Lucas: Schlundt’s ready to ‘bring the toughness’
December 22, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Mike Lucas
Defense is focus for McGrory, teammates as Wisconsin hosts Green Bay Saturday
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — To make his point on defensive footwork, Wisconsin assistant coach Dean Oliver simulated a golf swing for T.J. Schlundt after Thursday's practice.
Oliver was illustrating what could happen if your feet are not aligned correctly when addressing the ball and applied the technique to closing out a shooter. Bad fundamentals, bad results.
"It's a good analogy," said Schlundt, a golf enthusiast with a 3-handicap. "That's something I've got to get better at — my technique, closing out under control and squaring out better on that first step.
"It makes sense. And we're going to dissect film, too, with my closeouts. That will be good to see the technique and what I'm doing wrong."
Schlundt was already aware of the consequences for poor footwork. "That's just inviting an offensive player to attack," he said from first-hand experience in limited playing time.
On offense, Schlundt has always been confident.
"If the guys find me," he said, "I'm going to knock it down."
But there's more urgency now to get up to speed on defense since moving into the rotation after injuries to sophomore guard D'Mitrik Trice and freshman wing Kobe King.
"Next man up … Coach (Greg) Gard talks about staying ready and that's what I did," said Schlundt, a redshirt junior from Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. "I'm ready to take advantage of that opportunity."
Prior to this season, the 6-foot-5, 197-pound Schlundt was a walk-on and had appeared in just 18 games, a total of 25 minutes. But he earned the respect of the coaches while toiling on the scout team.
So much so that Gard put Schlundt on scholarship this semester.
"It was at the end of the summer and the beginning of the fall and I had a one-on-one meeting with Coach Gard," he recalled. "He brought me in his office and told me the good news."
Was it surprising to Schlundt? "A little bit, but it felt good," he admitted. "It's nice to get some recognition in that sense. He told me I had to go 110 percent every day."
Knowing that his scout team role had not largely changed, he said, "You just have to keep working. That's kind of the mindset I have. Keep working and everything is going to fall into place."
Schlundt got off the bench in only three of the first seven games this season. He played three minutes against both South Carolina State and Yale and two minutes against Milwaukee. That was it.
But, true to his word, he stayed ready. In the Big Ten opener, a humbling defeat to Ohio State, Schlundt was on the floor for a career-high nine minutes. His previous high was five minutes.
He didn't play in the next two games (Penn State and Temple) but after Trice and King went to the sidelines — the former indefinitely, the latter for the rest of the season — Schlundt's number was called.
In the Marquette loss, Schlundt played 13 minutes and made his only shot, a 3-pointer.
"In the moment, I really didn't think about it," he said about scoring against his dad's alma mater (Terrell Schlundt was a four-year starter and co-captain as a senior with Doc Rivers).
"But after the fact, yeah, it was pretty cool."
Playing 21 minutes, Schlundt contributed six points (a couple of triples) and three rebounds in Wisconsin's win over Western Kentucky to help secure his spot in the rotation.
As far as expanding his role, he says that it entails "just making the extra plays, knocking down the open shots, hitting the post, finding guys, cutting off guys and obviously improving defensively."
At the end of his prep career — he spent his final year at St. John's Northwestern Military Academy — Schlundt turned down a scholarship offer from Green Bay, the opponent here Saturday.
Brian Wardell was the Phoenix coach. Three years ago, he left for Bradley and was replaced by Linc Darner, who nearly upset the Badgers in what was Greg Gard's first game as a head coach in 2015.
Before resuming Big Ten competition against Indiana (Jan. 2), Gard is hoping that his team can develop some much-needed momentum against Green Bay, Chicago State and UMass Lowell.
"It's just about getting the confidence back, just getting the rhythm back," Schlundt said. "Now that everyone is done with finals, we can focus on basketball.
"This month is going to be really big for us — to try and get the snowball rolling."
Obviously, it's also big for Schlundt to show what he can do with increased minutes.
"I just want to bring the Josh Gasser, Zak Showalter type of toughness," he said. "It's something I'm working towards and I'm continuing to try and bring that toughness element."
