Men's Basketball To Open Practice on Saturday
October 09, 2001 | Men's Basketball
The Wisconsin basketball team faces some unique challenges as it heads into the 2001-02 season. A strong foundation has been laid, with seven postseason berths in the last nine years, but gone is the core of players that brought UW basketball back to national prominence. New coach Bo Ryan and a group of talented and hungry, yet relatively inexperienced players, are charged with continuing that tradition.
'Having taken over programs before where there wasn 't a lot of experience coming back, I'm used to making adjustments, ' Ryan said. 'This is going to be a year of gaining experience. We have a couple players that have gotten significant time. However, I plan on playing nine or 10 guys every game so that leaves six or seven positions in the rotation that either have never played in college or have had very little time.'
In his first season, Ryan hopes to bring an infusion of energy to Madison. The winningest college basketball coach of the 1990s, Ryan enjoyed success at both UW-Platteville, winning four national titles, and UW-Milwaukee, turning around an 8-19 team, before coming to Wisconsin. His pressure defense and attacking offense have helped his teams achieve winning records in 17 straight seasons.
'We're going to push the ball at people and try to get a lot of action from the offense,' Ryan said. 'We're looking for four or five scorers, not just one or two. We're going to look to get easy baskets from our defense but again, if you've been around this league enough you know that every basket is tough to get. We want to make it that way on the defensive end. '
Five seniors, with a combined 367 career starts between them, have departed. In their place are three veterans with Final Four experience along with some promising youngsters who will be counted on to contribute immediately. One starter from last year's team, junior guard Kirk Penney, returns. He is joined by seniors Travon Davis and Charlie Wills, key reserves on the Badgers' last three NCAA tournament teams. Two other letterwinners from last season's squad, sophomores Dave Mader and Freddie Owens, also return.
'As far as the returnees go, our staff and players will look to the upperclassmen for direction,' Ryan said. 'If you take ownership in anything you do, that means you're committed to it. And for the seniors, their level of involvement is a little stronger than the new guys, especially because they know this is their last go at it. I'm really looking forward to Travon and Charlie's ability to lead by example and set the tone for the team.'
As in the last few years, the Badgers will seek to prove themselves against one of the toughest schedules in the country. Last year's strength of schedule was ranked third in the nation according to the Sagarin ratings, after having the toughest schedule in the country in 1999-2000. This year's slate includes trips to UNLV, Xavier, Georgia Tech, Ohio and UW-Milwaukee as well as home matchups with Temple, Tennessee, Marquette, UW-Green Bay and Furman. The Badgers also travel to Hawaii in late November for the City Bank/Aloha Airlines Big Island Invitational Basketball Tournament. Participating teams include LSU, Colorado State, Hawaii, Weber State, South Carolina State, Mercer and host Hawaii-Hilo.
'I've never been a bashful scheduler,' Ryan said. 'We may take some lumps but I'm also hoping that we deliver some. That will be the exciting part. If I'm a player and I'm at Wisconsin, I 'm excited because we have some chances.'
Guards
On a team lacking experience, the Badgers' backcourt is home to most of it. Penney, one of the best shooters in the Big Ten, is the lone returning starter and finished last season as the team's second-leading scorer (11.2 ppg). The conference's leading three-point shooter in league games last season (.478), Penney has played in 63 games in his career. He was also a member of the New Zealand Olympic team in 2000.
Davis, a 5-10, 180-pound, lightning-quick point guard, has appeared in 69 games in his three-year career. After sitting out the first eight games of the season due to an NCAA suspension, Davis played in all of the remaining 21 games. He flashed some of his potential in a win over Purdue last year, racking up six assists against just two turnovers in 25 minutes of play. In Big Ten play last year, Davis sported a 2.63-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
'What I'm looking for from the backcourt is solid players who can attack, can make other players better and can show leadership on the floor, ' Ryan said. 'We also need players that can stretch the defense and knock down the threes. Most importantly, we'll try to take care of the ball and get good shots and that usually starts with the guards.'
Sophomore point guard Freddie Owens saw limited action last season, appearing in 18 games. A tenacious defender, the left-hander scored five points in the season-opener against Tennessee, including a 60-foot heave at the halftime buzzer. His career highs in both points (six) and minutes (13) came in the UW's win vs. Ohio.
Freshman Devin Harris will be counted on to contribute right away. Harris, 6-3, was named the Associated Press state player of the year, as well as Mr. Basketball by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association, in 2001. He led Wauwatosa East High School to a 21-1 overall record and Greater Metro Conference league title in 2000-01, averaging 25.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 4.1 steals per game as a senior.
Walk-on Clayton Hanson will also battle for playing time in the backcourt. A second-team A.P. all-state selection a year ago, he should provide the Badgers with another outside threat. Hanson averaged 28.7 points and 8.6 rebounds while being named the Wisconsin State Journal's all-Area Player of the Year at Reedsburg.
Forwards
Wills, a fifth-year senior, is the most experienced player on the Badger squad with 97 career appearances, including 29 starts. A tough rebounder and post defender with a soft outside touch, Wills was 14-26 (.538) from three-point range last year, the top percentage on the team. He scored in double figures three times last year, including his first career 'double-double' against UW-Milwaukee. Wills has never missed a game in his career.
Mader, at 6-11, 240 pounds, is the biggest player on the UW roster. In his first season of action last year, he played in 17 of the team's 29 games and flashed some of the potential that has the coaching staff expecting significant contributions from the sophomore. His best performance came against Northern Illinois when he contributed seven points and eight rebounds in just 10 minutes of action. He followed that up with five rebounds in nine minutes against Maryland.
A former Wisconsin state player of the year, Mike Wilkinson is entering his first season of play after redshirting last year. Wilkinson, 6-8, 205 pounds, was named Mr. Basketball and Wisconsin State Journal player of the year after averaging 28.6 points and 12.1 rebounds as a senior at Wisconsin Heights.
Three incoming freshmen round out the Wisconsin roster. At 6-5, 200 pounds, Neil Plank can play either guard or forward. A first-team all-state selection, Plank led Mt. Zion to a 28-4 record last year and a berth in the Class AA super-sectionals.
Andreas Helmigk, a 6-9, 230-pound forward from Klagenfurt, Austria, will add size and bulk to the Badger frontline. Helmigk, a 21-year old freshman, was a member of the Austrian national team.
Walk-on Deandre Buchanan also joined the team this fall. A native of Verona, Buchanan averaged 17 points and eight rebounds a game and earned honorable mention all-state honors.
