As any college basketball player can attest to, making the jump from high school to the collegiate game takes a little time. Living on their own for the first time in a new city, the gyms are no longer packed with a few hundred spectators. Now they play in arenas bursting with close to 18,000 frenzied fans watching their every move. They often go from being the best player on the floor in every game, to warming the end of the bench just hoping to get in the game.
If all that was not enough, sophomore center Greg Stiemsma started off with a serious injury on top of everything else.
'I broke my foot early in the season, so I think that was a pretty big setback and kind of messed things up,' Stiemsma said. 'But who knows. You can't really dwell on the past so I just look to the future.'
What stood out most to the then freshman when he finally found the floor?
'I think a combination of the speed and strength of everybody,' Stiemsma said. 'Speed was probably the biggest thing, especially in practice and stuff.'
Even without the injury setback, the Randolph, Wis. native would have found playing time hard to come by on a senior-dominated squad. However, as the year progressed, Stiemsma found himself seeing more court time and did a respectable job of guarding eventual NCAA tournament MVP and first-round draft pick Sean May.
With his freshman campaign not turning out as he envisioned, Stiemsma went to work in the off-season with his eyes on the glut of minutes that opened up with the departure of Wilkinson, Morley and Helmigk. If the first two exhibition games are any indication, the work has been well worth it. Though he was far from the stereotypical scrawny freshman, he is now more prepared to handle the rigors of banging in the post for a whole season.
'I worked on strength quite a bit. I worked on about ten pounds over the summer.'
Scoring most of his points on put-backs and dunks last season, and developing a more consistent shot and a better mid-game were also priorities. Known primarily as a defensive stopper his freshman year, diversifying his game to make himself more of a well-rounded player was a must.
'I shot a lot. The jumper is feeling good and free throws along with it,' Stiemsma said. 'Confidence is a big thing with me. So if I can hit a couple early that'll just build my confidence for later in the game.'
With Wisconsin playing its first Division I teams this coming weekend, the Badgers will begin to face the quality big men they did not see in their first two exhibition games. But Stiemsma's first real test will come when he faces the likes of all-conference performers such as Ohio State's Terrence Dials, Michigan State's Paul Davis and Iowa's Greg Brunner.
'Hopefully I'm going to be the guy who can stop some of the big guys in the conference,' Stiemsma said. 'We have some great big guys in the conference so that is a challenge for me to take my game to another level.'
The Badgers will look to take advantage of the luxury of possessing two quality seven-footers, something that few college teams can attest to, with Stiemsma being the more physical and defensive minded of the two. With sophomore forward/center Brian Butch also enjoying a strong off-season, the two could be a dynamic tandem as they gain more experience playing together.
'I think we work really well with each other,' Stiemsma said. 'We have the high-low working pretty good. We both know how to pass and catch. So that is a pretty good combination.'
One that Wisconsin hopes will help lead them back to the NCAA tournament for the eighth consecutive season.
