CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Sharif Chambliss spent one season playing professionally in Portugal after completing his career at Wisconsin, but it was enough to know that basketball comes in all shapes and styles.

After years of being conditioned for the rigors of Big Ten physicality, Chambliss was suddenly thrust into a European world where the offense was free-flowing, shots were flying, and the main physicality was in all the ball screens to open space for shooters.

It’s why he can emphasize with the struggles sophomore Markus Ilver is waging now in making that transition, only he’s doing it in reverse.

“The physicality is just way different over here,” Chambliss said. “Markus is still adjusting to it, but he’s made some strides since he got over here.”

The biggest strides are yet to come, maybe as soon as this afternoon after the thrown-into-the-fire experience Ilver got for 10 minutes, 52 seconds in Tuesday’s 63-60 win over Minnesota. It’s hard to call it a career-altering moment, but the sophomore doesn’t deny what a small slice of college basketball did for his confidence.

“It gave me a lot of experience and a confidence boost,” IIver said. “It’s a lot different to be in that situation than to see it.”

The 6-8 Ilver has spent most of the season outside Wisconsin’s rotation. After playing just over 30 minutes in a three-game stretch at the season's start, Ilver had played just over 14 combined minutes since November 24.

But Ilver knew he was likely to see time after senior Tyler Wahl landed awkwardly on his right ankle early in the first half. Playing without UW’s leading scorer and rebounder for nearly 31 minutes put the Badgers out of their normal substitution pattern, which was really tipped sideways when forward Steven Crowl picked up an offensive and defensive foul 13 seconds apart and had to sit for the final 5:53.

In subbed Ilver, who wasted no time in hitting a three-pointer to put UW up, 22-20, with 5:38 remaining.

“He came in confident and knocked his first shot down,” Chambliss said. “How about that? He came off the bench, he was open, knew he could knock it down, and knocked it down, as we needed one at that point.”

The results were mixed after that. Ilver battled forward Dawson Garcia, Minnesota’s leading scorer who has played 36 more Division-1 games than Ilver and took advantage of his missed box outs and lax defensive positioning. The result led to Minnesota grabbing 40 rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds, the fifth time this season UW has given up 10+ second-chance opportunities.

“That’s what’s happening in practice, and that’s what I’ve got to improve on,” said Ilver, who is averaging 0.8 points and 5.5 minutes per game. “If it’s happening in practice, it’ll happen in games, so you know you need to work on it.”

Held out of practice Thursday, Wahl’s status remains a question mark for No.14 Wisconsin (11-2, 3-0 Big Ten) heading into today’s road test at Illinois at the State Farm Center (12:30 p.m./ESPN2).

After losing at Northwestern Wednesday, the Illini (9-5, 0-3) are off to their worst start in Big Ten Play since 2018-19, having lost four of their past five games against Power Five opponents. Illinois still has a physical lineup with height that makes them one of the better rebounding teams in the conference, ranking third in team rebounds (39.6) and rebounding margin (6.7).

“Rebounding is going to be key for us after what happened against Minnesota,” Chambliss said. “It’s something that we worked on right away, first drill of the day was boxing out and holding those block outs.”

Ilver moved to the States in 2019 after growing up in Estonia, where he refined his skills as a passer, shooter, and visionary. Weight training didn’t enter his mindset until he played at Western Reserve Academy in Ohio under former Dartmouth associate head coach Pete Hutchins.

When Greg Gard and his staff signed him during the spring recruiting period in 2021, the Badgers loved his ability to stretch the floor and shoot from all three levels but emphasized building his body to handle the rigors of conference play as a major importance.

It’s part of the reason why Gard pointed toward the UW weight room down the hall when asked what details Ilver has to clean up moving forward.

“That'll come over time," Gard said. "He's taken steps. He's much stronger than where he was. And then also it's just a mentality of get your nose dirty. He's done more of it, much more than he was doing a year ago. The encouraging thing about Markus is ... when he came out after a couple of those block outs, he knew exactly what he needed to do better. It'll start with him getting bigger and stronger. But the mindset also needs to continue to become a little more gristled."

Ilver called last year a challenge and the numbers reflect it, just 29 total minutes played, 18 coming in his first two games, and five total in conference play. He estimates he’s only added a couple pounds of weight but feels more toned and muscular, acknowledging there’s a lot of growth left.

There’s not much physical weight he can add before the Illini, but his mental acumen certainly has expanded.

“After hitting that first shot, I felt like I can do this,” Ilver said. “I can be on the court.”

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