Post by mrode363 on Feb 22, 2016 18:55:06 GMT
| HEARTBREAK : THE ANALYSIS Badger fans, players, and coaches can blame officiating all they want; it still won’t change the outcome of the game. The fact of the matter is that Wisconsin didn’t play well enough down the stretch of the game to bring home a championship trophy. It’s a harsh reality, but is one that Wisconsin players and fans will have to face until next season rolls around. And with the losses of key players like Frank Kaminsky, Sam Dekker, Josh Gasser, Traevon Jackson, and Duje Dukan, next season may not look as bright. (Before you start fretting about next season, read below this line) There is plenty to look forward to in the future for the Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team. Oh really, and losing our best two players isn’t going to hurt us? The Badgers may not have as much firepower next year as they did this season; but just remember who is coaching the players in red. Bo Ryan… Bo Knows Everything. Over his impressive tenure at Wisconsin, he has turned lowly-rated recruits into All-Americans (Kaminsky, Jon Leuer, Jordan Taylor). And how about some of the other talented players that Bo Ryan has coached (Keaton Nankivil, Jared Berggren, Mike Bruesewitz, Ben Brust). The list goes on and on. Each year, Ryan seems to bring in little-known recruits to the already formed core group of Wisconsin players. By the time the little-known recruits become juniors and seniors, they have improved drastically and some even go on to win conference or national awards. So being the avid Badgers fan that I am, I have done a little research on what the next couple of years at Wisconsin will look like. Here is a list of all the returning players that played significant roles this season… Nigel Hayes, Bronson Koenig, Zak Showalter, and Vitto Brown. Look at that, almost a starting five right there. Koenig and Hayes will most certainly be starters for the remainder of their Wisconsin careers while Showalter and Brown will look to improve their game and make even bigger impacts going forward. Now let’s move to some of the players who played on this year’s team and are destined for more minutes this upcoming season… Riley Dearring, Aaron Moesch, Matt Ferris, and Jordan Smith. You may not know many of these players or maybe any of them at all. That’s okay, just know that one of them will probably turn into a starter down the road and might even become an All-American. All of these players were rated highly coming into Wisconsin and will now have the opportunity to show Badger nation what they can bring to the court. And what about last year’s (2014) recruits? The Badgers recruiting class was only two players long, T.J Schlundt and Ethan Happ. Schlundt is a 6’4 shooting guard from Oconomowoc, WI. He will most likely play the same position as a member of the Badgers and will probably earn significant minutes this season as Wisconsin tries to fill in for some key players that they lost. From what I have read about the walk-on Schlundt, he is a sharpshooter and can play respectable defense. Coach Ryan has raved about Schlundt and is excited to work with him in the coming years. Keep your eyes on Schlundt and don’t be surprised if he becomes the next “Ben Brust” of the always-consistent Wisconsin men’s basketball team. Now for the other recruit, Ethan Happ. Happ is a 6’9 redshirt freshmen from Milan, Illinois. He earned All-State selections as both a junior and senior in high school; Happ averaged a monstrous 33 points per game while pulling down 15 rebounds a game during his senior year. You may be wondering why Happ didn’t get any playing time this year, but just remember who was in front of him on the depth charts... Hayes, Dekker, and Kaminsky. Happ also decided to redshirt his first year on campus due to his lack of post moves and inability to play solid defense. As the year progressed, Happ became a nightmare to guard in practice. Bo Ryan and the rest of the coaching staff have even said that Happ at times would outplay the player of the year Frank Kaminsky, making him look like the redshirt freshmen… If that doesn’t send chills down your spine, I don’t know what would. Ethan Happ is going to be a force for the Wisconsin Badgers in the coming years. Don’t be surprised to see Happ in the starting lineup from game one though. This kid is going to be a star. The Badgers don’t look so bad after all, do they? There is plenty of quality players on this Wisconsin team still; we just may not know a lot about them yet. So please don’t freak out before the season even starts, the future is still bright… Oh and I have another little secret for you; the Badgers have a four-player recruiting class coming in next season. Alex Illikainen, Brevin Pritzl, Charlie Thomas, and Khalil Iverson; all of the players are rated 70 or higher, according to ESPN. Don’t be surprised to see one, or maybe all four recruits, step up and make a big impact right from the start of their tenures at Wisconsin. Yes, the future may look a little bleak from the typical fan’s view of things; but with a