In a bit of a surprise, Wisconsin Badgers freshman guard Zach Kinziger made his season debut on Monday, playing 13 minutes and scoring six points after sitting out the team’s first 10 games.
Kinziger, a four-star recruit in the Class of 2025 from De Pere, Wisconsin, was a coveted prospect coming out of high school. But, he was joining a crowded guard group with experienced starters (Nick Boyd, John Blackwell, Andrew Rohde), experience off the bench (Jack Janicki, Braeden Carrington), and a freshman
with international experience (Hayden Jones).
As a result, the in-state guard found himself outside of the rotation and seriously considering a redshirt. But, that changed on Monday, as Kinziger subbed in with 13:37 left in the first half and ended up being a part of the rotation with John Blackwell injured.
What led to that decision?
“He had the opportunity because [I] didn’t know what I was going to do this game and obviously, with JB (John Blackwell) down, so [the] opportunity was there,” Gard said about Kinziger. “But I mean, in practice, he’s competing hard.
“I mean, he was on the scout team for the first, what has it been, two months? I don’t know what it’s been. And he’s been proving he can hold his own against us. And honestly, if you see what he’s doing there, you’re like, ‘dang, like he should be a starter.’ I mean, he’s put 20 points of scout. I mean, he’s really doing his thing in there. So I mean, yeah, he definitely deserved it. I’m glad he got the chance. So I’m definitely excited to see what he can continue to do and how he moves forward.”
How much did the redshirt play into the decision?
“I don’t look at it as burning a redshirt,” Gard said. “I mean, that was an open conversation consistently from the time of the very first game. And I think what I’ve seen is him continually, like I mentioned before, from the time we got back from San Diego early in the year, he, much like Hayden [Jones], he wasn’t quite ready.
“But as practices have unfolded and we get more and more reps, just how competitive he is and he’s gotten better at the speed of the game, how to play off two feet, how to read angles. He’s a little bulldog defensively. So, yeah, there was just a lot of positive things he earned his way into getting, regardless of where anybody else was. But, obviously [Braeden] Carrington’s injury and he’d been banged up or has been banged up, not knowing exactly, you know, he hadn’t practiced in a week, so I didn’t know how tonight would go. But more than anything Zach has done, it’s not because of a deficiency from someone else, per se, as much as Zach has earned.
“He’s a good player, and he’s going to be a really good player here. He’s, like I said, that competitive toughness that he brings. We’ve had so many guys that have helped over the years, and, when they’re young, has helped bring some of that, too. And I think it’s really important that you have those guys in your program, specifically guys that are homegrown. He believes Badger Red through and through, and you can tell it when he plays, when he practices. [Strength and Conditioning Coach Jim] Snider raves about him in the weight room. He wins all the time in the 3×3 stuff we do. He’s always the best player in that. He competes every single day and he really doesn’t have bad days. And he felt he can help us and he’s earned it. So we continue to find ways to get him on the floor right here.”
While it’s unclear exactly what kind of role Kinziger will ultimately carve out this season, it’s a good sign for his development that he’s gotten Gard’s trust to be playing in the rotation when needed.
