Aleem Ford - Like Others on Wisconsin - Searching for Consistency

MADISON, Wis. – As players celebrated their first “easy” win of the Big Ten season, a 16-point victory over Northwestern, Aleem Ford had more work to do.

Missing five of his six shots against the Wildcats, Ford swapped out his home jersey for a white t-shirt and practice shorts to get up some shots in the empty gym. It’s a comforting experience, especially since Ford carries a lot of weight within Wisconsin’s offense.

“It’s not just freshmen, it’s everybody that gets their emotional barometer tied to what they do offensively,” head coach Greg Gard said. “You’re always trying to redirect and make sure they understand there are other ways to impact the game.”

The senior from Lawrenceville, GA, finds himself like many of his teammates in the sense that his production on offense has been sporadic. After reaching double figures in Wisconsin’s first four conference games, Ford has hit 10 points in only three of his last seven games. As luck would have it, he’s led the team in scoring in two of those games.

Ford’s success is usually tied to the 3-point arc. A 34.9 percent 3-point shooter, 55.2 percent of Ford’s attempts have come from behind the perimeter. His 28 3-pointers are third-most on the team, but he’s 10-for-31 (32.3 percent) over his last six games. Over the last four games, 75 percent of Ford’s shots (24 of 32) have been 3-point attempts.

“Just keep being aggressive, not just in the scoring column, just as a defender or a rebounder,” Ford said Friday about fighting through a shooting slump. “Making sure I can do my best to whatever works best for the team and we’re coming out with a ‘W.’ That’s what I really pay attention to is the ‘W’ in that column and the end result.”

He had an interesting journey Saturday in Wisconsin’s 81-71 loss at Penn State, a loss the 19th-ranked Badgers (13-5, 7-4 Big Ten) can avenge when they host the Nittany Lions (6-7, 3-6) tonight. Ford only scored five points in the opening half but limited forward John Harrar – PSU’s best rebounder – to three points and one rebound by boxing him out away from the basket.

Ford scored 10 points in the second half, but the Badgers were powerless once Harrar got into a rhythm. The senior had 14 points and eight rebounds in the second half, as Harrar followed through on what the UW staff pointed out in the scouting report.

“When we were doing our scout, that’s the first thing that was brought up when we were going over him,” Ford said. “He’s been rebounding really well … If you are boxing him out, you might not get the rebound, just make sure he doesn’t.”

Developing into more than just an outside shooter is part of the reason high expectations were placed on Ford by himself and others entering his senior season. During his junior season, Ford averaged 8.6 points and 4.4 rebounds last season, up from 3.1 and 1.9 the previous season. Entering tonight’s game, Ford is averaging 9.6 points and 4.5 rebounds.

Ford showed last year that he’s capable of flipping a switch, especially when he’s needed the most. In UW’s first 21 games of the season, Ford averaged 7.6 points and 3.5 rebounds in 22.5 minutes per game, shooting 30.6 percent from the 3-point line. Over the final 10 games – as the Badgers went on a 9-1 surge to clinch a share of the Big Ten regular season title – Ford averaged 10.7 points and 6.4 rebounds in 30.4 minutes per game, shooting 39.6 percent from beyond the arc.

Ford acknowledged that the stretch was sparked by his ability to rebound. Not only did he reach double figures seven times on that run, he grabbed at least eight rebounds in four games. It’s a way to get action going at the basket, according to Gard, something the Badgers need more of the final nine games if they want to repeat as conference champions.

“If you’re struggling a little bit, one way to get your game going is get to the free throw line, attack, post, get on the offensive glass, get an offensive rebound putback, get fouled, go to the free throw line, see the ball go in,” Gard said. “We’ve talked about that with a lot of our guys. That’s the best way to ignite yourself is get yourself into a high percentage area and do things.”