Oh where, oh where, has the Badgers' backcourt gone? Did it leave with Boo Wade's arrest last Wednesday or is this just a bump in the road? Lately, junior guard Devin Harris seems to be the only spark in the backcourt with his offensive leadership. Wade's absence from the starting lineup not only put UW out one starting guard but also seems to have put the rest of the guards, minus Harris, out of their game.
During Wisconsin's matchup against Big Ten cellar-dweller Minnesota last week, Harris gave the fans what they paid for with his career-high 38 points. Though Wade's arrest was announced before the game, the Badgers were excited to regain a questionably healthy senior guard, Freddie Owens. The fans and team welcomed him back with open arms but Owens' performance proved that he still had a bit to go until he could dominate in the back with Harris again. Owens ended the night with six points off two-for-nine shooting.
Even if Owens was still in the recovery stage, the Badgers had other guards to rely on. Or did they? Each guard that suited up played, but between the 27 minutes that junior Clayton Hanson contributed, two from senior Ike Ukawuba and one from freshman Kammron Taylor, the reserve guards went zero for five and got their only point from Hanson's one made free throw. Thankfully for Wisconsin, Harris had no trouble finding the basket that night.
With the weekend came a trip down to Northwestern to hopefully knock-off another team at the bottom of the Big Ten. This time things did not work out the way Wisconsin hoped and the backcourt went from dismal to dead in the 69-51 defeat. Harris once again led the way with six assists and 16 points, but he shot four of 18 from the field to get his points. Unfortunately for Harris and the Badgers, there was not much help from the other guards. Owens contributed 20 minutes but did not score. Hanson gave his 24 minutes and two points while Ukawuba saw five minutes in the first half but was unable to connect on his one shot.
The guards are aware that much of the load has been placed on Harris lately, but know they need to give as much help as they can.
\So far Devin has done a great job,"" Hanson said. ""With the Northwestern game I think we needed to help him out a little bit more. Offensively, a lot of it was on his shoulders. So just the perimeter guys coming in need to give him a little boost so he has another option out there.""
""It's been rough,"" Ukawuba said. ""Luckily he has the stamina for it and he's been staying out of foul trouble. But he's been tough and he's been getting through it.""
Wade, who was reinstated to the team Monday, has obviously been missed in the backcourt. Besides being an extra guard who could take the load off Harris, dish to the open man and score when needed, his defense has been sorely missed.
""We miss his defense,"" Ukawuba said. ""He has those long arms that can disturb somebody so we definitely miss that and his athletic ability.""
Every team has its star and this season has clearly picked out Harris as the one that shines the brightest for the Badgers. With the backcourt in a slump, this has given some big men the opportunity to step up and help Harris. Junior forward Mike Wilkinson has complemented Harris well this year on the inside, and since Wade's absence, contributed 15 and eight points against Minnesota and Northwestern, respectively. Also, junior forward Zach Morley has had even more opportunity to shine since entering the starting lineup. He also added 14 and 15 points in the two games last week.
As the Badgers enter into the final stretch of the season, and with uncertainty surrounding the status of Wade and Owens, it would be nice to see another player in the backcourt step up. Until that happens though, Harris will continue to give his all. Whether it be through scoring 30-plus points or just by giving the Badgers a necessary morale boost, Harris will continue to lead the team all the way until the end.
