Kamari McGee makes impression, Nolan Winter cleans glass and more from Wisconsin basketball practice

Posted by Admin October 16, 2024 Basketball

MADISON – Wisconsin coach Greg Gard can’t wait to see some fresh faces.

The Badgers men basketball team held an intrasquad scrimmage during its practice Tuesday at the Nicholas-Johnson Pavillion, putting in three 8-minute games and one 5-minute matchup before shutting it down for the day.

The biggest takeway is that the team is ready face someone else.

“We need to see some outside competition just so I can get a better idea,” Gard said in answering a question about getting his new players acclimated to the team’s defensive system. “We can mix and match a lot, but we’re at a point where we need to be tested from the outside.”

The Badgers’ Red-White scrimmage will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Kohl Center. Its exhibition games against UW-River Falls is slated for 7 p.m. Oct. 30.

Here are takeaways from the practice.

Badgers basketball veterans are playing well

At this point in the season Gard is trying to figure not only how his rotations may look but which players he can rely on. So far he said sophomore John Blackwell, senior center Steven Crowl and senior guard Kamari McGee have been his most consistent players.

Senior guard Max Klesmit would probably be on that list, but he has been working through a lower-body injury that at times has kept him out of practice.

Gard said McGee has played the best of his point guards so far.

“It hasn’t always been numbers dependant, but the leadership and vocalization that I hear from him (has stood out) and a lot of that is because of experience,” Gard said. “(Central Arkansas transfer Camren) Hunter has played two years of college, but he hasn’t been here. Kam McGee has one leg up in that because he knows and is comfortable with who he is playing with and what we want.”

Nolan Winter cleans the glass

The Badgers’ managers keep track of statistics from the team’s practice and upon taking a look at the numbers Gard was pleasantly surprised by Nolan Winter’s production on the boards. Gard said the 6-foot-11 sophomore is leading the team in rebounding and “it’s not even close.”

That aspect of Winters’ play has been part of recent surge.

“In the last eight-10 days he’s taken a jump. I’ve seen him play more physical and more aggressive,” Gard said. “It caught us all by surprise how much he has rebounded the ball, specifically defensively. He’s done some good things.”

Jack Janicki makes his share of plays

Blackwell has been singing the praise of redshirt freshman walk-on Jack Janicki this preseason. The 6-5 lefty showed why Tuesday by make a handful of defensive plays and displaying a nice touch and feel for handing the ball and passing.

“His numbers might not jump off the page when you look at the box score, but he’s doing a lot of things that winning teams do,” Gard said.

The final word from Bo Ryan’s Hall of Fame induction

Gard was part of large contingent from UW on hand to witness Bo Ryan’s enshrinement into the Naismith Hall of Fame.

The message Gard brought back to his team was to be prepared to handle challenging times. Even the all-time greats had to fight through them.

“Whether talking to the Hall of Famers who are in or you listened to the speeches, whether it’s Chancey Billups or Doug Collins or anybody, they all had to overcome some form of adversity even as a Hall of Famer,” Gard said. “I think that is a great lesson. … That was one thing that resonated. It wasn’t an easy road.”