WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. - Head coach Greg Gard has never worried about who starts and who doesn’t, so he hasn’t given much thought about putting Kamari McGee in his starting lineup.
With how he’s played in a reserve role for the Badgers through six games, there’s no reason to change, not when the “backup” point guard makes the team better, different, and more explosiveness.
Playing starter-level minutes for No.19 Wisconsin, McGee is sixth on the team in scoring (7.0 ppg) but first among the guards in field goal percentage (59.3) and tops among rotation players in three-point percentage (53.8). Most importantly for a point guard, McGee is holding on to the ball with 13 assists and four steals against four turnovers.
“He’s a very unselfish player,” Gard said. “He picks his spots.”
McGee was a huge factor for the Badgers (6-0) in their 86-70 win over UCF in the semifinals of the Greenbrier Tip-Off Friday. His 14 points were the most he’s scored since joining the program three seasons ago, going an efficient 5-for-6 from the field and 3-for-4 from three.
His presence on the floor resonated as soon as he checked in with 16:37 remaining in the first half and UW modestly leading, 4-2. He hit a three-pointer off a post kickout from Nolan Winter and secured a rebound on the next defensive series by sticking his hand in the air to deflect a possession-saving pass by the Knights.
Seeing the numbers were in his favor, McGee ran the break, saw the rim defender collapse on him, and fed John Blackwell for an easy lay-in.
His lone steal came when he got his hand in the passing lane, executing the one-man fast break when he finished through UCF Nils Machowski’s block attack for the easy layup that turned into a three-point play.
Two other times in the second half, McGee registered an assist on the first possession after being substituted on the floor.
“He changes our pace,” Gard said. “He changes us a little bit. There’s more ball pressure when he’s engaged with the ball. We come a little faster with the ball in his hands in transition. He changes us from an energy standpoint and it’s a little bit of a pace change when he comes in.”
McGee has always been the cog off Wisconsin’s bench, especially when bringing defensive intensity and ball pressure. It was missing in UW’s rotation during the 11 games he missed last season following a dislocated toe, partially why the Badgers went 4-7 during that period. It’s part of the reason Gard told him he wanted to keep him in that reserve role this season, albeit with more minutes and responsibilities.
Seeing his minutes increase from 8.3 last year to 22.3 this year, McGee has seen his offense flourish. After scoring in double figures once in his first 86 games with the Badgers, he’s done in twice through six games this year.
“He’s very vocal,” Gard said. “He’s one of our leaders. Players really respect him and his comments, his instruction. For our younger guys, he’s really positive.”
McGee’s voice will be important when Wisconsin tries to corral the guard play of Pittsburgh (6-0) in this evening’s championship game of the Greenbrier Tip-Off.
Pitt's starting backcourt of Ishmael Leggett, Damian Dunn, and Jaland Lowe combine to average 46.2 points per game on 49.7 percent (93-of-187) shooting from the field. The trio has 15 double-digit scoring games and six games with 20 or more points scored on the season, but what makes them good is doing things McGee does.
Leggett matched his career high with five steals in Pitt’s 74-63 victory over LSU, while Dunn had eight rebounds, six assists, three steals, and a block to go with his career-high 22 points.
Friday was statistically Wisconsin’s best defensive effort of the season. UCF shot just 33.9 percent against UW and went 2-for-17 from the perimeter, the best mark by the Badgers in 20 months.
UW held UCF’s three talented guards to 31 points on 9-for-34 shooting, a mark that McGee must help the Badgers equal this evening against Pitt’s three-headed attack.
“I wouldn’t even say (Friday was) our best defensive performance of the season,” he said. “We watched the film after that performance and just studied what we had to work on the defensive end and apply it to the next game. That’s what we got to do. You got to just move on. We can’t dwell on the past, watch the film, learn from it, and continue forward.”
_________________________________________________
*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den
*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel
*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)
*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45, @seamus_rohrer, @DonnieSlusher_
*Like us on Facebook
