For two years, one question plagued Bo Ryan's Badgers: Who will be the third scorer? With Alando Tucker and Kammron Taylor gone, people are wondering who the first and second scorers will be next season.
For some teams, that is a frightening question to have in the offseason, but for a team as well-coached as the Badgers, the UW men's basketball team should enter the 2007-'08 season in the mix for a Big Ten title.
New players and new questions come with a new season, and here are three questions to think about this summer:
Who will emerge as the go-to guys?
Senior center Brian Butch, senior guard Michael Flowers, junior forward Marcus Landry and sophomore guard Jason Bohannon took turns as the third scorer last season, but now at least two of them will have to step up to fill the big shoes of the now-departed Tucker-Taylor combo.
Landry and Bohannon have the most potential as they have a combined five years of eligibility remaining and showed flashes of brilliance last season despite limited playing time. Landry averaged 5.9 points per game in just over 19 minutes a game, while Bohannon averaged 4.6 ppg in just 15 minutes. Still, Landry struggled after taking over in the starting lineup after Butch went down with an elbow injury Feb. 25. The then-sophomore did not reach double figures after his 18-point performance against Michigan State Feb. 20.
In his freshman season, Bohannon's role was to come in and hit 3's, but fans will see next year that he can be an all-around scorer similar to former Iowa Hawkeye Adam Haluska.
Flowers' scoring should increase, (7.2 ppg last year) but he will still be a defensive stopper and the Badgers will be a better team if the senior is a solid third scorer rather than the go-to guy.
Butch is coming off an elbow injury that ended his season prematurely, but he almost made it back in time for the NCAA Tournament and will be good to go by November. Still, the fifth-year senior has been inconsistent his entire career, and while he could go out with a huge season, Ryan may look for an emerging young scorer rather than relying on Butch every game.
The team will still have plenty of scoring options without Tucker and Taylor, and a very balanced scoring attack is likely for 2007-'08, but if one or two guys can emerge from the pack, Ryan's Badgers will have a chance to make a run at the Big Ten title.
Who will be in the starting lineup?
Flowers and Butch are the only returning starters from a year ago. With three spots open, Landry should take one of them as he started the last six games of the season last year.
The question is, does sophomore guard Trevon Hughes get the nod over Bohannon? Hughes is more of a true point guard and Ryan will want Bohannon in the shooting guard position for the next three years.
Ryan could go with a small lineup with both of them in the backcourt and Flowers at the three-guard, but that leaves junior Joe Krabbenhoft and senior Greg Stiemsma out of the mix.
At this point, it's too early to tell, but a starting lineup of Hughes, Flowers, Krabbenhoft, Landry and Butch would give Ryan two good options off the bench with Bohannon and Stiemsma.
What should we expect out of this team?
The Big Ten is going to be much improved this season. Ohio State lost a lot of scoring but Thad Matta is bringing in another great recruiting class. Indiana could be the best team in the conference with incoming-freshman Eric Gordon, and Tom Izzo's young group is maturing for a Michigan State team that still includes likely Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year Drew Neitzel.
Wisconsin will compete, but the Badgers are at best the fourth-best team in the conference right now. Still, UW should make the NCAA Tournament as at least a No. 6 seed.
