After two years of sneaking up on the competition, this was supposed to be the year the Wisconsin men's basketball team finally made its grand appearance as a major player on the national stage. But as Tuesday night's 73-67 loss to No. 25 Maryland in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge showed, maybe the Badgers are not quite ready for that step.
Granted, Maryland has been a perennial college basketball powerhouse over the past five years, but these Terrapins are a far cry from the squad that cut down the nets in 2002. But it was a pair of Maryland big men who showed just why the Badgers have not yet become the national power they hope to be.
The Terrapin duo of Nick Caner-Medley and Jamar Smith exposed the glaring weakness that is the UW front court. Senior center Dave Mader lasted all of five minutes before being exiled to the bench. In his brief performance, the senior center was unable to contain the Terrapin forwards on defense and was inept at keeping them off the boards.
On the offensive end of the court, Wisconsin's lack of an inside presence was also evident. While junior forward Mike Wilkinson is a fine rebounder and has a good repertoire of post moves, he is by no means a dominating presence inside, relying more on his outside shot. This is too bad, because when Wilkinson did venture inside it usually resulted in points or free throws.
Would the Badgers be having these same problems if Alando Tucker were playing? Tucker was arguably Wisconsin's most imposing interior player last year and his absence may be at the core of the Badgers' front court dilemma. Wisconsin Head Coach Bo Ryan claims to have no idea when the junior will return to play, but you can be sure he is anxiously awaiting the day that No. 42 is able to suit up again.
Tucker is the type of athlete who can change a game with a monster slam or a huge block. Those kinds of plays have been missing in this season's early games and may be why the Badgers have not looked like the exciting team they were last year.
Another player who has been conspicuously absent this season is McDonald's All-American freshman Brian Butch. The blue-chipper opted to red shirt this season. The decision will probably pay dividends for future Badger squads, but who knows what he could have brought to the team this year?
At 6'11', 215 lbs., some have said that Butch is too thin to compete in the post. It would have been interesting to see how he held up against the best college basketball has to offer. ESPN's Dick Vitale saw enough in the kid to name him to his all-Diaper Dandy team, so maybe he really could hack it. Alas, Butch won't be able to showcase his skills this year, so the answer will have to come from someplace else.
The Badger team that took the court against Maryland is not going to be the same one that we will see come later this season. Hopefully, Tucker will be back to his high-flying self, Mader will be able to provide something more than just a body on the court and Wilkinson will stop settling for outside jumpers and establish a stronger inside game. If these things do turn out, maybe Bo Ryan and his team will finally be ready to make their big entrance on the national stage, and if it comes even as late as March, there will certainly be no agruments from Badger fans.
