A sturdier Wahl: Wisconsin sophomore continues growth physically, on court
Rightfully so, the Wisconsin men’s basketball program has a lot to be excited about in the present and its future.
Its 2020-21 team features several standout seniors who sparked an eight-game winning streak and a share of the Big Ten regular season title in March. There is also an incoming freshmen loaded with talent.
Sandwiched in-between - and perhaps someone who skews towards the younger-side of the program due to age - is Tyler Wahl. The sophomore forward returns with more weight on a taller physique, some reportedly better shooting and from the perspective of redshirt senior Micah Potter, a skillet that has “drastically improved from last year.”
“I think he put on about 10 pounds. He looks really good. Physically, he looks like he's in shape,” Potter told reporters on Oct. 8. “His handle is really good.
“Defensively, his versatility is really, really, really good. He'll be able to practically guard one through five it looks like.”
Listed at 6-foot-7 and 214 pounds for what became a truncated 2019-20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wahl played in 31 games as a true freshman, including three starts. He finished averaging 15.5 minutes, 2.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per contest.
A UW official told BadgerBlitz.com on Friday afternoon that Wahl grew an inch in height and added 15 pounds to his frame, something that was also acknowledged in an Oct. 15 article on UWBadgers.com where he was reported at 6-foot-7 1/2 and 220 pounds. Assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft believes that added weight has helped the Lakeville, Minn., product.
“We're still here early in October and maintaining that weight and strength throughout this season, throughout the rigors of a tough schedule is going to be the challenge,” Krabbenhoft told reporters on Thursday. “But certainly early on here, we're very pleased with the work he put in in the offseason. He clearly dedicated himself to his body, and that's already paying off. He's able to throw a bigger punch when he's out there playing.”
When asked, Wahl nonchalantly described how he added those proverbial “gains."
“The first couple of months, there wasn't really any place to play basketball, so it was just work out and eat, pretty much,” Wahl said on Thursday. “I wasn't burning as many calories, and that kind of helped out, so I was able to put on the weight. Then once I started playing basketball again, it kind of just didn't disappear and turned into good strength.”
A topic talked about in that UWBadgers.com article as well as during media availability this week was Wahl's progress from Year 1 to Year 2 and potentially following a similar trajectory to that of senior forward Nate Reuvers. Instead of redshirting during the 2017-18 season, the fellow Minnesota native played 28 games with 15 starts. Reuvers averaged a hint more minutes per game in comparison to Wahl as a first-year player (16.6) and contributed 5.3 points and about two rebounds per contest.
Reuvers was listed on UW’s roster at 6-foot-11 and 215 pounds in his first year with the program. A season later, he was designated at 240 pounds before settling in at a recorded 235 pounds during his 2019-20 junior campaign.
As discussion turned to what Reuvers could impart to Wahl about the progression in his strength from the first to second seasons, Krabbenhoft noted how both were in the same room as him, turning the camera towards them for a brief second before answering the question.
“I think [Nate's] shared with Tyler a few places on campus where to get a great steak and some mashed potatoes and how to put on a little bit of weight, in the right way, hopefully," Krabbenhoft said with a smile. "I think that's been a big thing for Tyler is that he learned, and sometimes it was learning the hard way, what it takes physically to hold your own and eventually be the guy pushing and shoving and winning those battles in the Big Ten.
"I think he took those lessons that he learned on the court home with him, but he’s had great mentors and leaders in front of them that had been through it, and I know they've shared tips and stories on things."
Wahl believes the No. 1 thing he learned last year was the size and the strength of those who play within the conference. Along with realizing he needed to add weight, Wahl also stated he needed to "continue to learn on both offensive and defensive stuff.”
When looking at one aspect of Wahl's game, Potter and Krabbenhoft both called out the sophomore's shooting. Last year, Wahl connected on 43 percent of his opportunities from the field, but just 21.4 percent from three-point range (6-of-28). He also struggled at the free throw line, making seven of his 18 attempts (38.9 perecent) from the charity stripe.
"His shot has also really improved," Potter said earlier this month. "In all of the shooting drills, he looks really, really good. You can tell he really worked on that during the offseason, so his shot, his body, his physique, his strength, he looks really good.”
Krabbenhoft, who noted that the second-year big man can guard three or four positions on the defensive end, honed in on a couple areas offensively.
"I know free-throw percentage and being more confident from the three-point line and things like that were something he focused on as well," Krabbenhoft said. "I think when you become more comfortable with those parts of your game, it allows everything to kind of flourish.
"I use the word comfortable a lot with him. He seems a lot more comfortable offensively, but the important thing for Tyler is that he continues to hang his hat on the defensive end, because he's fun to watch. He can cause a lot of problems for people on the defensive end.”
When it comes to shooting the ball, Wahl feels "it's just getting reps in and getting more comfortable and having confidence."
"I spent a lot of time this summer in the gym, just getting shots up and working on certain things," Wahl said. "Just my confidence grew, and that kind of just transferred over to here in practice."