MADISON — When asked about freshman guard John Blackwell’s poise and consistency following Wisconsin’s narrow victory over Maryland, center Steven Crowl gave a thoughtful, flattering answer.

Afterwards, forward Tyler Wahl put it more succinctly: “He’s just a dog.”

There’s certainly a little more to it than that, but in a sense, Wahl hit the nail on the head. Blackwell simply provides a dimension that Wisconsin desperately needs, and it comes rather naturally for him.

In the Badgers’ Tuesday night victory over Maryland, their offense ran smoothly when they consistently touched the post. But when the Terps forced Wisconsin to work the ball around the perimeter, scoring droughts reared their ugly head. In the first half, the Badgers suffered a stretch of over four minutes without a field goal. Quite literally, that’s where Blackwell came in.

“I just came off the bench (during) a scoring drought. We needed to score, so I just came in and tried to be aggressive, tried to create for others,” he said. “The lane kinda opened. I think we were at like six fouls or something like that, so you just keep attacking the rim, you’re gonna get fouls and go to the free throw line.”

Therein lies one of the freshman’s biggest assets — his ability to consistently play like a slasher and get to the rim. When Blackwell gets going downhill, his knack for creating for himself has jumpstarted Wisconsin’s offense many times.

The guard finished with just two shots from the floor, but he also took eight free throws, draining seven. It’s common knowledge that getting to the charity stripe is one of the easiest ways to kick an offense back into gear, and Blackwell’s ability to do that consistently was, and has been, huge for Wisconsin.

“I think the big thing with John is just his mindset, like he was saying earlier. When we’re struggling a little bit, not scoring, he’s gonna go attack, try to get to the free throw line. That’s pretty impressive for a freshman,” Crowl said.

The Badgers have plenty of players that can — and will — hit threes. But what happens when they don’t fall? What happens when open shots are tough to come by against a stingy perimeter defense? Wisconsin needs players that can take matters into their own hands and drive to the rim. Still just a freshman, Blackwell is that player.

During the Badgers’ skid that saw them drop five of six games, Blackwell was injured and unavailable for two of those contests. The guard has been Wisconsin’s sixth man this season, but that stretch of losing proved he’s so much more valuable than just a bench player.

Blackwell returned from injury in the loss to Iowa, but only scored four points and didn’t get to the free throw line once. Against the Terps, he was his usual, slashing self.

“I feel like I just played more hungry today,” he said. “Saturday…defensively…it was lackadaisical. Just took the most of my minutes that I was gonna play today, think I did a good job of that. My teammates definitely helped me getting back from the injury and encouraging me, helping me go.”

Clearly, Blackwell’s knack for pressuring the defense by getting to the rim is massive for Wisconsin. But that’s not all the freshman has to offer. He’s shooting an impressive 46.3 percent from downtown. And he plays with a distinct calmness and understanding of the game that’s well beyond his years.

“His IQ as a player, I mean we find him all the time. We try to teach other guys some of those cuts, and he just comes by it naturally,” head coach Greg Gard said.

“His feel for the game, especially of the backside, the 45 degree angle cuts, with the action going on over on this side. He finds gaps, people turn their head on him and he backcuts them. He does things you can’t teach. That’s an innate feel. That’s his dad, or mom, or whoever growing up, he’s just a smart basketball player.”

Much like a season ago with true freshman Connor Essegian, Blackwell’s off-ball cutting and three-point prowess have expanded Wisconsin’s offense. But Blackwell’s physicality, both offensively and defensively, sets him apart.

“I think outside of Chucky (Hepburn) he’s one of our best on-ball defenders,” Crowl said.

“The job he did defensively too,” Gard agreed. “Because obviously Chucky had Jahmir (Young) a lot and John had him out of the bullpen.”

As a true freshman, Blackwell isn’t without his flaws. He fouled out against Maryland, taking his innate physicality a touch too far. But that’s one item on a shockingly short list of areas in which he needs to improve.

The Badgers have veered off course in the latter half of Big Ten play, and have plenty to work on to resume playing the kind of basketball that once had them perched at No. 6 in the nation. But Blackwell’s natural abilities, chief among them a propensity for getting to the rim, is a key reason why Wisconsin still has a legit chance to make a deep tournament run.

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