Wisconsin Believes Unproven Talent Can Surprise The "Experts"
MADISON, Wis. – As he listed off the reasons why he decided to come back for a fifth season, Wisconsin guard Brad Davison said one reason was his renewed exuberance playing on a roster filled with young and hungry, yet unproven players.
That still didn’t prevent some double-takes from him during those first few weeks of team activities.
“It was a little bit of a culture shock to look across the room and not recognize some of the faces that have been there for the last three or four years,” Davison admitted during UW’s media day Monday. “They are wearing the same numbers in the same lockers, but the face is someone different.”
Name cards might be a prerequisite for this year’s squad at the onset. After having a starting lineup in 2020-21 with an average age of 22.6 years old, the Badgers will have their most underclassmen (12 sophomores and freshmen) since Greg Gard joined the staff for the 2001-02 season.
That combination is likely the main reason Wisconsin was projected to finish 10th in the unofficial Big Ten media preseason poll.
Davison is the only one of the seven 2020-21 seniors who chose to return to Wisconsin for an extra season of eligibility. He enters the season with 1,363 career points, although his two-point shot betrayed him last season (27.5 percent, 28-for-102). Davison figures to shoulder a heavy load early, as he, junior Tyler Wahl, and sophomore Johnny Davis are the only three proven (and most experienced) players on the roster.
Davis might be the most intriguing “veteran” on the roster based on his offseason. After averaging 7.0 points while playing all 31 games off the bench as a true freshman, Davis was one of the contributors who won a gold medal in the FIBA U19 World Cup with USA Basketball in July.
Upon returning to the program, Davis’s teammates said he was a noticeably different player, full of poise and moxie.
“Johnny brought back a lot of confidence,” said assistant coach Sharif Chambliss, who joined Gard’s staff this offseason after Alando Tucker was not retained. “I have been on him about everything with what he needs to do. If he wants to make it to that next level, he needs to look at it as a profession.”
Davis’s play could serve as a template for how a true freshman can contribute. UW boasts five such players and a redshirt freshman in Lorne Bowman who was not on campus last season due to a family matter.
Helping bridge the gap between veteran and not, Wisconsin added three transfers in guards Isaac Lindsey (UNLV) and Jahcobi Neath (Wake Forest) and center Chris Vogt (Cincinnati). Because of the pandemic, Gard didn’t meet the latter two in person until they arrived on campus in mid-June.
Neath, Bowman, and true freshman Chucky Hepburn – the 2020 Nebraska Player of the Year – will likely get work at the point guard position. Davis added Monday that he’s done some work at the point guard position since organized practices started last month.
“This group has some certain strengths that may show out more than others,” Gard said. “You look at what has been good to us and what we need to compete at a high level, you try to find that blend of both … This group has the potential to do some things, based on skill sets, that might be a little different than what we’ve done in the past.”
The thought of upsetting the apple cart might come at a critical time. Returning much of the roster that won a Big Ten championship in 2019, Wisconsin finished a disappointing 18-13 and were the poster child for mediocre.
They finished 10-10 in league play and went 0-8 against the top four teams in the league – Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, and Purdue. The Badgers went 1-1 in the conference tournament and followed that up by going 1-1 in the NCAA Tournament, being routed in the second round by eventual national champion Baylor.
After averaging 28.8 wins from 2013-17, Wisconsin has averaged 19.3 wins the last four seasons.
Those stats are meaningless to the players, a group that Davison believes has the potential to surprise a lot of naysayers.
“The results will take care of itself,” Davison said. “I really enjoy this group of guys and how eager they are to work every day and leave it on the court. They are a fun group to be a part of.”
The Badgers host UW-Whitewater in an exhibition game Oct. 29 and open the season Nov. 9 against visiting St. Francis College of Brooklyn. UW opens Big Ten play Dec. 8 against visiting Indiana.