An Aggressive Aleem Ford is Good News for Wisconsin
MADISON, Wis. - Thirteen points may not seem like much to a college basketball starter, but the baker’s dozen delivered by Aleem Ford Saturday was a coming-of-age moment.
A perimeter-first shooter, the 6-8 redshirt junior not only regained his stroke from the outside but showed a willingness to attack the basket. With Wisconsin down a pair of starters, Ford’s 13 points were the lift the Badgers needed to outlast No.14 Michigan State, 64-63, and help him turn a critical corner in his development.
“He may have played the best game of his career,” Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard said.
Up until that point, Ford had been struggling in mediocrity for over a month. Boosted by six double-figure scoring games, Ford started off 2019 averaging 10.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 26.9 minutes through the first nine games of the season, numbers that were sparked by being more productive in the areas of rebounding and defense.
The next 12 games told a different story. His scoring plummeted to 5.5 points per game and shot 38.7 percent from the floor. He also struggled on the glass with just 2.3 rebounds per game. The unwillingness for Ford to attack the low post is glaring with his lack of free throw attempts.
After attempting 21 free throws during his opening stretch, an average of 2.3 attempts per game, Ford didn’t attempt any in an eight-game stretch from Dec.31 to Nov.24. One of his low points was getting pulled and playing a season-low six minutes in UW’s loss at Michigan State Jan.17.
In the sequel, Ford had one mindset – be aggressive.
“When you come in … try and attack first,” Ford said. “I felt like we did a really good job of that as a team. We got out to that run in the first half. Just being an aggressor and trying to keep that mindset for 40 minutes.”
Having worked with assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft, and perhaps seeing the assertiveness of true freshman Tyler Wahl on both ends of the floor earn him some minutes, Ford attacked from the start.
Shaking off an early turnover on UW’s second possession, Ford hit a deep step-back jumper off the dribble to get on the scoreboard. Later his work with Krabbenhoft paid off. Pump faking on the perimeter, Ford drove baseline, bullied his way into the lane and earned a 3-point play.
He crashed the glass (four rebounds), registered two steals and stuck his chest out defensively to draw an offensive foul on Malik Hall, making the Spartans forward play passive the rest of the game.
His confidence in the interior carried over the perimeter. Hitting just 30.6 percent from the 3-point line entering the game, Ford’s wide-open 3-pointer from the elbow put Wisconsin up 57-47 with 8:16 remaining. He didn’t hesitate on the next possession either, moving out and rattling home a deep 3-pointer.
It was only the second time this calendar year Ford hit two 3-point shots, as he finished 5-for-6 shooting.
“He was aggressive, made shots, was consistent through the game, not anything different,” Gard said. “He didn’t practice any differently or didn’t come up with any new drill. He stepped up. Opportunities were there and he took advantage.”
The renewed confidence comes at an important stretch for Wisconsin (13-9, 6-5 Big Ten) as they move forward. The sudden transfer from guard Kobe King leaves a hole in UW’s starting lineup that will likely be filled with a combination of senior guard Brevin Prtizl and Wahl, but a void that require Ford to take on more responsibilities offensively.
He believes he’s ready for the challenge.
“With all the circumstances (with King’s transfer and Brad Davison’s one-game suspension), we knew it was going to be a dogfight,” Ford said. “We just tried to stay together and be positive. Only way we were going to get this win is if we believed in each other. To be able to get that win meant a lot. We just got to keep it rolling from here.”