little digging and research, Badger fans have little to worry about… Well maybe other than trying to figure out how to say “Illikainen”. | A LOOK BACK The beginning of the 2015/2016 NCAA basketball season wasn’t exactly how Badger fans would have hoped, as the Badgers got humiliated in a 69-67 season-opening loss to Summit League opponent Western Illinois. To make matters worse, Wisconsin lost back-to-back games to in-state rivals Marquette and UW-Milwaukee. The Badgers finally steadied the ship against Texas A&M-CC, but immediately took another hit… Bo Ryan retired immediately after the game and left Badger nation in shock and despair. (It was definitely a time to fret about the Wisconsin Badgers) Greg Gard was named interim coach and a new era of Wisconsin basketball began. After closing out the nonconference portion of the schedule with a close win over Green Bay, the Badgers proceeded to win just one of its first four Big Ten games. At this point, the season looked to be a wash and the team wasn’t anywhere near the NCAA Tournament picture. Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig couldn’t shoulder the load of leading the team as a duo and Zak Showalter and Vitto Brown did not make the jump many juniors on the team usually take. Redshirt freshman Ethan Happ was playing very well for his age but his play didn’t translate into Badger wins. The team had basically no consistent role players among its big recruiting class and seemed far too inexperienced to make any sort of turnaround during the season. Even with Ryan out of the coaching picture, you could still feel a part of him there because of all the freshman he had recently recruited. As I mentioned last year, Riley Dearring, Aaron Moesch, Matt Ferris and Jordan Smith would all be returning and could carve out some type of role on the team. While Dearring has only appeared in three games and Ferris decided to redshirt his sophomore year, Moesch and Hill have earned significant roles on the Badgers. Moesch has played in 12 games while Hill has played in 21. The duo has combined for nearly 20 minutes a game over the course of this season. Moesch has turned into a defensive sub who can play multiple positions, often giving Hayes and Showalter a quick rest on the bench. Hill, on the other hand, has become the top bench guard and can allow the Badgers to play three guards at the same time while also serving as Koenig’s backup. While the roles may not be as big as expected, both will be returning next season as key contributor’s to an otherwise young roster. How about the 2014 recruits, T.J. Schlundt and Ethan Happ? Schlundt has only appeared in four games and is averaging less than a point a game. At the point, Schlundt is buried on the bench and will most likely remain a nonfactor unless an injury occurs. On the opposite side of the coin is Happ, a bruising 6’9 redshirt freshman who has started each game for the Badgers this season. The youngster is averaging nearly 12 points and eight rebounds a game while also swatting a shot a game. Oh, and he also leads the Big Ten in steals. It’s fair to say that Happ has certainly made his mark on the conference this season and he could potentially come away with Freshmen of the Year honors. Although a bit undersized, Happ has great strength and can body up any center in the Big Ten. He is crafty with his post moves (like the former star, Frank Kaminsky) and has proven to be a reliable ball handler when trying to break the press. In my opinion, Happ can be looked to as one of the biggest reasons for the Badgers turnaround the season. Last year, I said Happ would become a Big Ten force at some point in his college career; never did I imagine it would come in his first season. For that reason alone, Badger fans should be even more excited about the future of the team. Happ has already become a star to the Badgers’ team while becoming a fan-favorite along the way. You’re going to want to enjoy his next three-plus years Badgers fans, cause you may be watching a future Player of the Year (like Kaminsky) and a NBA player. Since the 1-4 Big Ten start, the Badgers have gone 8-1 and, barring a late season letdown, should once again make the NCAA Tournament. Hey, would you look at that, they don’t look so bad after all, do they? 2015 recruits Alex Illikainen, Charlie Thomas and Khalil Iverson have all carved out roles within the team while Brevin Pritzl has battled injuries this season and looks to make his mark more in the coming years. Illikainen, Thomas and Iverson have made their impact on this year’s team and will need to continue playing well as the years winds down to help the Badgers advance through the NCAA Tournament. If one of the three can step up his game, the team could actually make a deep run in the tournament (crazy thought, right?). While the season has truly tested us Badger fans, you can rest a little easier knowing that the team can still compete and that the future is incredibly bright. Plus, Illikainen isn’t even that hard to say, especially when he is filling up the scoresheet like he has been of late. |