BADGERS SURVIVE PENN STATE IN LOW SCORING AFFAIR

MADISON, WI – 2/5/2022 

By: Mitchell Speltz 

If you were looking for a low-scoring, offensively challenged basketball game, the Kohl Center was the place for you on Saturday night. The Wisconsin Badgers (18-4, 9-3) overcame another tough shooting performance to avoid an upset from Penn State (9-10, 4-7), 51-49. “Good teams find a way to win these games,” was the message Greg Gard had for his team following another gritty performance as Wisconsin’s defense came through for them when they needed it. Grit has been a key trait for this Wisconsin team this season and it’s been required in just about all their wins in conference play – Especially on Saturday as Johnny Davis was held to a season-low 4 points. With the win, the Badgers remain one game behind Illinois for the conference lead and now look forward to a much-anticipated rematch with Michigan State Tuesday night in East Lansing.

TAKEAWAYS: 

  • It’s now back-to-back games where the Badgers have struggled to shoot the ball as they finished the game against Penn State 37% after an abysmal 25% in the first half, which produced just 18 points. What is attributed to the poor shooting? I believe it’s two things – 1) The film is out on Wisconsin. This is the point of the season where teams really begin to figure out how to guard their opponents and they must make adjustments. This isn’t just a Wisconsin thing, it’s the same for everyone else in the Big Ten and the best teams are the ones who fight through the adversity and find other ways to win. 2) The Badgers are playing with some tired legs as well. Wisconsin just finished their second stretch of 3 games in 6 days after the loss to Illinois on Wednesday. After that grueling game against the Illini, they had two days to prepare for a pesky Penn State team. And this stretch will continue as the Badgers get just two days to prepare for round two against Michigan State. 
  • With those shooting struggles, one way to overcome them is creating easier shots in transition. It has been widely publicized that Wisconsin is playing more up-tempo than usual and this is the fastest-paced they’ve been in over 20 years – Is this the answer to getting the offense back on track? The Badgers scored just 2 fast break points against Penn State and didn’t have much of a transition game in Illinois either. In my opinion, I think Wisconsin is better off slowing things down and getting back to executing in the half-court rather than putting an emphasis on pushing the ball, at least for their next game against Michigan State. A couple of Badger players after the game admitted tired legs were affecting them a bit and the Spartans love to play up-tempo and I think if Wisconsin were to play their game on Tuesday, it could lead to another inefficient offensive performance. I’m not saying abandon transition opportunities, but I think Wisconsin’s best bet to return to form offensively is to control the tempo and have teams play their style of basketball. 
  • Quietly, Steven Crowl continues to take significant strides. The opinions of him probably weren’t all that favorable following the game versus Illinois on Wednesday when Kofi Cockburn scored 37 against him. That’s one game and Cockburn is a rare breed that only a select few teams can match up with without doubling. Crowl led the team in scoring with 13 points and dished out a career-high 5 assists on Saturday. His three-point shooting has really come along as he has made at least one in six of his past eight games – This is an integral part of Wisconsin’s offense as it greatly affects the way they can space the floor and open up driving lanes. He’s starting to dominate the minutes at the five-position and he’s done an excellent job doing so since the new year began. 

AT THE PODIUM:  

  • “It was a gritty game. Our shots weren’t falling, I thought we were getting good looks but our defense really kept us in it. We’ve talked a lot lately about being better defensively and it helped us tonight” – Tyler Wahl on the win 
  • “We just had to get our focus back. We had to settle back on defense and execute on offense. That’s what we do” – Chucky Hepburn on rallying after falling behind in the 2nd half 
  • “I said you guys have carried us a lot of nights. Tonight, it was their turn to carry you” – Greg Gard on his message to Johnny Davis and Brad Davison at halftime 
  • “Our goal when we face a scorer like that is to make him take more shots than points. He’s an attacker and we stressed not to foul him. Seth Lundy is a great defender and he’s done this all season for us against the best in the league” – Penn State Head Coach Micah Shrewsburry on limiting Johnny Davis 

