With the loss of over half its scoring production to graduation, the 2007-'08 Wisconsin men's basketball team will need to look to new scorers to pick up the slack. Sophomore guard Jason Bohannon may be one of the first players head coach Bo Ryan will look toward.
Bohannon's shooting abilities made him the most highly touted basketball recruit of Iowa's 2006 class. Bohannon grew up in Marian, Iowa, where he attended Linn Mar High School and led the team to a state championship during his sophomore year, averaging 16.5 points per game.
During his junior and senior seasons he continued to improve his play, averaging 20 and 27 points per game, respectively. Bohannon's prolific high school basketball career earmed him the Iowa Newspaper Association First Team All-State award three times, the Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year in 2006 and the Iowa Mr. Basketball award in 2006.
He's fun to play with because you know you have a shooter out there so the defense can't sag off and rotate over to you,"" freshman forward Jon Leuer said. ""If you leave it up to him, he's going to knock it down.""
Bohannon was rated the No. 6 shooting guard prospect coming out of high school by scout.com and was aggressively recruited by the University of Iowa, where his father, Gordy Bohannon, played football. Bohannon chose Wisconsin over Iowa to the disapproval of many Iowa faithful who thought he could have helped revive the dormant Hawkeye basketball team.
The Hawkeye fans' dissatisfaction with Bohannon culminated when he stepped onto Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City during the Badgers' regular season matchup with the Hawkeyes. Loud boo's sounded when Bohannon touched the ball, as the Hawkeye student section was in an uproar. Bohannon quickly silenced the crowd when he confidently drilled a 3-point shot and showed all the Iowa faithful what could have been. Bohannon's shooting confidence shows his potential to become the game-changing player the Badgers need.
""He's got a nice, quiet confidence to him,"" Wisconsin assistant coach Gary Close said. ""He's going to play a valuable role.""
Last season, Ryan used Bohannon as a situational while occasionally rotating young guards off the bench to spell the veteran starters. Bohannon proved he had the excellent shooting abilities when he shot 44 percent from beyond the arc during the Big Ten regular season.
""Going into last year, whether I got 15 minutes in the game or 30 minutes, I worked every day of practice assuming I'd get a big role in the game,"" Bohannon said. ""I always took that to heart every single day.""
Bohannon proved his shooting ability was as good as advertised last season, though his small 6'2"", 180-pound stature was sometimes a liability. Ryan's swing offense requires players to rotate inside and outside to obtain a match up advantage, regardless of their position. Bohannon was not always comfortable playing down low last season and that was one part of his game he worked to improve during the off season.
""I think he seems a little bit more comfortable,"" said Close. ""I think that comes with age. He played some important minutes down the stretch last year for us and I think that's carrying over.""
Bo Ryan and the Badgers hope Bohannon's hard work will pay off this season so he can assume a bigger role for the team. Bohannon has often been the first player off the bench and is playing well. Even though Bohannon has yet to crack the starting lineup, having him as a weapon coming off the bench is a luxury for the Badgers.
""I think he looks really solid and is making good decisions,"" said Close. ""He's had a real good last couple of weeks and hopefully that will continue.""
The atmosphere surrounding Bohannon and the Badgers is a lot more subdued entering this season compared to last. After losing their top two scorers Alando Tucker and Kammron Taylor, the Badgers success depends on each player filling a specific role and playing well together as a team. Bohannon might have found his niche as a sharpshooter and that bodes well for the Badgers.
""We have a lot of team goals. To keep improving everyday is the big thing with our team,"" said Bohannon. ""We just try to get better and better to be where we want to be in March.
