

Of all the college basketball rankings, polls and analysis, there is one that accurately predicts future production with advanced…

Of all the college basketball rankings, polls and analysis, there is one that accurately predicts future production with advanced statistics and metrice. It is Ken Pomeroy’s KenPom rankings.

Last night those rankings were released for the 2020-2021 college basketball season and coming in at No. 7 in the nation are the Wisconsin Badgers.

From KenPom.com, the ratings are “designed to be purely predictive” and use advanced metrics to predict each team’s offensive production, defensive production, strength of schedule and more.

Related: Here is how Wisconsin football can still make the Big Ten Championship game

The recently-released rankings have Greg Gard’s team as the best team in the Big Ten, with Ohio State, Iowa, Michigan State, Michigan, Illinois and Purdue also making the Top 25.

The Badgers, coming off a shared regular-season Big Ten title, return their entire core from last season and, if national rankings and polls are any indication, are in for another successful season.

 

Next…Where every Big Ten team is ranked

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Wisconsin PG D’Mitrik Trice named to the Bob Cousy Award watch list

The Badger PG earns preseason honors

After a championship season in the Big Ten conference, Wisconsin PG D’Mitrik Trice has been named to the 2020-2021 Bob Cousy Award watch list. Each year, the award goes to the best point guard in college basketball.

Trice is one of 20 players around the country that earned their way on to the initial list. The Badger guard is joined by Big Ten stars Geo Baker (Rutgers) and Ayo Dosunmu (Illinois).

Coming off of a season in which Trice elevated his game during an eight-game winning streak en route to a conference title, the senior guard is ready to lead an experienced Wisconsin unit. The Ohio native finished last season averaging 9.8 points, 4.2 assists, and over 4 rebounds per contest.

The award is named after Boston Celtics legend and six-time NBA champion Bob Cousy, who was an outstanding college PG at Holy Cross in the late 1940’s.

In January, this initial list of 20 will be narrowed down to ten players, with five finalists being announced in February. The award will be presented on April 9, 2021.

Report: Wisconsin basketball gets their BIG/ACC challenge opponent

The Badgers have their BIG/ACC opponent

Although not much is yet solidified about the Wisconsin basketball non-conference schedule, the Badgers do have their Big Ten/ACC challenge opponent according to CBS insider Jon Rothstein.

The Badgers will take on head coach Chris Mack and the Louisville Cardinals at the Kohl Center. Louisville is coming off of an outstanding 24-7 season in ACC play. There is a good chance that this matchup is between two ranked opponents when the Cardinals and Badgers meet in an early-season clash.

Wisconsin basketball is drawing inspiration from the best conditioned NBA team in the league

This preseason, the focus for the Badgers has been on their conditioning

It has felt like an accepted truth around the NBA over the past decade that the Miami Heat conditioning program is on another level. It isn’t fancy, it isn’t based on futuristic machines or wild advanced stats. Instead, it goes back to the basics, but at a level that most NBA teams would never think of pushing themselves to.

In a piece earlier this postseason, with the Heat making a run to the finals, ESPN NBA senior writer Brian Windhorst gave us an inside glimpse at the drill that has made Miami’s conditioning as notorious as it is:

“In his first moment in the spotlight as a member of the Miami Heat last fall, Jimmy Butler failed.

It was the rigorous conditioning test the Heat put players through before training camp that is legend within the league. Some athletic trainers claim it’s the most demanding such test in all of the NBA or NFL.  To be admitted to training camp, a player has to run the length of the court 10 times in under a minute. Then two minutes recovery. Then again. Two minutes recovery. Then again. And again. And again.”

Even Jimmy Butler, arguably the fiercest competitor in the league could not handle the infamous sprints. So, what did Greg Gard and Wisconsin basketball want to do in order to get ready for an unprecedented season? Learn from the best in the game, and take their conditioning to a whole new Miami-approved level.

Yesterday in Wednesday’s press conference, senior forward Micah Potter noted the different level of preseason conditioning that Wisconsin has been doing this season. One of the toughest drills came straight from the Miami Heat playbook.

Potter said they had been participating in the “Miami Drill,” the same court sprints within a minute that the Heat do every year at the beginning of training camp as an entrance exam. “It’s a dog,” said Potter. “It’s tough.”

Wisconsin is trying to be the best conditioned team in the country, and turning towards arguably the toughest conditioning program in all of sports as their inspiration.

 

LOOK: Wisconsin men’s basketball receives their Big Ten championship rings

It was 220 days ago that the Wisconsin men’s basketball team played their final game of the 2019-20 regular season, a 60-56 victory over…

It was 220 days ago that the Wisconsin men’s basketball team played their final game of the 2019-20 regular season, a 60-56 victory over Indiana that cemented themselves as co-Big Ten Champions.

We all remember what followed that game with COVID-19 striking the country, as five days later on March 12 the Big Ten Tournament was canceled and five days after that on March 17 the NCAA Tournament followed suit.

Related: Opinion: Tyler Herro went to Kentucky and it was the right decision

Well, yesterday the Badgers’ memorable 2019-20 season was finally commemorated as the team and the coaching staff received their Big Ten championship rings.

