The Wisconsin Badgers are heading into their first exhibition game of the season on Friday, where fans can get an early glimpse of what the team looks like ahead of the season opener on November 3rd. The Badgers will take on the Oklahoma Sooners in Milwaukee at the Fiserv Forum.
Wisconsin brought in a ton of talent in the offseason, adding five transfers and four freshmen to the mix to create yet another deep team. Last week, head coach Greg Gard mentioned how he believes there is a “Top 12” currently
fighting for 10 rotational spots.
With the season just around the corner, let’s project Wisconsin’s rotation based on what I’ve seen so far.
Starters
Nick Boyd
John Blackwell
Andrew Rohde
Austin Rapp
Nolan Winter
This group is pretty straightforward. Boyd was brought in to start at point guard and give John Blackwell some help on the ball. Rohde was a starter at Virginia last year and brings three-point shooting, size on the wing, and underrated playmaking to the mix.
Rapp was the West Coast Conference’s freshman of the year and can also stretch the floor, giving Wisconsin five shooters alongside Nolan Winter in the frontcourt.
The bench, though, is where things could get interesting.
Bench (Guaranteed minutes)
Jack Janicki
Braeden Carrington
Janicki was brought back to play a sixth-man-esque role for the Badgers. He’s improved his shots (seems like a quicker release), and is an all-around glue guy that Greg Gard’s teams usually rely on.
Carrington is your classic three-and-D player on the wing. He’s shot around 33 percent from deep during his career, but the hope is that better looks and less overall reliance offensively will improve his percentages. He’s certainly willing to let it fly off the catch.
Both of them should get minutes in the rotation. Wisconsin made both a priority, re-upping Janicki on a deal, while adding Carrington early via the transfer portal for veteran guard depth.
Bench (Back of rotation)
Hayden Jones
Aleksas Bieliauskas
Will Garlock
Jones has been the most impressive freshman so far for the Badgers, just with his knowledge and feel for the game. Wisconsin has tried him out at point guard, and he’s learning the position more. He has a great feel as a passer, has good size off the wing, and could fill an Andrew Rohde-type role as a bigger guard who can handle the ball.
Bieliauskas came in with experience from overseas, which gave him a step up as a backup big. Wisconsin needs some depth in the forward room, and he might be the guy they call on. He’s not very polished offensively, but is willing to shoot threes and knows how to operate ball screens. Defensively, his size at 6’10, 235 pounds should be helpful to spell one of the bigs in the paint.
Garlock has perhaps been the biggest grower, both physically and maturity-wise, this offseason. He’s been a good learner, picking up the ball screen action work, and seems more sound offensively, though there’s a long way to go still. He has a unique size at 7’0, 250 pounds, and his athleticism is unmatched in the room, which will give him a boost defensively.
I don’t know that Wisconsin relies on both backup bigs to start the year, but they’re in the rotation as of now.
Fighting for minutes
Zach Kinziger
Elijah Gray
Kinziger should honestly be in the tier above, but Greg Gard likes to play 10 guys, so he falls just short. Kinziger has also impressed with his scoring ability this offseason, which will be his ticket to getting on the court. He’s continuing to bulk up his size and will likely be tasked with more catch-and-shoot chances, but he’s definitely got the chops offensively.
There just may be too much depth for him to see a role early. Perhaps the hope as the season goes on is that he starts to steal some of those Carrington minutes and gets on the court with better defense, but he’s on the precipice of the rotation right now.
Gray was brought in to be a veteran contributor off the bench in the frontcourt, but quite frankly, we haven’t seen much of him yet this offseason. He’s worked through a few injuries and has been limited in practice at times. So, there haven’t been many opportunities for him to get on the court in comparison to the freshmen bigs.
We’ll see if Gard still trusts him to play immediately, but he’s also on the outside looking in right now.
