Lucas: New beginning for many
December 24, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Greg Gard wasn't the only Badger stepping out vs. Green Bay
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin's backup point guard Jordan Hill has a small tattoo on his upper body. It's a simple declaration or command; a Greek aphorism, "Know thyself."
If Wednesday night was any indication, people will soon be getting to know more about Hill – heretofore a roster afterthought; the eighth man in a seven-player rotation.
Hill came off the bench against Green Bay and helped solidified the backcourt after the UW's starting guards, Bronson Koenig and Zak Showalter, got into early foul trouble.
"I did what I could to help," said Hill, a redshirt sophomore from Pasadena, Calif.
After appearing in just seven of the first 12 games, Hill played 12 minutes in the first half, matching his season high, and contributed eight points, three rebounds and two assists.
Hill helped spark the Badgers to a 48-27 halftime lead which grew to a seemingly insurmountable 30-point advantage, 68-38, with just 13:01 remaining in the second half.
But Green Bay forced a flurry of mistakes with its pressure defense and the Badgers fell into the trap with some poor decision-making and sloppy ball-handling before finally escaping, 84-79.
It was a memorable head coaching debut for Greg Gard, the long-time Bo Ryan assistant. But Gard would prefer far fewer turnovers – they had a season-high 26 – and far less drama. Know thyself.
"We took care of the ball," responded junior forward Nigel Hayes when asked for a summary of the things that the Badgers did well in building the 30-point lead over Green Bay.
"How did we lose it?" Hayes then asked rhetorically. "We didn't take care of the ball. It's fairly simple. Ever hear of the book, 'Tale of Two Cities?' This was a tale of two halves."
Was it simply a matter of Green Bay "speeding up" the Badgers with their aggressiveness? The Phoenix, after all, came into the game with the second most steals in college basketball.
"Speeding up wasn't the issue," asserted Hayes. "We were fine with them speeding up the game – running fast and taking bad shots – we were getting the rebounds and getting great looks."
The issue, according to Hayes, was poise, or lack thereof. Especially during Green Bay's late run. The Badgers were guilty of some uncharacteristic turnovers, particularly Koenig.
"We didn't value the ball like we needed to," said Hill. "That's really what it came down to. You can't get sporadic or frazzled when people are in your grill (defensively).
"We know if we play like that, other teams are going to try and do the same thing to us, and we're going to have to deal with it more and more."
Three times, the Phoenix got within one possession – three points – over the final 1:45. Hayes twice answered with a couple of free throws and an old fashioned 3-point play, a basket-and-one.
It was vintage Hayes who had 24 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. And he needed only eight shots –7-of-8 – to get to 24. It was the fourth time this season he has produced 20 or more points.
Along with attacking the rim when the opportunity presented itself – he had back-to-back dunks at the start of the second half – Hayes appeared to be more selective on offense.
"I'm trying to be," he agreed.
But he also credited new assistant coach Howard Moore for some inspiration.
"Coach Moore gave me a great article to read," Hayes said. "It was about being a wing scorer and trying to get from a good player to a great player. It was food for thought and I digested that."
In retrospect, Hayes echoed something Gard had said after the game.
"I probably didn't shoot the ball enough," Hayes pointed out. "That's always a problem for me. I'm most disappointed in that I felt I should have gotten the ball more when it went chaotic."
But the Badgers survived the chaos of their own doing.
"Just getting a win, period, is good with the way the season has been going," Hayes said with a sigh. "Wins are very important right now. Hopefully we'll build off the first half that we had."
Hayes, a keen observer, was quizzed on Gard's debut as head coach.
"Before the game," he said, "you could tell he was very excited. We all knew this was his dream come true and he's well-deserving of this position. He has worked hard for it."
In this context, getting what is deserved, he cited the standing ovation that Gard received when he walked on to the court. Â A large contingent of family and friends was behind the bench.
"In the first half and early second half, he was making sure we were staying focused and we weren't getting too caught up in the lead that we had," Hayes said of the team huddles.
"And, then, he did his best to try and calm us down once it started getting chaotic. We didn't have any timeouts left in the end so he couldn't talk to us as much but he did the best he could."
Hill pondered what he saw out of Gard and volunteered, "I saw a lot of Bo."
He smiled and added, "And that's not a bad thing at all. He was very positive even when he was getting mad. And he tried to end everything with, 'Look, we're doing this together.'"
It's not the first time Hill has heard those words over the last week.
"Together is what he (Gard) keeps preaching to us," he said, "and that's big."
So was the opportunity to show what he could after so much inactivity.
"I've always tried to stay ready," said Hill, who redshirted last season. "It wouldn't serve me any good to sit and wait and not work on my game and not be ready.
"So when I finally do get a chance to step in, I can do the things that I want to do or I'm being asked to do. I just tried to get into the rhythm as best as I could (in the first half).
"It's a little different when you have to come off the bench and you're a little cold. But I didn't have to wait as long. I knew I was going to play a little bit more and it had some sort of mental affect."
Hill finished with 10 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in 22 minutes of playing time.
"In the grand scheme," Hill said, "I'm glad that I had a hand in our first win for our new coach."
Hill enjoyed his new role as a contributor. Beats being a spectator. From this standpoint, he was happy for his parents, especially his mom who watched the game on TV from California.
"She could finally say, 'Jordan, you did a good job,'" Hill related, "instead of, 'Jordan, you looked good (sitting) on the bench.' It's definitely a start." For everybody involved.
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