MADISON, Wis. – From the surface, Carter Gilmore doesn’t have the profile yet of someone who should be on the court in the waning minutes of a basketball game hanging in the balance.
The second-year guard out of Hartland, Wis., is at the back end of the rotation with an average of just over 1.2 points per game. But there he was on the court in the final seconds of Wednesday’s 71-68 victory over Nicholls on Dec. 15, earning his time because of Gilmore’s defensive capabilities.
“One of the best facets of my game is I can do multiple things,” Gilmore said. “If you need to focus on scoring, I can go out there and score. If you need me to play good defense, I can go out there and do that.”
His play on that final possession showed why countable stats can only be taken at face value.
With Wisconsin on defense, leading by three points with 5.9 seconds left, point guard Chucky Hepburn was caught in a screen trying to trail guard Ty Gordon, who had already dropped 26 points on the Badgers. Gilmore recognized the screen and switched on to Gordon as the guard drifted to the 3-point line.
In a catch-and-shoot situation, Gilmore went straight up with his left arm extended from his 6-7 frame. Gordon was forced to attempt a higher arching shot that thumped off the back iron, allowing UW to escape with the win.
“I know Wisconsin always stands on defense first,” Gilmore said. “My dad said if you can always play defense, you’ll find your way out on the court.”
Gilmore’s dad would know. After all, Brian Gilmore played four years for former Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan at UW-Platteville, including starting every game on Ryan’s first Division III national championship team in 1991. With his dad being his basketball coach from kindergarten through elementary school, it wasn’t uncommon that Carter would be doing drills that Ryan put his dad through years earlier.
“Coming here, I was a lot more prepared,” said Gilmore, whose mom was also a standout player on Platteville’s women’s team. “I’ve picked up on stuff a lot faster because I’ve been doing it my whole life. When I was coming here to play, he called Bo Ryan and asked him to watch some of my clips to see what I needed to work on.”
That preparedness has been a blessing to head coach Greg Gard. With the Badgers (9-2) dealing with injuries and sickness since the early weeks of the season, Gilmore has been counted on by the staff to bounce back and forth between the scout team and the playing rotation, handling the dual roles like a veteran due to his attentiveness and versatility.
Despite dealing with sinus congestion that zapped his energy, Gilmore managed to play 25 minutes earlier this season against Providence when the Badgers were short-handed and in foul trouble. Against St. Mary’s in the championship game of the Maui Invitational, Gilmore scored four points in 12 minutes off the bench in a 61-55 win.
“He knows (our system) as well as maybe as anybody coming in because of his family background,” Gard said of Gilmore, who is averaging 1.2 points in 10 games. “I think the thing with Carter is he’s just solid. I always say I’ll name the things you need to do to get on the floor and none of them have to do with jumping 42 inches off the floor (or) running a 4.3 40. It’s all about being good at the little things, and Carter’s understood that.”
Gilmore played sparingly last season, appearing in nine games but playing no more than five minutes. But with the NCAA giving a blanket waiver last season, giving everyone essentially a free year of eligibility, Gilmore took away bit and pieces in minimal moments on the court but absorbed plenty of “little tricks” during practices from a roster chalked full of veterans.
“He works extremely hard,” assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft said. “He loves the game. He enjoys it. He just competes. Simple stuff, like the rest of our guys, but he got a lot of experience playing every day last year learning our system, learning our rules, being in film sessions. He’s watching, learning, and his IQ is pretty good. He’s not your average sophomore. He sees and has a feel for the game, things you can’t really teach. That’s why he’s out there.””
Having his current height in high school, Gilmore could almost always see over the defender to analyze pressures and diagnose ways to score. But when he gets into the lane now and saw 7-footers instead of 6-foot-4 forwards, Gilmore can’t afford to be as patient.
“But for me, in high school, I’d have three guys on me when I got in the lane,” Gilmore said. “Now, I’m not looked at as a scorer, so I don’t have the best defender on me and not getting double teamed when I get in the paint. There’s pros and cons to it but finding more creative ways to finish around the rim would be the hardest thing and what I need to work on the most.”
Gilmore has scholarship offers from Appalachian State, Brown, DePaul, Illinois-Chicago, Indiana State, Milwaukee, and Southern Illinois after his junior year when he was an all-state selection. He really didn’t consider any of them when he committed to his walk-on offer from Wisconsin prior to his senior season.
“I’d go on unofficial visits to other places, but even when I was there, I wouldn’t even really pay attention,” Gilmore said. “I knew in my heart this was always my dream.”
While injuries have prevented Wisconsin from being at its full potential, and a COVID outbreak forced the cancelations of last week’s game, the Badgers still find themselves ranked No.24 in this week’s AP poll and sit among seven conference teams with two losses or fewer.
There’s no question that UW is getting tremendous all-around play from sophomore guard Johnny Davis, but Gilmore cites the young roster making an impact through the first half of the season as a noticeable difference from last season.
“Our group, we act older than we are,” he said. “The incoming freshmen definitely don’t have to mature as fast as we did. Last year, I remember coming in the locker room and guys were talking about socks, reading books, business, unrelated basketball things. We’re still young but still looking to have fun.”
_________________________________________________
*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den
*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel
*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)
*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @JakeKoco, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45
*Like us on Facebook
