The Wisconsin football team just kicked off its 2020 season this past weekend. And believe it or not, Badgers basketball is inching closer to a start as well.

After a pair of media availabilities with players and coaches earlier this month, BadgerBlitz.com takes a look at a few things that stood out so far.

Tyler Wahl, Wisconsin's only freshman from a year ago, earned a spot in Greg Gard's rotation almost immediately. The 6-foot-7, 214-pound forward found success as a defender, rebounder and for his hustle plays. Now a year into UW's strength and conditioning program, Wahl's role should expand in 2020-21.

“His (Wahl) strength is drastically improved. I think he’s put on about 10 pounds," redshirt senior Micah Potter told reporters. “Physically, he looks really good, he’s in shape, his handle’s improved. Defensively, his versatility is really good, he’ll be able to guard one through five. He looks really good and his shot also looks improved.

"In shooting drills he looks really good and you could tell he really worked on that in the offseason.“

Last season, Wahl appeared in all 31 games and averaged 15.5 minutes per contest.

There’s no doubt this year’s team has lofty expectations attached to them. Much of that is due to the experience Wisconsin returns from a Big Ten championship roster.

But unlike a year ago when Wahl was the lone freshman, the coaching staff brought in seven youngsters from the 2020 recruiting class. That mix has created a good blend of experience and youth.

"That was intentional,” Gard said. "Throughout my whole career, you look back and a really good group of seniors walk out, you usually have a large group of freshmen coming in.

“I felt was important to help transition them and prepare them. Regardless of how much they play or how much they don’t play, it’s being around those guys every day. The work habits, the culture, the language, the locker room, just how they go about their business every single day."

Assistant coach Alando Tucker touched on the need to speed up the process with practices this fall. The inability to touch on the small nuances has been the biggest area where the veterans have been able to step in.

“Every moment our vets are pulling younger guys to the side,” Tucker said.

Potter touched on more of the same when speaking about the dynamic of the team.

“Honestly, it’s been really good because you have old guys who can teach the younger guys," he said. "That’s something that allows practice to move a little bit smoother because the coaches don’t have to sit down and teach something so much."

The structure of the offseason has looked different for Wisconsin, not only in terms of the scheduling but also in the workouts they used to prepare.

As opposed to the hill they traditionally ran, Gard turned to the Camp Randall steps for conditioning. The team also took a page from the Miami Heat for a specific workout.

“We also did something called the Miami drill - I guess it’s called that because the Heat do it," senior point guard D’Mitrik Trice said. "it’s 10 lengths of the court in a minute and you build your way up. We ended up getting up to four reps.”

With the uncertainty surrounding what the schedule may look like, combined with a shortened offseason, Gard and the coaching staff hammered home the importance of conditioning this season.

“(Gard) made a point that he was going to make us one of the most in-shape and well-conditioned teams," Trice joked. "I thought we were in pretty good shape last year, but it’s OK. We’ve got to hit the ground running with this year being a little bit different."

To go on a final run like Wisconsin did last February and March, leaders needed to step up. Redshirt senior forward Aleem Ford, who started in all 31 games, did just that.

The next step in Ford’s progression? For Tucker, it’s consistency.

“I would say consistency throughout the course of a season,” Tucker said. “A lot of the times in the year he had some great peaking points, but then he had some valleys and sometimes those valleys lasted really long and he battled some confidence issues.

“I can tell with how he was peaking last year that he felt the confidence and he felt that he could do things on the court. Our expectation for him is to be consistent and reliable every night and bring that same energy.”

With the extended time away from facilities, Ford, 6-foot-8 and 217 pounds, worked on his ball handling and ability to attack off the dribble.

“Just being able to attack off the dribble and be comfortable with the ball in my hands - I worked really hard and really feel that I’ve improved,” Ford said. “I’ve felt the change as we’ve gotten into the swing of things. I just feel more comfortable with the ball in my hands in different positions.”