The role of off-guard in basketball is one that requires a scorer's mentality. It often takes a player away from the ball, preparing to weave through screens, aggressively hunting down shots and looking to score. It is a role senior guard Jason Bohannon has adeptly held during his time as a Badger.
For the last few weeks, however, Bohannon has been anything but off.
The junior from Iowa has cracked the 15-point barrier in his last six games, leading the team in scoring in five of them, always doing it in an extremely efficient manner. Usually known for his accurate long-range shooting, Bohannon has been scoring in different ways, from finding open spots on the perimeter to a pull-up jumper off the dribble that has been on display in recent games.
""I felt like I've been able to [shoot the pull-up], but I haven't really showcased it as much as I have in the last couple games,"" said Bohannon, who recently scored a career high 30 against Indiana. ""I've been trying to read the guys and they've been giving me the opportunity to do that and I've tried to take advantage of it, whether it be with a step back or going all the way to the rim or stuff like that.""
Teammates and coaches have praised him for the way that he works within the flow of the offense, not overstepping the gameplan or making the scoring about himself. The numbers back that up as he is one of the more efficient shooting players in the nation, connecting on nearly 48 percent of his attempts, 41 percent of his 3s and 88 percent of his free throws.
But despite the gaudy numbers, there is something understated about Bohannon. He seems to lack the look of a high-performance DivisionI player, something his backcourt-mate Trevon Hughes recalled thinking when he first saw Bohannon play.
Hughes first impression: ""He don't look like a player at all.""
That was soon dispelled during a workout session the summer before their first year in Madison.
""It was me and him, just fooling around, we [were] just messing around, so I was like, ‘wanna play one-on-one?'""
They agreed that each player would keep possession after a made shot and Hughes let his fellow freshman shoot for the ball, assuming he'd miss. Of course, Bohannon hit it.
""I'm standing at the free-throw line, I'm just checking him with the ball, he's at the 3-point line just shooting. And I did that like 11 times, saying like, ‘I know he's not going to make this next one.' Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. I guess I learned my lesson for the second game. He made 11 straight,"" Hughes said.
It has been a long time since that game, but until recently Bohannon had not taken a consistent central role in the offense. He could score, but did not consistently deliver those points or find his shots.
""As a sophomore and a junior I think he [felt] like he had to play like a role player, you know, and I think in the beginning of the season that's what he felt too, until Jon [Leuer] got hurt and we needed people to step up,"" Hughes said. ""What's better for a senior to do it, especially down the stretch when we needed it the most?""
The timing of this has not been lost on the coaches who feel that this is just a natural part of a player developing in Bo Ryan's system.
""He's been doing what seniors have been doing in this program for years and years and that's step up to the plate and just be assertive,"" assistant coach Howard Moore said. ""It's just that senior urgency you see every year, that guys want to be on top and so they're a little more sharper in every aspect of their game.""
For Bohannon those aspects have included driving to the hoop and defense. Moore even jokingly called him their ""shot-blocker"" as he has managed a surprising 14 rejections this season.
With three regular season games left and the postseason awaiting, Bohannon's scoring run seems to be coming at the ideal time. His teammates have noticed it and like what they see from this more assertive Bohannon.
""I think right now what he's doing so well is he's also being able to put the ball on the floor and create for others,"" junior forward Jon Leuer said. ""He's such a fun guard to play with because he's willing to, if you post up hard, he's willing to find you and if you run the floor hard he'll try to get you the ball.""
