Back-to-back Final Four appearances and a trip to the title game on the shoulders of Frank Kaminsky placed the Badgers firmly in the national spotlight two years ago. But after last year’s NCAA Tournament run was cut short in the Sweet 16, one thing now weighs heavily on the minds of UW players: redemption.
“I still kind of have that last couple minutes in mind,” redshirt sophomore center Ethan Happ said. “It really pushes me through times when I don’t want to get up in the morning or times when you don’t want to do this drill … the excitement level is at an all-time high for me.”
The No. 9 Badgers are set to open the 2016-’17 season this Friday against Central Arkansas with their sights set on a third regular season conference title in the last decade. While the Bears don’t present any real challenge, the game should serve to work out the kinks in a finicky roster as well as provide more opportunities for newcomers to fight for playing time on an experienced team.
In their exhibition matchup with UW-Platteville, the Badgers suffered from several of the same mistakes that plagued them throughout the start of last season. They turned the ball over far too often against a significantly undersized and overpowered team, and had a deplorable showing from the free-throw line.
Many of these issues came from by way of Ethan Happ who, although he might be the most talented Badger, has the longest way to go to reach his potential.
Happ turned the ball over three times in 20 minutes against the Pioneers, a team high, and shot a paltry 25 percent from the free-throw line. While those mistakes shouldn’t matter much against a UCA team ranked No. 332 in Ken Pomeroy’s preseason rankings, they could haunt the Badgers in a conference that features five ranked teams.
The second-year stud has devoted a significant amount of practice time since the exhibition to improving his free-throw shooting. He was consistently the last man in the locker room, staying on the court late to take foul shots.
Defensively, UW’s bigs need to do a better job staying on their man and not helping too far off. Happ and senior forward Nigel Hayes both have a tendency to help one pass away when guarding a big on the perimeter and then closing too hard when the pass comes to their man, leaving the door wide open for an easy drive to the hoop.
“The next step is to be able to guard different posts,” assistant coach Howard Moore said. “Posts like [Happ] that can put it on the floor, that are a little more elusive … just having more versatility—ball screen defenses, helping [in] recover situations.”
Ostensibly, the Bears won’t challenge the Badgers much on the defensive end of the court, but junior guard Jordan Howard might push redshirt senior Zak Showalter and senior Bronson Koenig on quick, slashing drives to the basket.
Howard averaged 20.2 points last season and shot a cool 42.8 percent from the three-point line. He struggled in UCA’s exhibition against Southwest Baptist, shooting just 4-of-19 from the field, but he did dish out six assists and record two steals in the 90-55 win.
Offensively, most of the Badgers’ possessions should flow through Hayes and Koenig, who led the team in points per game last season with 15.7 and 13.1, respectively.
That being said, Happ should see his fair share of offensive responsibility as the team prepares him to shoulder a massive role next year when Hayes and Koenig graduate. He’ll need to eliminate the turnovers and find his groove from the foul line to give UW a shot at the national title it so desperately covets.
The Badgers’ season tips off Friday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. from the Kohl Center.
