MADISON, Wis. – John Tonje’s two legs have carried him throughout his basketball career and made him one of college basketball’s most talked-about players in November. The goal now is to get both legs working in unison.
Having played basketball for as long as he can remember, Tonje enters the final semester of his collegiate career trying to retrain his brain on how to attack and score around the rim.
“(Playing off two feet) is something that I’ve had to learn in college,” Tonje said. “High school you don’t really look at the details of those things. You are just playing. I’m just trying to find a way to be more consistent. That’s the next step.”
There’s little debate about Tonje's offensive skill. His 19.4 points per game is the best on the team and fourth in the conference. He can score from anywhere in the offensive zone and has done so impactfully since scoring 23 points on 54.5 percent shooting on opening night. It foreshadowed a 41-point performance against No.9 Arizona and 33 points against Pittsburgh in the Greenbrier Tip-Off championship.
That scoring pop started trending downward in December. Over the last six games, Tonje has shot 34.4 percent from the floor (22-for-64) and struggled to replicate the same early-season efficiency. It’s largely happened because of not attacking with two feet, a general concept for college athletes but a trait Tonje said is harped on more at Wisconsin than at his previous schools.
In Wisconsin’s losses to Michigan and at Illinois to begin conference play, Tonje was 10-for-27 from the floor. His perimeter shooting (5-for-12, 41.7 percent) aligns with his career average, but the discrepancies between his two-point makes and misses were obvious.
Other than a one-handed dunk in transition, Tonje’s two-point buckets in Big Ten play have come with him attacking off two feet, allowing him to launch with balance to make tough, contested two-footers look easy. That’s what happened against Michigan 7-footer Danny Wolf and guard Roddy Gayle Jr. in the paint and through traffic against Illinois, including charging to the rim with a Euro step for an easy lay-in.
While some of his two-point misses were simple bad rolls off the rim, especially against the Illini, Tonje’s misses varied from blocked shots or misses near the rim, but most were the result of off-balanced attempts off one foot.
Tonje began December in the top 10 nationally in fouls drawn and leading the country in 8.6 free throws made per game, more than 1.5 makes higher than anyone else. He attempted only eight free throws in the two Big Ten losses and drew only one foul against the Illini.
“Even in practice, when he does (plays off two feet), he’s really efficient and gets fouled,” head coach Greg Gard said last month. “When he doesn’t, we see the results. What we see in a game is the same thing we see in practice. Like I told him, we got a short window to get you a better habit in that part of your game. I don’t have four years to work with him to build a habit. We got to do it in short order.”
Tonje’s experience (he’ll be 24 in April) has led to advanced preparation. The only player Gard says enters the building with a cup of coffee in the morning, Tonje watches film from varying perspectives, saying he'll watch opponent tendencies, who is playing in what coverages, what plays are open based on those actions, and what is working and what doesn’t.
He takes the same approach with his weaknesses, which led to a lot of one-on-one time with his game film.
“I need to find my shots a little bit better,” Tonje said. “They are going to come, and I think I have a better understanding of where they should come and not rushing it. I need to let the game come to me.”
It’s almost certain that opportunities will be presented tomorrow night when Wisconsin (10-3, 0-2 Big Ten) resumes conference play hosting Iowa at the Kohl Center. Under veteran coach Fran McCaffery the Hawkeyes (10-3, 1-1) remain a program looking to beat teams with high-tempo offense rather than elite defense.
Iowa ranks 18th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency (118.6 points per 100 possessions) and 97th in adjusted defense (101.7). The Hawkeyes average 0.4 points per game better than Butler, who gave up 83 points and 1.258 points per possession in a neutral-site loss to UW last month.
Tonje was 2-for-9 against the Bulldogs. In UW’s last game on December 22, Tonje’s nine points and six field goal attempts were season lows. He got a four-day break following that performance. He returned last week and returned to the film room, anxious to get back to work keeping his feet under him.
“It’s a challenge, but that’s fun,” Tonje said. “That’s why I am here. I love to get better. I love to challenge myself. If it was easy, it wouldn’t necessarily mean that much. I want to come out here and work on weaknesses and attack every day with my teammates.”
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