The rings include “Do Moore, Be Moore, 4 Moore” for assistant coach Howard Moore after he faced tragedy earlier in the year, each player’s name and number, a Badger logo and a simple sentence: “2020 Big Ten Champs.”

Head Coach Greg Gard spoke recently about receiving the rings, saying “There is more out there for you to get. So this goes on the shelf and now we chase what’s next.”

D’Mitrik Trice echoed that statement in a Tweet showing off the new ring.

The Badgers will be back in action in late November as they look to hold their No. 1 spot in the conference and capitalize on a chance to have Micah Potter’s services for a full year and on their opportunity to play postseason basketball.

Opinion: Tyler Herro went to Kentucky and it was the right decision

Last week it was reported that former Wisconsin star Nigel Hayes played a hand in Milwaukee native and current Miami Heat shooting guard…

Last week it was reported that former Wisconsin star Nigel Hayes played a hand in Milwaukee native and current Miami Heat shooting guard Tyler Herro decommitting from the Wisconsin basketball program and going to Kentucky.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst’s piece had the following quote from Hayes about what he told the young star:

“This is going to make some people mad. I was one of the ones who advised him not to go to Wisconsin with the talent he has,” Hayes told ESPN. “I told him the only people who are upset with him are the ones who are selfish. Only way he can thrive is not walking around thinking he’s less than. He’s a growing seed.”

Related: Wisconsin football 2020 projected two-deep depth chart, preseason edition

I have three words to say about this whole situation since seemingly every time Herro scores in the NBA somebody brings up the fact that he decommitted from Wisconsin: Get over it.

It’s that simple. Both sides moved on long ago and Herro clearly made the best choice for his future. Get over it.

Obviously, something needs to be said about not committing to a program and then reversing course. That is probably the only slight you can have about Herro’s path.

But if you were in his shoes and had the talent to be a one-and-done player, why wouldn’t you go to a program like Kentucky that perfectly fits your needs and your future?

I don’t think it’s too much to say that had he come to Wisconsin he would not be in the position he is in today, a key player on the team that just lost the NBA Finals in six games.

The same message goes for Hayes here. The Badger great clearly had Herro’s best interests in mind, gave him sound advice and stood by him while he was crushed by Badger fans for switching to Kentucky.

The Wisconsin program moved on long ago, Herro moved on long ago and the shooting guard is in the best position he could possibly be in.

Be happy for him, be happy the Badger basketball program is a successful one and get over the fact that he didn’t stay in-state and come to Wisconsin. It’s that simple.

One way that Wisconsin basketball could look very different this season

One major change from last year to this year for the 2020-2021 Badgers

The 2019-20 Wisconsin Badgers were as resilient of a group as you will find throughout the history of college basketball. A tragedy before the season began, losing a key member of the rotation in Kobe King during the middle of the year, and yet somehow finding a way to win eight games and take a title share in the best conference in college basketball.

There’s the obvious differences with this upcoming season surrounding fans in the stands, the schedule, and more, but this change is one that will take place on the court. With over 80% of the scoring returning to Madison, and losing only one key contributor in senior Brevin Pritzl, what could feel significantly different between the 2019-20 Badgers and this edition? The answer lies in the 2020 freshman class.

During the dominant month of February for Wisconsin basketball, perhaps the most impressive element was the fact that head coach Greg Gard was only playing eight players per night. The shortened leash and big minutes for his key contributors helped Gard lead UW to an all-time turnaround. In this 2020-2021 squad, however, consistently playing ten or 11 players, especially early in the season, would be more expected than surprising.

Expect the two top-ranked 2020 recruits, Ben Carlson and Johnny Davis to see the court immediately. Beyond them, how deep will this bench go? Does senior guard Walt McGrory find the hardwood early on after appearing in 14 games last season? Is the Steven Crowl hype real enough to give him rotational minutes in his true freshman season? Does Gard feel that Wisconsin needs another ball handler in Detroit native Lorne Bowman, or does the freshman decide to redshirt?

Despite these being questions, they are ones that do not feel like their is a bad answer attached. These are good problems to have, and depth issues that only elite teams will face in 2020-2021. For a team that went eight deep in order to win a Big Ten championship, it would be hard to see the Badgers playing less than ten guys at the outset of the year. Over time, expect the rotational picture to become clear. Expect early mistakes, and short stints and leashes for young players, but also expect wins. This team is as deep as any in the country, and ready to turn a weakness from 2019-20 into one of their most important strengths in 2020-2021.

WATCH: Former Badger Sam Dekker posterizes defender in Turkey

After stints in the NBA with the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards, former Badger…

After stints in the NBA with the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards, former Badger Sam Dekker has looking for a permanent basketball home.

The former Badger was an integral part of the program’s run to consecutive Final Fours in 2013 and 2014, production which made him a first round pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Well, the NBA dream has been put on hold for at least time time being as Dekker spent last season playing in Russia and just recently signed with Türk Telekom of the Turkish Super League.

It did not take long for Dekker to introduce himself as he came down the lane and absolutely posterized the defender in his way:

The path back to the NBA may be a challenging one for Dekker, but his time thus playing overseas has been filled with nothing but success.