The Badgers are seeing some of their rotational pieces finally break out.
The Wisconsin Badgers haven’t had the start to the season that they expected, going 8-4 without a high-profile win in their non-conference schedule.
They’ve had some ugly losses (28 points to BYU, 30 points to Nebraska), and some unimpressive performances, as their new-look team is starting to come together. A key issue has been the bench, as Wisconsin hasn’t gotten much production from that unit in certain games.
But, on Monday in Wisconsin’s 88-61 win over Central Michigan, the Badgers had 44 bench points, with several players having standout performances.
Jack Janicki had nine assists, leading the way in an impressive ball movement display for the Badgers. Austin Rapp had 18 points in one of his best performances with the team. And the unit overall played well in a favorable matchup.
What did Greg Gard see from that group that was different than in games past?
“[Jack] Janicki, he got on the floor a year ago because of his energy and his hustle and all those intangible things that he can do. And we’ve had many guys over the years that have been in that role that they necessarily don’t have to. Their job is not to score a lot, and if the opportunity presents it, great. But, they have to bring some of those other things: the hustle, the energy, the boost when we need it, the little spark, and the rebounding. And I thought Jack had, for whatever reason, I know his finals load was immense. He just seemed like he’d gotten away from what he had done to put himself in [his] position. So, just trying to get him back and get him out of his funk a little bit, and hopefully this helps him get out of that.
“[About] Kinziger, the kid’s a tough sucker. Love how he plays. He’s a true Badger through and through and brings some toughness and some energy, and he’s a fierce competitor. You can never have enough of that. Rapp, I mean, you make shots, but aggressiveness, it’s a great stat. The other night, like I said, you take two shots and get zero rebounds in 17 minutes. He needs to be aggressive because he’s continuing to learn to ignite his game in other ways than just threes. You know, it’s the rebounding and getting knocked around and score at the rim on a ball screen, and then the threes become easier, and he’s more relaxe,d and he’s got to hunt him more. And we got to do a better job of putting him in position to find him because he definitely can shoot it.”
Janicki and Rapp were two players expected to have bigger roles when the season started. Janicki was seen as that sixth man with good length on the wing that could provide a little bit of everything. But, his offense had been non-existent to start the season, which hampered his impact. With the nine assists on Monday, he showed a different way he could impact the offense.
As a result, Braeden Carrington had kind of elevated into that top bench role prior to his injury.
Rapp, on the other hand, was expected to be a starter. But, his shot selection was poor to begin the year, as he shot too many threes that were either contested or not a great shot, looking to find his rhythm. Defensively, he had a lot of room to improve, struggling in that department.
Both players arguably had their best games of the season on Monday, with the latter scoring a team-high 18 points and nabbing seven rebounds.
But, that was in a favorable matchup against 4-9 Central Michigan. Now, Wisconsin will need them to keep it up when conference play starts in January, as it has less error for margin with how its season has started.
Category: General Sports
