What a week for the men's basketball team. Before last night's win, the Badgers dropped their first Big Ten game to Ohio State, took their first non-conference home loss to the lowly North Dakota State Bison, lost freshman defensive stud Marcus Landry due to academic issues and now this: Sophomore shot-blocking force Greg Stiemsma is now also ineligible for the rest of the year.
'I've been dealing with depression, which caused me to take a leave of absence from the team and also affected my academic performance,' Stiemsma said in a statement released Wednesday. 'That has resulted in me being academically ineligible this semester.'
So the third-ranked shot blocker in the Big Ten, on the floor less than twelve minutes per game, is out. The freshman standout who is arguably the future centerpiece of Wisconsin basketball is out. High flying redshirt freshman DeArron Williams, fine-tuning his game now at Illinois Central College, is also out. The feeling of invincibility at the Kohl Center? Well, throw that away after Saturday's debacle.
All of the questions that loomed are now answered at least, though they might not be the answers Badger fans really want. Now a new question is born: Where does the former cream of the Big Ten crop go from here?
'It's difficult, because you can't replace size, and obviously Greg brings that off the bench, which was huge for us,' assistant coach Howard Moore said after practice Monday. 'But we have to do that with team defense now, where we don't have a shot blocker.'
With Stiemsma now out, the Badgers will have to rely on their other two big men, Brian Butch and Jason Chappell. If the two get into foul trouble, shorthanded Wisconsin has little to choose from.
Freshman Kevin Gullikson, averaging 1.6 minutes and .9 points, will take over as the primary backup to Butch and Chappell. Joe Krabbenhoft will have to play big minutes for a Badger team that shouldn't have to turn to Devin Barry and Tanner Bronson just yet.
And after a win over Penn State last night, the men in cardinal and white head to Ann Arbor to take on the Wolverines this weekend. And after that, the Badgers welcome in the Illini, the last team to take them out at 601 W. Dayton other than those tricky Bison.
The magic of head coach Bo Ryan's program seemed to be that no matter who was put in the system, if they were unselfish enough, the team could succeed. This year started off feeling special, though, because you still had that same unselfishness, but you had the depth and the balance to make a run. Now that's all up in the air.
Stiemsma and Landry will continue to practice with the team, which may be somewhat of a silver lining on a difficult situation. Stiemsma will provide that big body against the likes of Alando Tucker.
'He challenges each and every player defensively,' Tucker said, 'and makes it very tough for us, so it gives us a better game-like look.'
A game-like look the Badgers just won't have to show opposing Big Ten teams until next November.
'I ask for understanding regarding my condition and appreciate the patience of everyone as a I deal with [the situation],' Stiemsma said.
And as the big man from Fond du Lac deals with his personal issues, Badgers fans must deal with a season in disarray.
