In front of a crowd of over 17,000 UW men’s basketball opened up their 2010-2011 campaign on Saturday as 11 players scored en route to a solid 84-59 victory over UW-LaCrosse on Saturday night.
Despite returning three starters and twelve letter-winners, the focus throughout the pre-season has been on filling the gaps left by the departure of guards Jason Bohannon and Trevon Hughes. Although Jordan Taylor is sure to fill in one of the vacated guard positions, the exhibition opener was an opportunity for the coaching staff to get an idea of what they have in their arsenal in trying to fill out that final spot in the lineup.
“I wanted to try and get a look at a lot of people,” Coach Bo Ryan said after the game. “So {the exhibition game} served its purpose.”
Amongst the potential candidates for that final starting job, it was senior Tim Jarmusz who was put in that final spot on Saturday, finishing with 5 points and 5 rebounds in just 16 minutes.
“He didn’t need to get a lot of minutes because he’s had more experience…” Ryan explained. “Tim was solid.”
With junior Rob Wilson limited to just five minutes with a strained hamstring, freshman Josh Gasser got an opportunity to get into the mix, playing 20 minutes and 9 points and 4 rebounds while looking nothing like a freshman in his first college action.
“Doesn’t surprise me that he walked on the court and never changed expressions…” Ryan said. “He’s the kind of player people are going to enjoy seeing around here for four years. He’s a player.”
While the focus in the exhibition opener was obviously on the backcourt, the veteran frontcourt was as solid as expected. Senior Jon Leuer came out strong, putting up 11 points in the first half and 15 overall in a double-double that also included 10 rebounds and 2 assists in just 27 minutes. Leuer used his size advantage, leading a Wisconsin charge inside that had the Badgers outscoring UW-L 32-0 in the paint.
“Our guards and even our big guys did a good job of looking inside,” Leuer said.
Fellow senior Keaton Nankivil started off cold, missing his two shots before recovering to finish 6 for 9 from the floor for 15 points to go along with 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 22 minutes of action.
The domination inside by Wisconsin led to 15 offensive rebounds, softening the blow especially as the Badgers struggled from the field early on.
“A lot of it is just aggression early on, that’s one thing the coaches really try pound in our heads,” Nanikivil said. “It’s a loose ball every time, and when we have players like Mike and Jon who can really hit the glass hard, and Ryan Evans did a good job tonight. At the same time I think it’s going to get a little harder down the road when sizes and that kind of stuff equals out.”
With the regular season looming less than a week away and just one more exhibition contest remaining, the Badgers still have many questions yet to be answered. But remember, this is a Bo Ryan team we are talking and thus early season questions are nothing new.
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