BADGERS WIN ROUND 1 OF THE BORDER BATTLE

MADISON, WI – 1/30/2022 

By: Mitchell Speltz 

“That game went exactly how I thought it would go”, said Greg Gard following Wisconsin’s (17-3, 8-2) win against the Minnesota Golden Gophers (11-7, 2-7). Rivalry games are never meant to be easy, and the Badgers knew they were in for a battle on Sunday afternoon as a team effort guided Wisconsin to their ninth win in their last ten contests. Four of the five starters reached double-figure points in the 66-60 victory as this Badger team once again proved they are more than their star player, Johnny Davis. Wisconsin continues to hold its spot in a first-place tie atop the Big Ten, and now they’ll get the chance to break that tie on Wednesday when they face fellow conference leader Illinois on the road. Before looking ahead, here are my takeaways from Sunday’s action: 

TAKEAWAYS: 

  • A 16-point performance seems pedestrian for his standards, but I thought this was one of the best games of the season for Johnny Davis. The way Minnesota defended Johnny was very similar to how Michigan State did and he responded to it much better this time around. Against the Spartans, Johnny tried to force up his shots when they weren’t there – Compare that to Sunday’s performance, he was much more disciplined and let his teammates help him out. Gopher’s Head Coach Ben Johnson mentioned following the game they wanted to challenge everything Johnny did and not let him have anything easy. Despite that, Johnny still produced in a significant way by scoring a team-best 16 points thanks to a 6-0 spurt of his own to finish the game and he collected a career-high 15 rebounds. One thing Greg Gard has always stressed to his players is to find ways to contribute other than scoring, and Johnny did just that with his rebounding and defense. His stretch to finish the game just validates how special of a talent he is and why he is in the National Player-of-the-Year conversation. 
  • Perhaps the most telling stat about this Wisconsin team is their 10-1 record in games decided by 6 points or fewer – Is this luck? Or is there something too this? I do believe most of this is due to this team’s composure and the way they remain calm in crunch time. Greg Gard has said repeatedly that he doesn’t do anything special in the huddle when organizing late-game scenarios, but he credited his team with the way they value each possession throughout the whole game. This aligns with Gard’s theory as the Badgers are currently best in the nation at taking care of the ball with 8.5 turnovers/game. In simplicity, Wisconsin is maximizing their opportunities to score because most possessions end with them putting a shot up and it’s even more impressive considering they are playing faster this season – Those extra shots are often the difference in close matchups.  

     
  • Brad Davison is playing the best basketball of his career and his outside shooting has much to do with it. Davison didn’t slow up on Sunday after breaking the program’s career three-point record on Thursday as he’s now made 15 triples over his last 3 games. His four threes against the Gophers was his third straight game with four or more, and his seventh overall on the season – He ranks second in the Big Ten in three-point percentage during conference play at 45%, only trailing Ron Harper Jr. of Rutgers. The Super-Senior has excelled in his role as the team’s three-point specialist, and it’s provided a huge lift to this offense.  

AT THE PODIUM: 

  • “I was thinking about getting a bucket at all costs. It’s crucial to get a basket at that point in the game and I wanted to do whatever I could to deliver” – Johnny Davis on his stretch to finish the game 
  • “We’re building, moving in the right direction. It’s good to stack wins like this and we are where we want to be right now. We have to keep improving to get where we want to at the end of the year” – Brad Davison on where the team is at right now 

     
  • “I think it’s us sticking together. We’re a close group and Coach Gard does a nice job at keeping us together during those late-game situations” – Tyler Wahl on the key to closing out games 

     
  • “They were good. We did a good job on Johnny I thought holding him under his average and we challenged all his catches and shots but this is why they’re good, they can all produce” – Gophers Head Coach Ben Johnson on Wisconsin’s supporting cast 

Nathaniel Hackett Hired as Broncos Head Coach

By: Aaron Morse 1/27/2022

The Packers will be looking for a new offensive coordinator for next year. The reason- Nathaniel Hackett has been hired by the Denver Broncos as their next head coach. It seemed like from start this was the most likely of outcomes and it has come to fruition. The Broncos have had their eye on Aaron Rodgers since the day Adam Schefter released the breaking news of an unhappy Rodgers. Obviously, the Broncos were unable to acquire Rodgers in last off-season, so hiring his offensive coordinator, a guy Rodgers really, really likes working with, seemed to be the next logical step in luring Rodgers to Denver.

