First things first: This was an unexpected season of success and I feel extremely fortunate to have watched this team play. I am, simply, thrilled for Gard to prove the haters wrong and for Johnny and Brad to go out as league champs. My lasting memory of this team will be the Purdue games, but specifically the one at the Kohl Center. Hands down, my second favorite UW basketball game ever and the best at the KC
Brad: Helluva career for Brad. A limited player but he gave it everything, all the time. One of my favorites and it's a shame he never got to the second weekend of the tournament. I have no doubt he will get there on staff at UW some day.
Johnny: Good luck on whatever is next. I have a feeling he will test well and score pretty highly in interviews with NBA teams. He has some issues on the floor to address, but I will address later. Hoping he's the one to get us in the door for more kids with high end talent, but in HS and the portal
Chucky/Wahl/Big Steve: I think these guys played really well on the whole this year, but man did they run out of gas. In the first major, major minutes for a lot of guys (and throw Johnny here too), it showed down the stretch. No amount of AAU games can replicate the physicality and grind of the Big Ten. And as Johnny is going to learn, no amount of minutes in the Big Ten is going to replicate the grind of the NBA.
I can't really blame these guys for running out of gas late. They gave it absolutely everything all year long and that Purdue game capped it off. I think because of the success, we forgot how young this group was. It's hard to come back off that high when you've got nothing left. And they played like crap at the end, but it certainly wasn't from a lack of trying.
On to the bad/going forward: I am pretty sure we will be taking two guards in the portal to be starting for us this year. And unlike last year, there is CLEAR and obvious playing time to be had. I am sure we will lose other players to the portal (be stunned if someone from Ilver/Neath/Carlson doesn't jump) and we can find more backups there. This team has a clear need for better ball handlers and shooters. I love Brad, but he just didn't get you enough as a secondary ball handler. This team had a pretty atrocious shot profile. Johnny lived and died by tough mid range shots (the Tough Shot Express, or TSE as us Bucks fans like to say for Khris Middleton) and that is a really tough way to consistently win. I think he would have benefitted from better shooters around him, because teams could throw multiple bodies at him and they never had to worry about Tyler or Carlson or Gilmore or Vogt or sometimes even Chucky putting up open or mostly open shots. This team in general had a pretty crappy shot profile, which is unusual for a Wiscosnin team. Part of it is who we had (young guys, bad shooters), but a lot was settling and not having more guys who could create easy shots with the ball when things broke down (Brad, Steve, sometimes Wahl). I am fairly certain they know this is an issue and will address it in the portal.
I think the core is really strong. Chucky handled everything throw at him really well this year. He needs to get to the basket a bit more and something about his shot doesn't look smooth, but I fully expect him to be better and take a big step next year. I think we could say the same about Wahl. He is improving significantly from the FT line and I think he gets up above 30% from 3. Crowl played well, bit needs a lot more "**** you" to his game. He has great touch and just needs to build on that - and not getting absolutely bullied trying to defend a ball screen. Chucky and Wahl should run them at him every single day over the summer until he figures it out. Even Colgate abused him on it.
But even with those guys, they add two starters from the portal. I am hopeful Essegian can get minutes next year. Hell, we saw Lindsay yesterday. If we need shooting that bad, it is a golden opportunity for Essegian and Ilver to step up and grab some minutes. We need someone, ANYONE, to score off the bench and at least not be an enormous liability on both ends. I think if we get a rotation of Chucky/Wahl/Crowl/transfer 1/transfer 2/Essegian/Ilver/Bowman(?)/Neath(?)/Davis(?) you might really have something. I trust Gard to identify the issues on defense.
Great season. Despite losing Johnny, I do expect a better team next year. Can't wait to see what Gard and staff do next.
Brad: Helluva career for Brad. A limited player but he gave it everything, all the time. One of my favorites and it's a shame he never got to the second weekend of the tournament. I have no doubt he will get there on staff at UW some day.
Johnny: Good luck on whatever is next. I have a feeling he will test well and score pretty highly in interviews with NBA teams. He has some issues on the floor to address, but I will address later. Hoping he's the one to get us in the door for more kids with high end talent, but in HS and the portal
Chucky/Wahl/Big Steve: I think these guys played really well on the whole this year, but man did they run out of gas. In the first major, major minutes for a lot of guys (and throw Johnny here too), it showed down the stretch. No amount of AAU games can replicate the physicality and grind of the Big Ten. And as Johnny is going to learn, no amount of minutes in the Big Ten is going to replicate the grind of the NBA.
I can't really blame these guys for running out of gas late. They gave it absolutely everything all year long and that Purdue game capped it off. I think because of the success, we forgot how young this group was. It's hard to come back off that high when you've got nothing left. And they played like crap at the end, but it certainly wasn't from a lack of trying.
On to the bad/going forward: I am pretty sure we will be taking two guards in the portal to be starting for us this year. And unlike last year, there is CLEAR and obvious playing time to be had. I am sure we will lose other players to the portal (be stunned if someone from Ilver/Neath/Carlson doesn't jump) and we can find more backups there. This team has a clear need for better ball handlers and shooters. I love Brad, but he just didn't get you enough as a secondary ball handler. This team had a pretty atrocious shot profile. Johnny lived and died by tough mid range shots (the Tough Shot Express, or TSE as us Bucks fans like to say for Khris Middleton) and that is a really tough way to consistently win. I think he would have benefitted from better shooters around him, because teams could throw multiple bodies at him and they never had to worry about Tyler or Carlson or Gilmore or Vogt or sometimes even Chucky putting up open or mostly open shots. This team in general had a pretty crappy shot profile, which is unusual for a Wiscosnin team. Part of it is who we had (young guys, bad shooters), but a lot was settling and not having more guys who could create easy shots with the ball when things broke down (Brad, Steve, sometimes Wahl). I am fairly certain they know this is an issue and will address it in the portal.
I think the core is really strong. Chucky handled everything throw at him really well this year. He needs to get to the basket a bit more and something about his shot doesn't look smooth, but I fully expect him to be better and take a big step next year. I think we could say the same about Wahl. He is improving significantly from the FT line and I think he gets up above 30% from 3. Crowl played well, bit needs a lot more "**** you" to his game. He has great touch and just needs to build on that - and not getting absolutely bullied trying to defend a ball screen. Chucky and Wahl should run them at him every single day over the summer until he figures it out. Even Colgate abused him on it.
But even with those guys, they add two starters from the portal. I am hopeful Essegian can get minutes next year. Hell, we saw Lindsay yesterday. If we need shooting that bad, it is a golden opportunity for Essegian and Ilver to step up and grab some minutes. We need someone, ANYONE, to score off the bench and at least not be an enormous liability on both ends. I think if we get a rotation of Chucky/Wahl/Crowl/transfer 1/transfer 2/Essegian/Ilver/Bowman(?)/Neath(?)/Davis(?) you might really have something. I trust Gard to identify the issues on defense.
Great season. Despite losing Johnny, I do expect a better team next year. Can't wait to see what Gard and staff do next.
