The UW men's basketball team not only won four games in its first week of play, but it won each in a very convincing fashion, leaving very few questions to be answered early in the season.
Still, while the Badgers (4-0 overall) did not appear to miss former starters Alando Tucker, Kammron Taylor and Jason Chappell last week, many may be wondering whether another returning starter, senior guard Michael Flowers, will stay on the bench this season.
The indication Monday from head coach Bo Ryan was that he will not be making any changes to his lineup and Flowers, who started every game a year ago, will continue to come off the bench as he did in all four games last week.
I don't fool around a lot of with lineups because I don't worry about them,"" Ryan said. ""I don't obsess about them. I don't play games with them. That's never been a way I've had to motivate players because I think that there are other methods.""
Flowers, a valuable asset off the bench, is still averaging 25 minutes a game this season to go along with 7.3 points per game. Using Flowers' defensive skills and experience in a sixth-man role was very effective while Ryan went with a starting lineup that only had one player, sophomore point guard Trevon Hughes, under 6'7'.
""The bench is called the bench because you can only put five guys out there, but its still about the minutes and productivity. So I don't even refer to it anymore as that,"" Ryan said.
Stiemsma stepping up
One player who has benefited from Ryan's new starting lineup is center Greg Stiemsma, who started all four games last week. The senior has gone through his ups and downs at Wisconsin, but is playing better while embracing a larger role on the team.
""It's his time. Greg feels that it's his time,"" Ryan said. ""And he doesn't need to have 30 minutes on the court. I know that he has to feel that he is a better player this year and has learned some things.""
Stiemsma committed only three fouls in 67 minutes of work while blocking nine shots. The center, who is known for his ability to contest shots, has gone through periods where he would get called for fouls in situations where he could have had a clean block.
""It's his last year so you don't want to go out there and reach and grab and bump and get overly physical and put fouls on you, [leaving] you on the bench too many times,"" Ryan said.
Saturday, Stiemsma recorded four blocks in a span just over three minutes in the second half and tallied five total blocks in 14 minutes of play.
""He contributes,"" Ryan said. That one stretch Saturday - that's pretty good. I know those guys aren't as big as a lot of guys we are going to face coming up in the schedule, but that's a great start for him.""
The Badgers will take on Georgia Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at the Kohl Center. Wisconsin won 64-54 on the road last season.
