Bucky Game

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

Sorry, but Kaminsky looked like a clod as a frosh. Yeah, he had a nice looking stand still catch and shoot shot. But, he looked horrible otherwise. Every sign that he would be a star...uhh NO...

Hence why I eschew the eye test. No, he didn't look like a NPOY type player, but he put up respectable end-of-the-bench numbers. Then he did even better as a sophomore. Basically, he did what just about every other Bo Ryan big man did as an underclassman.

The thing with Kaminsky...even as a senior he looked like a clod. Because that's his makeup, and his body style, and honestly, he's just not a physically attractive guy, so he always looks like the awkward kid on the court. But he could ball. He showed flashes early, significant flashes the next year, and then got the chance to put it all together as a junior, just like so many of those Bo kids did before, and so unlike anything Vitto Brown has ever done. Vitto hasn't put up the kind of numbers Bo's other successful bigs did. He's just piled awful on top of awful, with his only decent outings being against cupcake teams.

[farmerdoc]

Another factor is that neither Hayes nor Koenig has had to be "The Man" at this level. They are both very good players, but either of them could have a season like Jamil did his senior year. I don't think that either has had tonhandle that kind of in game pressure regularly enough to be a sure thing. The consistency that Bucky got from Frank last year was very special.

[Nukem2]

Hence why I eschew the eye test. No, he didn't look like a NPOY type player, but he put up respectable end-of-the-bench numbers. Then he did even better as a sophomore. Basically, he did what just about every other Bo Ryan big man did as an underclassman.

The thing with Kaminsky...even as a senior he looked like a clod. Because that's his makeup, and his body style, and honestly, he's just not a physically attractive guy, so he always looks like the awkward kid on the court. But he could ball. He showed flashes early, significant flashes the next year, and then got the chance to put it all together as a junior, just like so many of those Bo kids did before, and so unlike anything Vitto Brown has ever done. Vitto hasn't put up the kind of numbers Bo's other successful bigs did. He's just piled awful on top of awful, with his only decent outings being against cupcake teams.

True, but he still played very stiffly in all aspect of his game as a frosh other than that flat-footed outside shot. Very poor defender.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

That's sort of a Bo hallmark, though. Take guys that look like JAGs as freshmen, give them a couple years of seasoning, build a team around then. But most of those JAGs, especially the bigs, are typically offensively efficient, even as freshmen. Brown couldn't muster even mediocre efficiency and fell behind in the pecking order as the season went on. He's not the kind of guy Bo has had work out. He looks cut from the Evan Anderson, Ian Markolf type of cloth.

[MKE_GoldenEagleFan]

That's sort of a Bo hallmark, though. Take guys that look like JAGs as freshmen, give them a couple years of seasoning, build a team around then. But most of those JAGs, especially the bigs, are typically offensively efficient, even as freshmen. Brown couldn't muster even mediocre efficiency and fell behind in the pecking order as the season went on. He's not the kind of guy Bo has had work out. He looks cut from the Evan Anderson, Ian Markolf type of cloth.

Yeah but I have heard good things about Happ.

[DowntownSweeney]

Most badger fans, and some here, are failing to heed the sage advice of Barry Alvarez: don't ever take success for granted.

UW will look nothing like the past two seasons. I predict this will be Ryan's weakest team. The NCAA streak ends.

[Goose85]

Bo has always been successful at having players who played a reserve role and were ready to step in and play his style when seniors left. The old next man in saying.
The key reserves last year were Dukan and Jackson. In a normal year those first two off the bench guys would be ready to assume the starters role, but these guys were seniors.
Showalter and Brown combined to average 3.9 points per game and 2.6 rebounds per game.

Happ may be playing well, but will be completely untested. It will be interesting to see how Bo handles the team without the experienced players he has normally had playing the big minutes. Bo has always had a quick hook with young guys, even Dekker. Can he do that this year or will he have to let the young guys play through mistakes.

I'm sure they will be fine, as Bo is a really good coach. Probably not the best year to have a really hard Big 10 slate for a change.

[farmerdoc]

Bo has always been successful at having players who played a reserve role and were ready to step in and play his style when seniors left. The old next man in saying.
The key reserves last year were Dukan and Jackson. In a normal year those first two off the bench guys would be ready to assume the starters role, but these guys were seniors.
Showalter and Brown combined to average 3.9 points per game and 2.6 rebounds per game.

Happ may be playing well, but will be completely untested. It will be interesting to see how Bo handles the team without the experienced players he has normally had playing the big minutes. Bo has always had a quick hook with young guys, even Dekker. Can he do that this year or will he have to let the young guys play through mistakes.

I'm sure they will be fine, as Bo is a really good coach. Probably not the best year to have a really hard Big 10 slate for a change.

Goose, that really is the key point. This year is unlike any I can remember for Bo at Madison in regards to the experience of returning players. He will have to let the young guys play through mistakes, as he doesn't have a lot of experience to rely on. They have 4 players returning that played meaningful minutes last year. While I do not expect a total collapse, if it happened, I would smile!

[MUMac]

Goose, that really is the key point. This year is unlike any I can remember for Bo at Madison in regards to the experience of returning players. He will have to let the young guys play through mistakes, as he doesn't have a lot of experience to rely on. They have 4 players returning that played meaningful minutes last year. While I do not expect a total collapse, if it happened, I would smile!

One other thing to consider, in addition to the above and tougher schedule, is that all teams on UW's schedule will be gunning a bit harder for UW. Back to back Final 4's, they have a bigger target on their back and will get the A game of every team they play, especially in the non-conference schedule.

[Markedman]

Pritzl broke his foot and had surgery.

@jaypo1961: Timetable for #Badgers Pritzl to return to court similar to T.Jackson last season. So looking at 2+ months.