And as you just heard, Rodgers really likes Luke Getsy, too. Currently, Getsy is the Packers QB coach and passing game coordinator and is a candidate to re-join Hackett in Denver as his offensive coordinator. It would be the first time Getsy was hired as a coordinator, but Hackett would certainly be heavily involved. Oh, and Getsy was also interviewed for the Broncos head coach position.

Coincidence? Maybe. Will it work? Maybe. We will have to wait until the franchise tag deadline for that, according to Rodgers:

Hackett has been in football since day one. His father Paul was an offensive coordinator for multiple college and NFL teams. Nathaniel followed in those footsteps and was an offensive coordinator with the Bills (’13-’14), and Jaguars (’16-’18) before he joined the Packers. He had been the Packers offensive coordinators for all three seasons that Matt LaFleur has been the Packers head coach. Since then, the Packers have won 13 games in three straight seasons, the first team in NFL history to ever do that. They have also earned a playoff bye each season, two of them as the one seed, the offense has clicked very well leading to Rodgers winning an MVP and on his way to a second straight.

Clearly, Hackett has the resume and the knowledge to be a head coach and he credits a lot of that to Rodgers and the Packers culture.

Now we wait and see if Hackett brings some of that Packers culture with him to Denver. Whether it be Getsy, Adam Stenovich (O-Line coach) or even Aaron Rodgers, the Packers have some hiring to do.

WISCONSIN’S WINNING STREAK ENDS AGAINST MICHIGAN STATE

-MADISON, WI – 1/21/2022 

By: Mitchell Speltz

A seven-game winning streak came to a sudden halt on Friday night for the Wisconsin Badgers (15-3) as they suffered their first loss in over a month at the hands of Michigan State (15-3). An 8-0 start to the game got the sold-out, Kohl Center crowd into the game early but the Spartans quieted them quickly and dominated the contest from there on out. “We lost our intensity and we couldn’t get it back”, said Johnny Davis. Playing in front of their largest collection of home fans this season, it came as a major surprise Michigan State was able to come to Madison and frustrate Wisconsin as much as they did, and now after taking a punch in the mouth, how will this young team respond? The Badgers will look to get right and perhaps healthier over the weekend as Tyler Wahl was held out Friday with an ankle injury. The team hopes to have him back on Thursday when they visit Nebraska, but here are my conclusions from Friday’s loss: 

TAKEAWAYS: 

  • Johnny Davis finished the game as the leading scorer with 25 points, but earning those points was anything but easy. The Player-of-the-Year candidate needed 20 shots to register 25 points, and it was a frustrating night all around. This game was truly one of two halves for Johnny – In the first half, he scored 10 points on 3/13 shooting compared to 15 on 5/7 in the second. What changed? It felt like Johnny was forcing too many shots in the opening half and the frustration with the Spartans defense and officiating appeared to get to him. In the second, I thought he let the game come to him and played through his teammates more. He showed more discipline and didn’t feel the need to score on every possession. There will be moments where he must have the ball in his hands and needs to make a play, but it felt like he was playing with the world on his shoulders and tried to make plays that weren’t there. Johnny Davis on a mediocre night can still produce in a major way, but playing to be more efficient and trusting his teammates more is something he has to develop for the final two months of the season. 
  • What got exposed most in this game was Wisconsin’s lack of depth. Playing without Tyler Wahl is a big deal and Greg Gard emphasized such following the game. The Badgers only got seven points out of their bench on Friday and being productive off the bench doesn’t always point to scoring, but Gard insisted that players on the bench need to be better and step up. This team has been fortunate to have opportunities to develop younger players with Johnny missing two games earlier in the season, but the five starters cannot do all the heavy lifting. You need consistent bench play to complement the starting five in order to have a complete team, and Wisconsin does not have that right now. 
  • One positive I’ll end on is the growing development of Wisconsin’s three-point shooting. Wisconsin made 12 shots from behind the arc and have now made 31 over their last three games at a 45% clip. Half of their makes on Friday came from Brad Davison but this is something to watch going forward. This was not expected to be a strength coming into the season and I don’t think it will be an aspect of the offense the Badgers want to overly depend on. However, there’s always been confidence amongst the players they’re capable of shooting the ball better than the percentages indicate. The Badgers will look to continue their focus at scoring in the paint and getting to the line, but a consistent inside-out game will create better floor spacing, which is beneficial to any offense. 

