The arrival of cold weather has signaled the return of Wisconsin basketball. Action returned to the Kohl Center Wednesday night, as the Badgers handled UW-Platteville in an exhibition game 80-51.
The preseason game allowed a look into what this year’s team may have in store for the 2013-’14 season.
The starting lineup consisted of two returning starters, junior guard Traevon Jackson and senior guard Ben Brust, while redshirt junior guard Josh Gasser, sophomore forward Sam Dekker and junior forward Frank Kaminsky filled the three open spots.
The most glaring aspect of the starting five was the absence of center Jared Berggren. The second team all-conference void will look to be filled by Kaminsky, who showed some promising signs Wednesday night.
On only 18 minutes of play, Kaminsky was 4-7 shooting with nine points, three rebounds and three blocks. More importantly, we saw a slightly more physical side of Kaminsky in the post.
That physicality is exactly what the Badgers will need from him this season if we hope to compete with other physical teams at the top of the Conference.
On the topic of physical play, a player that proved himself to be a force on the boards was freshman forward Nigel Hayes. He was the Badgers highest recruit this off-season, and perhaps had the most impressive performance. He had a team leading six rebounds (five on the offensive end) and was 4-7 shooting, while proving that he could be a power down low this season.
Another intriguing player for Wisconsin is redshirt junior Duje Dukan. Dukan is player who redshirted last season, but showed that he is more than ready to return Wednesday night.
Within minutes of tip-off, he checked into the game and instantly made a difference, knocking down a 3-point shot.
He exemplified great confidence in his shot, an attribute that Badger big men have had in past years. Dukan will be a huge part of the team this year, as he looks like he can play a role similar to that of the one Kaminsky played last season.
The new season has also brought the return of Gasser, who missed last season due to injury. Gasser, a starter and leader for Wisconsin, showed good mobility and didn’t hesitate to take the ball to the rim.
Senior guard Ben Brust picked up right where he left off last season, scoring a team leading 20 points.
As always, UW will be expected to have a disciplined, team defense. The defense did not look quite like itself against Platteville, but this is probably just a factor of it being early in the season.
I’m confident the Badger defense will be tough and ready come the beginning of the season.
Wisconsin has been named preseason No. 20 for good reason.
With experience at the top and a blend of blooming young players, they certainly have all of the pieces. Per usual, much of their success will ride on how they shoot the 3-point shot, but there are few players in the Badgers lineup that can’t shoot from beyond the arc.
This year’s team is ready for the season and I’m excited for what they have in store for the Big Ten Conference.
Let Blake how you think the Badgers will do this year by emailing sports@dailycardinal.com.
