MADISON, Wis. – Needing to replace a host of seniors, starters, and rotational players, Wisconsin basketball shocked the Big Ten by shunning a predicted 10th-place finish to win a share of the 2021-22 conference title. A year later, in a virtually similar predicament, what will the Badgers do for an encore?

While the departure of All-American Johnny Davis and super seniors Brad Davison and Chris Vogt leaves large shoes to fill, the Badgers have three veteran starters to build around with a host of young talent, not to mention adding two guards with starting experience from the transfer portal. It leads many to believe the Badgers will surpass their projected ninth-place finish in the same preseason poll that massively undervalued them a year ago.

In advance of Sunday’s exhibition game against UW-Eau Claire and the season opener against South Dakota on November 7, BadgerBlitz.com takes a three-part look at the Badgers’ 2022-23 roster. Today we look at the projected shooting guards.

Wisconsin enters this season incredibly deep at the guard position, as 11 of the 16 players on the roster are listed with that distinction. Outside of starting point guard Chucky Hepburn, however, there is limited Big Ten playing experience on the roster. The inexperience means the Badgers will likely lean heavily on junior transfer Max Klesmit and junior Jordan Davis early and often.

Klesmit spent the last two seasons at Wofford, where he played in 50 games and made 33 starts. The team’s second-leading scorer his sophomore season, Klesmit was a third-team All-Southern Conference honoree after he averaged 14.9 points per game and shot 44.6 percent from the floor. After playing 10 games of mop-up duty in 2020-21, Davis expanded his role last season and played in 27 games, including playing at least 10 minutes in four of UW’s final five games.

The only scholarship player Wisconsin added in its 2022 class, Connor Essegian brings to the program a prolific resume. He scored 2,526 career points for Central Noble High School in Fort Wayne, Ind., and broke a 44-year-old school scoring record in the process. During his senior season, Essegian averaged over 26 points per game, converting 43 percent from 3-point range and 68 percent overall from the floor, leading his school to the Class 2A state basketball championship game.

Finally healthy after injuries limited his previous two seasons, Isaac Lindsey played for 13 minutes in six games after transferring from UNLV. His value may be underrated by the outside world, considering head coach Greg Gard awarded him a scholarship this month. That leaves junior Justin Taphorn as the most experienced walk-on for the program with 10 appearances in his first two seasons.

Joining the roster as walk-ons this season is Luke Haertle, who amassed 2,264 points and over 1,000 rebounds during his prep career at Lake Country Lutheran in Hartland, Wis.; Ross Candelino from Jacksonville, Fla., after he averaged 14.2 points (48% 3FG), 3.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game as a senior; and Isaac Gard, Greg’s son who was a 39 percent three-point shooter at Oregon High School. All three are expected to redshirt.

More often than not, Jordan Davis was asked in interviews about his identical twin (and best friend) Johnny Davis throughout last year. After all, Johnny had a season where he was the Lute Olson National Player of the Year, the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year, the Big Ten Player of the Year, and a consensus first-team All-American. Jordan was an end-of-the-rotation contributor better known for his defense than his offense. He’s expecting that to change this season, simply because he’ll be tasked with a larger role.

Davis admitted to struggling last season to get into an offensive rhythm. He averaged just 6.5 minutes off the bench, averaging 1.3 points and 0.9 rebounds while shooting 32.5 percent (28.6 percent from three). But put in a leadership role and getting expanded playing time in France, Davis has seen his game grow on both ends and was one of two players to average in double figures on the four-game trip (Steven Crowl).

“I did not go where I wanted to go last year,” Davis told the Associated Press. “Now I have a bigger role and I have to step into it.”

Davis’s offense still will need to be polished. He missed a game-high eight shots in the Red-White Scrimmage but still shows a willingness to slash and attack. His strength remains on the defensive end of the floor, which will need to be his calling card this season for the program.

Wisconsin entered the offseason facing a dearth of experienced options and proven shooters at the guard spot, which was why landing Klesmit was so vital for the makeup of the Badgers’ roster. Klesmit averaged 14.9 points per game, shot 44.6 percent from the field, 34 percent from the three-point line, 83.7 percent from the free-throw line, and hit double figures in 26 of 31 games. In the Red-White Scrimmage, he scored a game-high 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting (3-for-7 from three) to go along with three rebounds and two assists.

“He’s hit the ground like he’s been here for a couple years already in terms of how he understands,” Gard said of Klesmit, who has the look of a likely starter for UW. “He’s played two years, so that helps bringing some college basketball experience to those huddles, to the floor, and to the locker room. Those things are invaluable.”

It could be argued that nobody has had a bigger offseason at Wisconsin than Essegian, who has impressed those around him with his offensive firepower through the exhibition season. Scoring in double figures in three of UW’s four games in France, Essegian scored 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting in the Red-White Scrimmage. He did it with three three-pointers and a dunk after cutting down the lane.

Gard admitted he was spun around a couple of times defensively during the closed scrimmage against Northern Iowa, which is the first step for a young player learning how to correct mistakes.

“What I’ve seen from Conor is an increased level of toughness, which is the first step of being a better defender,” Gard said. “He understands the rules and the concepts. Now they have to become habits and instincts so he can play faster and more aggressive. Defensively specifically, he’s thinking a lot, which slows down his reaction time and then he’s short or late on a closeout or doesn’t help on a screen. Those things are normal for a freshman to go through. Fortunately for us, he gets challenged every day in practice by who he has to guard.

“I’m going to play him. I play young guys. They know if they can do some things and improve, I’m going to give him a crack. He’s definitely in the mix to play because he does so many things offensively you can teach. We’ll help him with his defense.”

UW shot just 30.6 percent from the perimeter last season, a critical deficiency considering they ranked 312th nationally out of 350 teams. With the range that Klesmit and Essegian have showcased during exhibition games, the Badgers have a chance to stretch defenses by being drastically improved from behind the arc.

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