AT THE PODIUM: 

  • “It was a little frustrating but I can’t control what refs see or call. I tried to set up my teammates but they didn’t make shots at a consistent rate” – Johnny Davis on Michigan State’s defensive game plan against him 
  • “Not great. They got a lot of transition buckets, offensive rebounds, and they got confident because of it. We didn’t play great tonight but we look forward to seeing them again in a few weeks” – Brad Davison on the team’s performance  
  • “Two of the better players I’ve seen in this league in Davison and Davis. I’ve been in the league for a long time and we put an emphasis on them and they still torched us” – Tom Izzo on containing Brad Davison and Johnny Davis 

     
  • “I don’t think the physicality affected us; we’ve faced physical teams before. It was the transition game that took us too long to adapt to, and defending for 25 seconds and then giving up an offensive rebound” – Greg Gard on Michigan State’s physicality  

TEAM EFFORT LEADS WISCONSIN TO REVENGE OVER THE BUCKEYES

-MADISON, WI – 1/13/2021 

By: Mitchell Speltz 

Another game, another quality win for the Wisconsin Badgers (14-2) as they avenged their only conference loss of the season against Ohio State (10-4) on Thursday night with a wire-to-wire victory, 78-68. The Badgers earned this one with a true team effort as they got big-time contributions from Tyler Wahl, Brad Davison, and Steven Crowl with Johnny Davis having an off-night by his standards. “It shows you we’re more than Johnny”, Head Coach Greg Gard explained after the game. Maybe the top concern of this team was put to bed as the Badgers needed everybody to capture their sixth straight win and improve to 5-1 in Big Ten play. 

TAKEAWAYS: 

  • Tyler Wahl had a career-high 21 points Sunday against Maryland and although he didn’t quite match that on Thursday, this was the best performance of his career. Wahl finished with a complete line of 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists and had another strong defensive performance against Ohio State’s top player, EJ Liddell. Wahl is solving the question of who the Badgers’ No. 3 scorer is behind Johnny Davis and Brad Davison. The Junior has averaged 15.5 PPG during Wisconsin’s current six-game win streak and it’s easy to connect the dots that Wahl has been a key cog in the team’s recent success. And the best part about it is he made his first three-pointers of the season against the Buckeyes after an 0/17 start this season. We’ll see if the outside shooting sticks after a 2/4 night against Ohio State, but it’s another reason Wahl continues to improve. 
  • Steven Crowl is also making significant strides after a down month of December. Greg Gard confirmed the sentiment that Crowl is improving in a variety of ways but mostly pointed to his defense and confidence. The Sophomore big-man started the night with a three-pointer on the opening possession that set the tone for his night as he finished with 9 points and 7 rebounds. But most importantly, he held his own on the block against Zed Key and EJ Liddell when he went against them one-on-one. The physicality of the Big Ten has ramped-up Crowl’s toughness and he’s becoming the player the Badgers need him to be as they continue towards a Big Ten title. 
  • As this Wisconsin team continues to win, you can argue Greg Gard is having his best season as Head Coach. Gard has had some incredible coaching jobs during his tenure at Wisconsin, but I’m starting to believe this one may be his best. The Badgers 14-2 start is the best under Gard since he took over in December of 2015, and this is with a team that was picked to finish 10th in the Big Ten Preseason-Poll. You can tell Gard loves coaching this group, perhaps more than any team he’s guided in his career, and he’s more than deserving to be in the conversation for not just Coach of the Year in the conference, but nationally as well. 

