Chucky Hepburn Loving his Role of Wisconsin Badgers' Facilitator
MADISON, Wis. – There weren’t many moments last season where Wisconsin point guard Chucky Hepburn would shoot 1-for-6 from three-point range and look this laid back.
Looking more like a casual Johnny Cash wearing his all-black loungewear, Hepburn laughed and joked as he leaned against the wall outside the visitor’s locker room at Value City Arena, his headphones around his neck and his phone in his hand mid-scroll.
It’s an all-encompassing snapshot of how comfortable he is with his role in the Badgers’ offense, how far he’s come in one season, and how big of a weight that has been lifted off his shoulders.
“It’s a nice feeling to be able to really bang it out down there in crunch time,” Hepburn said. “To be able to go out and get this win in a tough environment against a good team says a lot about this team.”
Hepburn’s performance from No.15 Wisconsin’s 71-60 victory at Ohio State Wednesday gets overshadowed by a pair of standout performances. Sophomore A.J. Storr scored 15 of his 17 points in the first half while senior Max Klesmit scored 16 of his 18 points in the final 8:53.
His seven points tied him for third in scoring with freshman Nolan Winter, but UW’s point guard had four assists, four rebounds, and four steals against one turnover in a season-high 37 minutes on the floor, as the Badgers closed the game on a 19-4 run.
“It was our emphasis this season to extend those five-point leads, push them to 10, and push those 10-pointers up to 15,” Hepburn said. “We’ve done a really good job in crunch time being able to lock in defensively and be able to score when we need to.”
Scoring in crunch time was a challenge last season for Hepburn, particularly against Northwestern (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten), which won a pair of one-possession games against Wisconsin (12-3, 4-0) last season and will visit the Kohl Center Saturday morning for the teams’ only regular-season meeting.
UW held a 61-60 lead with 3 minutes 14 seconds left but the Badgers missed their final seven shots in a three-point loss. Hepburn missed two shots and two free throws on UW’s final three possessions, a night in which he went 4-for-16 from the field and 3-for-9 from the perimeter.
UW was in a similar position in the rematch, holding a 49-48 lead with 3:21 left, and had a similar result, missing four of its final five shots in a two-point loss. Hepburn attempted four shots in the final 90 seconds. He made one, a step-back jumper that put UW ahead 51-50 with 45.4 seconds left but misfired on his last two - a block in traffic on a drive into the lane and an off-balanced fading jumper that fell well short of the rim.
“Things I went through last year, my teammates were there to pick me up,” Hepburn said. “We were able to build that team chemistry and they gave me a lot of confidence going in.”
A look at the roster and it’s easy to see that the Badgers have more scoring options.
Storr has scored in double digits in 13 of 15 games since transferring to the program, including all four conference games. Tyler Wahl is healthy and averaging a career-best 11.8 points on a career-high 55.1 percent field goal percentage. He contributed 11 points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block against the Buckeyes. The Badgers have also seen forward Steven Crowl (11.8 ppg), freshman guard John Blackwell (8.8), and Klesmit (7.9) take the scoring reins and lead the offense in scoring.
UW has been led in scoring by six different players, is averaging 10.2 points more per game than last year, and has the sixth most efficient offense in the country at 120.2 points per 100 possessions.
Hepburn has only led UW in scoring twice, both Badgers wins. UW was 5-6 in those games last season.
“That’s the mark of a really, really good team,” UW coach Greg Gard said. “I don’t get consumed having to get one guy going. I run wrinkles here and there to get the rust off somebody but by and large, it’s pretty equal opportunity. That’s one of the nice things about having an unselfish team.”
With so many options around him, Hepburn has been able to dial it back. His 7.8 field goal attempts per game are more on par with his average from his freshman year (7.1) as opposed to last season (11.5). Coincidentally, his 40.7 field goal percentage is on pace for a career-best, even though he’s shooting a career-worst 28.0 percent (14-for-50) from three-point range.
His season assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.33 (60 assists, 18 turnovers) would be the fourth best in a UW single season, and he’s moved him into third in the conference with 1.9 steals per game. To this point, Hepburn has forced more steals (28) than turnovers (18).
The last time Northwestern was in Madison, Hepburn was reluctant to give up the ball when Wisconsin needed to make a shot. He was all smiles in his sweats as he thought about how far he and the offense had come.
“Guys are playing with a lot more confidence this year,” he said, “which takes a lot of pressure off me to go out and get buckets.”
_________________________________________________
*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, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45, @seamus_rohrer, @DonnieSlusher_
*Like us on Facebook