ESPN analyst and Daily Cardinal alumnus Andy Katz was on campus Tuesday and stopped by the office where he got his start to answer a few questions about Wisconsin basketball.
DC: What impressed you and maybe didn't impress you about the Badgers this year?
AK: They were picked ninth and once again exceeded expectations, which no one should be surprised by. Bo consistently maximizes the talent, he consistently finds the guys to take that next step even though it's this appearance that they don't have talent when they clearly do.
Losing Leuer for a couple weeks obviously was a hit, the way they finished against Cornell didn't help, but I thought it was another solid season and I would expect something similar next year.
DC: That's a pretty big difference from when you were here?
AK: Oh yeah, basketball was such an afterthought—it was there, people went because of the sport, because it was in the Big Ten at the time—but it was just a different era. They just didn't have the history.
DC: You mentioned Jon Leuer, was he the player who most impressed you from last year or was it someone else?
AK: He's developed to be a leader and an elite player. Once again, guys like Leuer, like Nankivil, guys that suddenly become major players for this program.
DC: How do you see the Badgers fairing next year?
AK: The Big Ten's going to be very good again, but I think they're going to be an NCAA Tournament team and somewhere in the mix.