AT THE PODIUM: 

  • “What it shows you is we’re more than Johnny. I’ve thought all along we’ve had some really good pieces. They weren’t household names to start the year but as this team has come together, you’re starting to see that” – Greg Gard on overcoming a tough night from Johnny Davis 
  • “He’s gotten better. He’s playing with a tremendous amount of confidence and when you cross that threshold from sophomore to junior, there’s a lot you hope comes with that including leadership, which is helping him improve his game in all areas. He competes exceptionally hard and you want those kinds of players on your team” – Gard on Tyler Wahl 
  • “His confidence. I see it in practice every day. It shouldn’t have taken him this long to hit his first three but this was a damn good time to do it” – Johnny Davis on Tyler Wahl’s recent play  
  • “Getting to the free-throw line. Not only do you rack up fouls for them, but it gives you a chance to set your defense and it helped us stop their transition game tonight” – Brad Davison on the biggest improvement from the matchup with Ohio State  

PACKERS GETTING HEALTHY- SMITH RETURNS TO PRACTICE

By: Aaron Morse 1/12/22

The Packers have been one of the most injured teams in the NFL this season. David Bakhtiari did not play until last week and he only played 27 snaps. Jaire Alexander has not played since week four. Elgton Jenkins was lost for the season in week eleven. Robert Tonyan has been out since injuring his knee in week eight. Aaron Rodgers has been managing a broken toe for the last few weeks.
The list goes on and on and on. And it all started back in week one when Za’Darius Smith only played 18 snaps against the Saints. Za’Darius had back surgery and has not practiced since. The Packers have been waiting to get their defensive pressure threat back and they finally did on Wednesday. After months of rehab and getting a few individual workouts completed, Smith has returned to on-field work with his team.

It is great news for the Packers as it now looks like they will get Za’Darius back in at least some capacity for the most important part of the season- something that seemed like a long shot just a few weeks ago. Just like everyone else, Packers Head Coach Matt LaFleur wants to have the best eleven players on the field at all times, but also knows you cannot just throw guys out there:

An important note for Za’Darius and whether or not we will see him out on the field during the playoffs is the position he plays. Outside linebacker is a spot where you do not have to be on the field for every play. Za’Darius could play 15 snaps on passing downs and the defense would not miss a beat. However, someone like David Bakhtiari, playing left tackle, could not be in and out of the offensive plays because it would throw off the rhythm of the unit. So as long as Za’Darius is in respectable playing shape, expect him to be out there at some point.

Smith is not the only guy slowly getting healthier. Aaron Rodgers has been nursing his broken pinky toe while not missing a game since he was in quarantine in week nine. The recent time off and a lack of hits taken over the past few games has allowed that toe to recover without the surgery:

While David Bakhtiari did not practice on Wednesday (load management) he did get some game action in week 18 which means he is likely to return to a full game workload for the playoffs. Jaire Alexander continues to practice and should be good to go for the playoffs as well. Additionally, Billy Turner has been out of the lineup since he got injured in week 14. He was just activated off the Covid list and seems to be on track to return this season, as well.

It is a scary thought for the rest of the league that the team with the best record in the entire NFL is only going to continue to get stronger as the days move along.

WISCONSIN THROTTLES IOWA IN BATTLE OF SUPERSTARS

MADISON, WI – 1/6/2022 

By: Mitchell Speltz 

The eyes of many college basketball fans tuned in Thursday night to watch the Wisconsin Badgers (12-2) host the Iowa Hawkeyes (11-4) in a rivalry showdown, but much of the attention was on the individual battle between Johnny Davis and Iowa’s Keegan Murray, the nation’s leading scorer. Fans got what they bargained for as they finished with 26 and 27 points respectively, but it was Johnny’s team that got the win in a complete, near-wire-to-wire performance, 87-78. All five of Wisconsin starters scored in double-figures with Davis leading the way, Brad Davison scoring 18, and Tyler Wahl producing 16. Following the Badgers’ most significant win of the season, some wondered whether Thursday night would be a letdown against a Hawkeye team looking for a résumé-boosting win, but it was anything but. Wisconsin controlled the game in nearly all facets from the jump as the Badgers now look for their third win in seven days on Sunday against Maryland, but first, the recap of Thursday’s win: 

