MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin sophomore guard Connor Essegian did minimal work in practice on Wednesday, putting into question whether he’ll be available for the Badgers Friday when they host No.9 Tennessee.
Essegian mostly worked with the UW training staff and did some shooting work Wednesday morning, according to head coach Greg Gard.
"We'll see how he responds to it tomorrow," Gard said after practice.
Essegian was injured with 6:29 remaining in the first half of Monday’s 105-76 victory over Arkansas State, taking contact as the player he was boxing out on a shot attempt fell over him. Appearing to injure his lower back, Essegian stayed on the court for several minutes before walking off on his own power. He rode a stationary bike for the remainder of the first half.
He was listed as having an “upper-body injury” and ruled “questionable” by the Wisconsin athletic communications during halftime. He spent the second half varying his pedaling speeds as his teammates pulled away from the Red Wolves.
The 6-foot-4 guard scored four points on 2-of-3 shooting in five minutes. He joined his teammates in slapping hands with those at courtside after the game and even signed autographs for a few young fans who came near the tunnel exiting to UW’s locker room.
Head coach Greg Gard did not have a status update after the game. Essegian was not made available to reporters Wednesday.
In Essegian’s absence, guards Isaac Lindsey and John Blackwell got more minutes and represented 20 of UW’s 39 bench points, with seven reserves scoring before Gard emptied the bench. The most UW got from its bench all last season was 24 points in a November game against Dayton.
“We thought that the depth would help us,” Gard said. “Here we are, game one, and it already showed.”
“It’s nice to know that I can go to a Markus Ilver and a Lindsey and a (Kamari) McGee and a Blackwell and a Winter and a (Carter) Gilmore. They just keep going on the bench,” Gard added. “Guys are ready to contribute. That’s the start of a good team when you have that many guys who are willing to help us out.”
As a freshman, Essegian ranked 3rd for UW averaging 11.7 ppg shooting 35.9 percent on 3-pointers. His 69 made 3-pointers set a new school record for freshmen.
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