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Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard praises Badgers point guard after exhibition win

Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard praises Badgers point guard after exhibition win

Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard praised point guard Kamari McGee following the Badgers’ 78-62 exhibition win over UW-River Falls on Wednesday.

In 24 minutes off the bench, McGee registered five points, six assists and four rebounds for UW’s second unit. McGee also took care of the rock and did not record a turnover during his time orchestrating the offense.

“He’s been the most consistent,” Gard said after the game. “That’s what he’s done, day in and day out. He makes the teams that he’s on better. I told him as I decided who I was going to start tonight that I wanted to make sure he had that same energy and bounce.”

Gard elected to go with John Tonje, Steven Crowl, Nolan Winter, John Blackwell and Max Klesmit as his starting unit against UW-River Falls. Nonetheless, McGee has emerged as a trusted voice in Wisconsin’s locker room.

“He and [Max Klesmit] do a great job vocally of leading the team. Those guys are the heartbeat of it,” Gard emphasized.

In 56 career games at Wisconsin before his senior year, McGee averaged 7.6 minutes per game in his time as a valued bench asset. With three new transfers and two true freshmen now in the fold, his leadership and consistency figures to play a pivotal role in how UW’s group operates throughout the 2024-25 season.

Wisconsin basketball gives glimpse at starting lineup, rotation in exhibition vs. UW-River Falls

Wisconsin basketball gives glimpse at starting lineup, rotation in exhibition vs. UW-River Falls

Wisconsin basketball stepped on the Kohl Center court on Wednesday for the first action of the 2024-25 season, albeit in an unofficial capacity.

The Badgers faced UW-River Falls in a preseason scrimmage. The score, which doesn’t count, was 78-62 in favor of Wisconsin.

Related: Big Ten basketball power rankings entering 2024-25 season: A first look at the expanded conference

Transfer guard John Tonje led the way for the Badgers with 15 points, while center Steven Crowl and forward Carter Gilmore added 14 and nine, respectively.

The contest got tight in the second half, with UW-River Falls cutting the Badgers lead to just two points with 12:55 remaining. Wisconsin would pull away in the end, though its performance was far from dominant.

There aren’t many big-picture takeaways from the performance of Greg Gard’s team in its first unofficial game action. The group, with new faces at nearly every position, will need some time to gel and find on-court rhythm.

One thing we can read into from the contest, however, is the Badgers’ initial starting lineup and early rotation.

Wisconsin entered the scrimmage as follows:

G: John Blackwell

G: Max Klesmit

G: John Tonje (transfer)

F: Nolan Winter

C: Steven Crowl

Gard’s first two players off the bench were F Markus Ilver and G Kamari McGee for Winter and Tonje, respectively. He proceeded to quickly rotate after that pair, using as many as 10 total players in the first 12 minutes of the exhibition.

Both the general rotation and starting lineup point to a main theme: the Badgers are deep throughout the lineup.

Blackwell, Klesmit and Crowl are easy write-ins to the nightly starting five. Tonje and Winter, meanwhile, are battling among a larger group that also includes veterans Carter Gilmore and Kamari McGee, top freshman Daniel Freitag, transfer forward Xavier Amos and transfer guard Camren Hunter. That isn’t even mentioning Ilver, who could earn a role.

Where the 2024-25 Badgers lack in top-end star power after the offseason departures of Chucky Hepburn and A.J. Storr they excels in depth of contributors. The busy battle for the two spots alongside Blackwell, Klesmit and Crowl shows that reality.

Gard is now tasked with finding a rotation that maximizes depth that could possibly reach 11 spots. That effort will begin on Monday, Nov. 4 when the Badgers officially open their 2024-25 season against Holy Cross at the Kohl Center.

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