2011 Wisconsin Basketball Preview
Written by James Zerfoss - Google +
2010-11 Results
Overall: 25-9 (Home 16-0 Road 5-6 Neutral 4-3 Postseason 2-2)
Big 10: 13-5
Conference Tournament: Lost in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Postseason: Lost in the Sweet 16.
Bo Ryan guided his team to an overall record of 25-9 and 13-5 in the Big 10. Wisconsin got off to a 10-2 start in non-conference play with wins over Boston College and Marquette. They continued to play well during conference play going 13-5. It finally ended when they lost in the Sweet 16.
A year ago Wisconsin went undefeated at home but had a losing record on the road. If the Badgers want to compete for the Big Ten title this year they will have to win more games in hostile environments.
The Badgers were a good shooting team making 44 percent from the field. Defensively the Badgers were the best team in the conference holding opponents to 58.6 points per game. The team also shot well from beyond the arch shooting 37.4 percent.
Roster
Returning Starters
Jordan Taylor
Josh Gasser
Mike Bruesewitz
Other Returning Players
Evan Anderson
Jared Berggren
Ben Brust
J.D. Wise
Mike Bruesewitz
Ryan Evans
Newcomers
Frank Kaminsky
George Marshall
Jarrod Uthoff
Traevon Jackson
Jordan Smith
Head Coach
Bo Ryan
Key Losses
Wisonsin lost Jon Leuer, Keatin Nankivil and Tim Jarmusz. Leuer was the team’s leading scorer a year ago. He also chipped in 7.2 rebounds a game while shooting 37 percent beyond the arch. Nankivil was the team’s third leading scorer with 9.7 points per game and 4.2 rebounds. Jarmusz gave the Badgers 23.7 minutes a game a year ago.
2011-12 Preview
The Badgers just like almost every year are in the pre-season top-25 Associated Press poll ranking 15th. Once again Wisconsin will have one of the top defensive teams in the Big Ten. The Badgers offense will likely go where Jordan Taylor goes. He was an All-Big Ten pick and second team All-American last season. Taylor was among a selected group of individuals named to the AP preseason All-American first team.
Backcourt
Wisconsin should have little to worry about with National Player of the Year candidate Jordan Taylor returning. He will be joined in the backcourt by Josh Gasser who averaged 5.9 points and 4.0 rebounds last season.
Taylor is a player to watch this season. He is on the 2012 Wooden Award watch list after averaging 18.1 points, 4.7 assists, and 4.1 rebounds last year. Last season he was named a first-team All-American by Fox Sports and a second-team All-American by the Associated Press and Sporting News.
Other than Taylor, the Badgers backcourt lacks experience. The team will feature two freshman Traevon Jackson and George Marshall. Jackson looks to be an excellent prospect and averaged 18.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 3.3 steals per game as a senior in high school. Marshall was named second-team all-state in Illinois as a senior.
Frontcourt
There are a lot of question marks in the Badgers front court due to the loss of three starters. Jon Leuer was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks. Keaton Nankivil and Tim Jarmusz also finished their careers in Madison.
One likely starter is junior Mike Bruesewitz, who now has a buzz cut after Bo Ryan made fun of his hairdo. As a player Bruesewitz scored 4.2 points per game last year, including an 18-point performance against Green Bay. During the NCAA tournament he averaged 8.7 points per game and 6.3 rebounds. It remains to be seen if he is ready for a starting role on this Badgers team.
Jared Berggren will start and he is the only player over 6-7 on the team who saw significant playing time a year ago. A year ago Berggren averaged 2.3 points and 1.1 rebounds per game.
More Big Ten Basketball Predictions
Got something to say?
- Kyle Hunter
- Jordan Haimowitz
- Rocky Atkinson
- Jim Feist
- Dennis Macklin
- Tom Freese
- Info Plays
- Black Widow
- Steve Merril
- Tom Stryker
- Michael Alexander