Notebook: Kobe King on playing aggressive, Badgers prepare for Rutgers

When Kobe King attacks the paint, good things usually happen.

Many pointed to King, the redshirt sophomore guard, as a potential breakout player for Wisconsin heading into the 2019-20 season. Through nine games, King has shown signs of a burgeoning emergence within the Badgers' offense, ranking second on the team in points per game (12.1) while also pulling down four rebounds per contest.

Last Saturday, King recorded career highs in points (24), field goals (10) and field goal attempts (15) in a dominant 84-64 win over previously undefeated Indiana. Based on StatBroadcast's shot chart of the guard's performance, he made six of seven layup/dunk attempts while only attempting a trio of three-point attempts.

Perhaps an understatement, his ability to get to the rim can heavily influence Wisconsin's offensive output.

“He’s a dynamic player, and he’s got to continue to bottle up what works and learn from game-to-game," assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft said on Monday. "He’s figuring things out. Sometimes you can’t go in there without a plan. Sometimes the window’s open, you go in and hammer it, so it’s understanding some of that stuff.

"He’s a sponge, man. He’s trying to be the best version of himself and what’s best for this team. He always puts the team first so he’s just trying to balance all of that, but we’re trying to get him to just stop thinking a lot of it and play and he’s done a pretty good job of that.”

Looking at the first nine games of the season, King has shot 45.8 percent overall (33 of 72). Only 17 attempts have come from three-point range (making five, or 29.7 percent). And after finishing just one of two from the field in the season-opening loss to Saint Mary's, the La Crosse, Wis., native has attempted no less than seven field goals in the next eight contests.

That includes putting up nine or more shots in four contests -- at least 11 or more in the last two. During games when he has not been aggressive, King alluded to potentially being patient to a fault.

“I think sometimes, to an extent, I can be almost too patient where I just kind of wait to come to me instead of really hunting it," King said. "Where in high school, you can get away with it more but at this level, you kind of have to hunt it and then you can kind of be patient once you establish yourself. I think just hunting it more early on and then trying to get my teammates involved as much as I can rather than have it be the other way around.”

Wisconsin (5-4) faces Rutgers (6-3) on Wednesday night inside the Rutgers Athletic Center (RAC). According to KenPom, the Scarlet Knights rank 55th in the nation in adjusted efficiency defense (93.2), 47th in offensive rebound percentage (33.7) and 33rd in block percentage (14.2).

“Just a tough-minded group, same as they’ve been under Coach [Steve] Pikiell," Krabbenhoft said. "He’s done a great job of getting them ready to compete every night in and night out. Big challenge. It’s a tough place to play. They’ve knocked off a lot of teams. They play extremely well at home, so we’re going to have to be sharp. It’s going to take a team effort. Everybody’s going to have to show up and bring what they can to the table because it’s a really good team on both ends of the floor that will try to make things difficult for you to score, specifically inside. They’re big, long and very, very physical.

"On the other end, they’re playing fast. They got a very versatile lineup that multiple guys that can grab it off the rim and go and attack the rim. Then a guard, Geo Baker, that understands the league and how to win, and he understands each team and what each team is trying to do now. He’s a junior, so one of the better guards in the league.”

Baker ranks second on the team in scoring (12 points per game) while leading Rutgers in assists per game (4.3). Guard Ron Harper, Jr. leads the team in the former category (12.8) while also pulling down 6.3 rebounds per contest as well. Five Scarlet Knights average at least 8.2 points per outing, and the team shoots 46.5 percent from the field heading into Wednesday night's match-up.

The team, however, is only making 28.3 percent of its three-pointers.

“They’re fast. They’re a solid team. I know they like to get to the hoop a lot," King said. "They got guys who can shoot it as well so it will be a tough task for us defensively, but I think we’ve been playing good transition D for the most part all year.

'I think we’re going to have to do a better job of keeping them out of the paint. Indiana got in the paint a little bit too much in the second half, but overall, we just got to keep that aggressive mindset on offense and just bring that same defensive energy we’ve been bringing.”