At the end of Wisconsin's exhibition win over UW-Whitewater, one thing was abundantly clear. The Badgers would need to improve on that performance before they open regular season play.
The Warhawks, who play on the Division-III level, hung with the Badgers at the Kohl Center for more than 30 minutes before a 9-0 run all but put the game out of reach. The players stressed how the team has usually improved throughout the season.
Last year we got tremendously better as the season went on,"" junior guard Jason Bohannon said. ""I think that's our biggest goal right now is to just keep getting better every day and coach [Bo] Ryan won't settle for anything less.""
Wisconsin could never establish a lead of more than seven in the first half and turned the ball over seven times and allowed Whitewater to shoot 47.8 percent. The Badgers connected on under 40 percent of their second half shots but had 16 more attempts due to a massive rebounding advantage.
""When they did get it inside our emphasis was to make them score over us and not gove them lanes to the rim,"" Whitewater head coach Pat Miller said. ""Overall, defensively, I was real happy with our effort.""
Senior forward Joe Krabbenhoft, who shot just 4-for-14 on the night, cited the assist-to-turnover ratio (12 assists, 12 turnovers), 3-point shooting and getting to the free throw are areas where the team traditionally fares better than it did Tuesday.
""There's no ceiling for this team,"" Krabbenhoft said. ""We're gonna get back to the basics like we always do, break down this game like we would any other game and improve, starting on Thursday's practice.""
Smaller lineup
Against a Whitewater team that had one player taller than 6'8"" and no players taller than 6'9"", Ryan opted for a smaller quicker lineup. Three of the four tallest players on Wisconsin never left the bench, while the fourth, sophomore forward Jon Leuer, played only two minutes in the second half.
Ryan pointed to the need for quickness to explain his decisions with playing time.
""Feet are something that really the bigs have to work on,"" Ryan said. ""You're not the number one defensive team in the country because the bigs aren't moving their feet '¦ these younger guys have to learn how to do this with their feet and it's going to take some time.""
Instead senior forward Marcus Landry (6'7"") and sophomore forward Keaton Nankivil (6'8"") played the majority of the time at the center and power forward spots. The Badger rotation featured at least two players over 6'10"" in each of the last three seasons.
""Keaton [Nankivil], I thought, he's starting to come around,"" Ryan said. ""I think he's going to matched up against some bigger guys and have to play some 6'9"", 6'10"" guys.""
Taylor Shines
One Badger guard who performed well was freshman Jordan Taylor. The Minnesota native played 21 minutes on the night and often drew the assignment of defending senior Whitewater guard Matt Goodwin, who earned All-American honor's last season.
""He did a great job, we knew he was a player and he just keeps showing us different ways of how he is a player,"" Ryan said. ""He's smart, tough, never reacts negatively to anything. But he'll take your lunch money in a second.""
Taylor, who earned the Mr. Basketball award in Minnesota last season, had three assists in the second half and scored four points. The only shot he missed was a long 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down.