TAKEAWAYS: 

  • With back-to-back impressive wins in conference play, one thing has really stuck out in addition to Johnny Davis being spectacular – and that’s points in the paint. Wisconsin has scored 68 points in the painted area over the last two games including 40 in the victory over Iowa. This offense has changed and Greg Gard has adapted his offense to be more down-hill and fast-paced based on the personnel he has. This is important because it’s unlocking some of his players to their fullest potential such as Davis and freshman Chucky Hepburn who’s been a maestro orchestrating this offense. It’s also allowed them to not be reliant on threes like previous Wisconsin teams. The Badgers are barely shooting 30% as a group from downtown and struggles were expected in that department. But the fact they can score in so many ways inside makes it a deficiency they can overcome. 
  • The Badgers haven’t been a strong team statistically rebounding the basketball, but it was an area they dominated against Iowa. Five different Badgers had at least four rebounds with Johnny Davis and Tyler Wahl tying for the team lead with 9 boards. But I specifically want to focus on offensive rebounding. This team is averaging nearly 11 offensive boards per game… 11! For perspective, the Badgers under Greg Gard have averaged around 8 offensive rebounds a contest. Typical Wisconsin teams have never been around their current mark because they’ve put an emphasis on stopping opposing transition by dropping players back after shot attempts. This team is going for second chance oppurtunities frequently and it’s paying off. They corralled 15 misses on Thursday and registered that into 18 points, an effective ratio. Chris Vogt has been a key help to this as he has great instincts and timing when he’s around the basket and those extended possessions can wear on opposing defenses throughout a game such as Iowa on Thursday night.  
  • The connectedness of this group is something I did not expect to materialize quickly and it appears it’s caught Greg Gard by surprise too. The Badgers’ Head Coach mentioned after the game it’s hard to ever get mad at this group because they never have a bad day – not something you expect from a team with 12 underclassmen. It almost sounded like he was about to get emotional talking about them and really showed his love for coaching this team. He’s credited most of that due to their consistent competitiveness at practice and games and it’s led to chemistry I haven’t seen before in my years of covering this program. There’s something special going on here and it’s really started to come to light this week. 

AT THE PODIUM: 

  • “It’s pretty cool to be ranked up there with him and all those talented scorers but I don’t care about that right now. He’s averaging more than me, but they lost” – Johnny Davis on competing against Keegan Murray 
  • “We got a lot of guys who bring different things to the table and whosever night it is, they look to produce as much as we can. This team is pretty dangerous and we’ve got a lot of good things coming” – Tyler Wahl on everyone playing a role 
  • “We have a lot of weapons, we have one of the best players in the country, Chucky (Hepburn) does a nice job at finding guys, we have rim runners, and guys who can shoot in transition. It’s important to take advantage of the opportunities, especially if it means we don’t have to work as hard on the offensive end and get those transition buckets when we can” – Brad Davison on scoring in transition 
  • “This is a very competitive group. When you have that everyday mentality, it shows up because every practice is competitive. It’s nothing magical, you just have to have the right people. I can’t even get mad at them. They just give me everything they’ve got, dang near every day. They haven’t had a bad day” – Greg Gard about not having a letdown after upsetting Purdue 

KENNY CLARK ADDED TO RESERVE/COVID LIST

By: Aaron Morse 12/16/21

As sports leagues continue to see a large uptick in Covid cases and players being added to the Covid lists, the Packers had avoided any players being added over the past week. However, they have just added Kenny Clark to the reserve/COVID list. With just three days until the Packers will be in Baltimore to take on the Ravens, Clark is unlikely to be able to suit up.
Because Clark is vaccinated, there is a slim chance he could make a quick turnaround. For vaccinated players, they are allowed to return to the team once they produce two negative tests that come 24 hours apart. Clark has just enough time to maneuver his way back to playing in week 15. If he was not vaccinated, he would need to be away from the team for at least 10 days, similar to Aaron Rodgers earlier this season.

