Freshman John Blackwell quickly blossoming into integral off-ball piece

MADISON — A year after a true freshman oozing confidence, Connor Essegian, took Madison by storm and quickly became an essential part of the Badgers’ rotation, Wisconsin basketball may have a similar situation on its hands with true freshman guard John Blackwell.

Despite a guard-heavy roster that features plenty of returning talent at the one, two and three, Blackwell has averaged 16.3 minutes through three games. That’s 6th-highest on the team. Blackwell has fit like a glove into Wisconsin’s system, and has seamlessly transitioned from the ball-dominant facilitator he was in high school to an off-ball swiss army knife in head coach Greg Gard’s scheme.

Did we mention he oozes confidence?

“It wasn’t that big of an adjustment. At the end of the day, just be a basketball player,” he said. “Make reads.”

Still, there’s a little more to it than that. Blackwell credits his father Glynn, who played for Illinois from 1984-1988, for equipping him with the skills necessary to thrive off the ball.

“My dad’s game, as he played at Illinois, he was a two guard,” Blackwell said. “I’m pretty good at coming downhill, off screens, but I’ve learned to be better at coming off pin-downs, away screens, cutting back door…He taught me all of that coming into Wisconsin.”

The Badgers have no shortage of players that can run point, from Chucky Hepburn to Kamari McGee to Max Klesmit and Isaac Lindsey. Thus, Blackwell knew that if he wanted to make an impact early in his career, he’d better learn to be an off-ball player. It’s a far cry from the situation he walked into when he transferred to Brother Rice High School in Michigan.

“When I transferred over to Brother Rice, they didn’t have no point guard. It was just me out there,” he said. “I had to really learn how to be a leader.”

In Madison, there’s point guards aplenty. Leaders are in place. The Badgers needed something different out of Blackwell.

When he committed to Wisconsin, Blackwell’s signature trait was his defense. He’s strong, and a self-described “gym rat.” His 6-foot-4 frame gives him some pesky length and allows him to guard on the perimeter. But early on, Blackwell’s scoring has stood out.

He’s hit double figures in two of Wisconsin’s first three games: 12 points in the opener and 11 against Providence. He’s shooting 53.3 percent from the field and has gone 2-for-4 from downtown.

“The shots I took were good shots. They were just good shots and it was just in the flow of the game,” Blackwell said, again displaying a maturity and mettle beyond his years. “Be confident in your game. You put in many hours to get here.”

It’s one thing to score 12 points against a Sun Belt team, but the eye opener was the 11-spot on the road against a power conference team in Providence. What’s more, he was the only thing the Badgers’ had resembling offense early on — Blackwell scored seven of the team’s first nine points.

“I feel pretty comfortable,” he said after the game. “I just come in and try to make the right plays for my team. My jumpshot was falling early, so I kept being aggressive, kept getting into it.”

The catalyst for that scoring, though, is his aforementioned adeptness at moving off the ball. When Blackwell is on the court, he’s neither the primary ball-handler nor the first, second or third scoring option. But when he slips backdoor with a well-timed cut and finds himself all alone at the rim, well, that tends to get you the ball.

Just like Essegian did as a true freshman last year, Blackwell’s basketball IQ and off-ball movement are allowing him to contribute in the early stages of his career.

“I really saw that last year with Connor. He was always back-dooring, always getting easy layups. He can shoot the ball so well so he figured that guys are gonna chase him, so he’d just slip it,” he said. “So that was one big thing, I looked at Connor’s game, I can do that really well.”

Fellow freshman Nolan Winter saw the work that Blackwell put in over the offseason to sharpen his game to where it is today.

“Throughout all the summer, me and him both really had to switch up how we played a little bit,” Winter said. “Now, he’s kinda transitioned to a little bit of a three. He can still play the one, but he’s kinda a wing more.”

Blackwell had to adjust his style slightly to ensure he could contribute to this Badgers team, but ultimately, the same fundamental principles get you on the court and keep you there in Gard’s system.

“Just little stuff that you do. The older guys told me, ‘play hard, don’t turn the ball over and play defense, that’ll keep you on the floor,’” he said.

An unfortunate 1-2 start has Wisconsin basketball in an early hole. Blackwell hasn’t just been a bright spot, though. He’s flashing the skillset and moxie to potentially be a foundational piece for this team in the years to come.

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