Kenny Clark is a huge part of the defense and one of the most disruptive defensive tackles in the entire NFL so this is a tough loss for the Packers to try and cover up, especially late in the practice week. What makes it even more difficult is the scheme that the Ravens play with. While Lamar Jackson is dealing with an ankle sprain and might not play this week, his backup, Tyler Huntley, is a shifty runner as well and produces similar results to Jackson at the quarterback position. In addition, the Ravens are one of the more run-heavy offenses in the league. Last year they ran the ball on 55% of their plays. This year that number has dipped to 44% (because of an insane amount of injuries to the running back position) but they still want to establish the run and establish it early.

Establishing the run could come a lot easier for the Ravens on Sunday without Kenny Clark to stuff up the middle of the field.

WISCONSIN LIMPS TO WIN WITHOUT JOHNNY DAVIS

-MADISON, WI – 12/15/2021 

By: Mitchell Speltz 

For the second time this season, the Wisconsin Badgers (9-2) were down their top scorer, Johnny Davis who was ruled out nearly an hour before the game with a non-covid illness after participating in shoot-around earlier in the day. Without him, earning a win against Nicholls State (7-4), the favorites from the Southland Conference proved to be anything but easy. The Badgers found themselves down 37-28 at halftime after a very uncharacteristic half on both ends of the floor. It was a script that played out very similarly for Wisconsin as it did in their record 22-point comeback against Indiana, except they didn’t have their best player to lead them back. It took an improved defensive effort and another spark off the bench from Chris Vogt as Wisconsin rallied to top the Colonels, 71-68. I wouldn’t take this game completely at face value if I’m a Badger fan, but here were my takeaways from Wednesday night:  

TAKEAWAYS:  

  • I’m starting to grow some level of concern about the play of Steven Crowl. What looked like an opportunity for a get-right game, Crowl struggled again and produced just 5 points and 4 rebounds in only 14 minutes. Chris Vogt was given the majority of the playing time at the five and rightfully so as he played a key role off the bench in the second half. Crowl was taken out at around the 17:00 minute mark of the second half and did not see the floor again until the final seconds of the game after Brad Davison fouled out. With competition starting to gradually get stronger, Crowl hasn’t responded the way I thought he would and it’s not going to get any easier from here. Am I giving up on Steven Crowl? Absolutely not. But he’s going to have to adapt his game and play a lot stronger with Big Ten play on the horizon. I do not believe Greg Gard wants to make a change in the starting lineup and switch Vogt and Crowl, but it is something to watch. 
  • With Johnny Davis out of the lineup, this was an opportunity for this team to develop and become a deeper team. Despite the performance against Nicholls State not being pretty, some players grew up in this game, especially Jahcobi Neath. Neath has been a really tough player to judge at this juncture of the season because he’s missed time with a lower leg injury and an illness. He was given the opportunity to start in place of Johnny and I thought he played well. The transfer from Wake Forrest finished with 9 points and a quiet 7 rebounds. The Junior isn’t a guy who’s going to stuff the stat sheet with points, but he’s physical, athletic, and can create high-energy plays with his rebounding ability. Greg Gard praised Neath for some of his key offensive rebounds and gritty plays that led to points. He’s been a bit of a forgotten player, but Neath is going to be a key cog for the Wisconsin backcourt. 
  • The Badgers rallied from 10 points or more down to win for the fourth time this season with their come-from-behind win against the Colonels. Give Nicholls State credit for the way they competed, but Wisconsin probably shouldn’t have been in this spot even without Johnny Davis. The point here is, don’t count this team out. Gard has loved the grit of his team all season long and how they’ve learned to battle against adversity, something you don’t often see from young teams. 

AT THE PODIUM: 

“I felt we were just kind of dead in the water. We didn’t have a lot of energy in the first half and I was just looking to provide a spark anyway I could” – Chris Vogt on helping the team rally in the second half 

“The best-coached teams are the player-coached teams. We were mostly on the same page with Coach Gard at halftime and we were able to come out and play a much better second half” – Tyler Wahl on the halftime adjustments   

“We were confident the whole second half that if we did things the right way we’d come back and win. You obviously don’t want to be in that spot at the end but this is a game that can help us adjust and get ready for conference play” – Brad Davison on closing them out at the end 

“We benefited from this in a weird way. We’ve been trying to develop depth and those opportunities have been presented to us with guys not being healthy. Guys have been stepping and they’ve had extra practice time to prepare for these moments” – Greg Gard on players stepping up  

CENTRAL HEAD COACH TODD FERGOT TALKS EARLY SEASON SUCCESS, JOHNNY DAVIS, AND KOBE KING

By: Aaron Morse 12/08/21

The Central RiverHawks Boys Basketball team, led by Head Coach Todd Fergot, has enjoyed some early season success. They are off to a 3-0 start with an average margin of victory of nearly 15 points. It has been the defense leading the way early on as the RiverHawks have allowed less than 36 points per game. The offense is still coming along, but they have some very capable scorers, including Seniors Devon Fielding (13.6 ppg) and Porter Pretasky (10.3 ppg). Juniors Nic Williams (8.7 ppg up from 2.7 ppg last season) and Bennett Fried (6.3 ppg) are also part of an experienced scoring bunch.
While Fielding, Pretasky, and Fried’s scoring numbers are down from last year’s season averages, the offense is not everything, as proved by their defensive numbers so far.
For Fried, he is only getting better- and still growing- according to Coach Fergot:

Devon Fielding is the leader of the RiverHawks and he is an all-around player that is only growing into the ceiling he has, says Coach Fergot:

The Central program has had really good success over the years and especially recently with players like Johnny and Jordan Davis and Terrance Thompson. Six of the players on the roster this season- Fielding, Pretasky, Fried, Noah Compan, Quinn Servais, and Colin Adams- were on the team in 2019-2020 when Central won the Section Championship before Covid-19 ended the season early. The experience of making it that far in the season, as well as playing with high-caliber players like the Davis twins and Thompson is huge for the current team, explains Coach Fergot:

One of those former players, Johnny Davis, has burst onto the scene this season for the Wisconsin Badgers. He was not really on any NBA draft boards to begin the season, but with his torrid start to the season, he has been catapulting up the projections. A week ago he was on the “lookout for these guys” lists. Just a few days later, some analysts have him going late in the first round. Johnny should only continue to rise his draft stock throughout the season and Coach Fergot will only continue to get more questions about Johnny. Fergot laid out the questions he gets on a daily basis and says that he expects Johnny to be an NBA guy sooner rather than later:

Another former player of Fergot’s, Kobe King, is back out on the court after not playing for nearly two years. After transferring from Wisconsin to Nebraska and not playing for the Cornhuskers because of Covid-19, King decomitted from Nebraska. After taking a few months off, he decided to get back into basketball. He hired an agent and entered the G-League draft, but was not drafted. So, he decided to look at the college ranks. He chose Valparaiso because Head Coach Matt Lottich recruited him out of high school and Trevor Anderson and Joe Hedstrom played there, two of his former Badger teammates. Fergot talked a little bit about King and who he is:

Central has had a lot of great players over the years and while they may not have that big name guy on the roster like they have in years past, they have a team that plays all-around basketball and will win plenty of games this season because of it. The defense has led the way during their 3-0 start to the season, but once they get that offense clicking, they could find themselves at the top of the tough Mississippi Valley Conference. Central will take on Minnesota’s Benilde-St. Margaret’s on Saturday at 3 pm at Hiawatha Collegiate High School.

To listen to the entire 13 minutes with Coach Todd Fergot, CLICK HERE.

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