?? waiting is the hardest part ?? Thankfully, the wait is just about over. After more than a week off for final exams on campus, the #Badgers are back in action tomorrow at the Kohl Center.
— Wisconsin Basketball (@Badgermbb) December 22, 2017
Getting To Know Walt
Walt McGrory didn't have to wait long for his "Welcome to college basketball" moment.
Shortly after entering the game against Western Kentucky, he drove the ball to the rim where he got fouled and knocked to the floor. On top of that, Lamonte Bearden fell on top of him.
"I was on the ground thinking, 'What just happened?'" said McGrory, who missed his first free throw. "I was surprised I hit the second free throw because I was still a little dazed."
McGrory, a freshman walk-on from Edina (Minnesota), ended up playing two minutes in his college debut which was how Gard planned on using him — to spell Brad Davison who played 38 minutes.
"It's ahead of schedule," McGrory said of his personal timetable, "so it's pretty exciting."
The plan was to redshirt McGrory. But after losing both Trice and King, Gard had no choice but to use McGrory, especially given King's season-ending injury. Trice is expected to return.
"When I come in, I have to stay steady," the 6-3, 210-pound McGrory, who averaged 26 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists as a senior and ranks as Edina's all-time leading scorer with 2,126 points.
"I have to be a solid guy that doesn't turn it over. I have to get guys some open looks and hit the open shots that I get. And I just have to be a lockdown defender. That's what I'm trying to focus on.
"Compared to high school, you've got to be engaged all the time (on defense). You can't take any breaks at all. Coach (Gard) has been really focusing on that — on the ball and off the ball (defense)."
A number of former Edina teammates have gone on to successful college careers. In fact, as an eighth grader, he played with two who have: Graham Woodward and Reggie Lynch.
Woodward, a Penn State transfer, is a part-time starter at Drake, where he's the third-leading scorer this season, while Lynch, an Illinois State transfer, is a dominating low-post player at Minnesota.
McGrory considered all his options before opting to walk-on with the Badgers. He had scholarship offers from a handful of schools, including South Dakota State and Drake.
"I compared every school that I visited with the scale of basketball that we're playing here and I couldn't pass that up," he said. "I just felt like it was the best fit."
There were no guarantees, no promises.
"The biggest message from Coach (Gard) was, 'You have to have both feet in — you've got be all in on this,'" said McGrory, who took some other advice from Gard to heart.
"Don't back down from anyone. Don't shy away from things. Just play your game. The summer was a big adjustment playing at this level. But I feel a lot more comfortable with it now.
"I think I've improved a lot. I'm ready whenever the time comes."
Schlundt has been impressed with McGrory's preparation and work habits.
"He works hard," he said. "He's getting extra work in the weight room and gym. He wants to continue to get better. That's a really good quality for a young guy."
"It's big to have a win like this" The #Badgers grinded it out and got back to winning ways
— Wisconsin Basketball (@Badgermbb) December 13, 2017
The Skinny On Green Bay
- The Phoenix played Thursday night at the Resch Center (in front of 2,973) and lost, 81-78, in overtime to Bowling Green. Led 53-45 but went six minutes without scoring (0-for-10 FG).
- Sandy Cohen had 16 points and six rebounds in his Green Bay debut. Forced to sit out first 12 games after transferring from Marquette where he started 22 of 66 games and averaged 4.6 points.
- Cohen, a 6-6, 200-pound Seymour native, joined the Phoenix program in December of 2016. Was leading rebounder and averaged 11 points during Puerto Rico exhibition tour this past summer.
- Green Bay's leading scorer is 6-2, 215-pound senior guard Khalil Small who has scored in double-figures in all 12 games. Has started 70 straight. Had career high 29 points against Rockford.
- Kamer Hankerson, a 6-5, 200-pound sophomore, is the only other player averaging 10 or more points (10.2). Part of three-guard starting lineup. Had 13 against Bowling Green.
- Green Bay has struggled offensively. Shot 34.5 percent (30-of-87) Thursday marking the fifth time this season under 39 percent. Shooting 41 percent overall, including 33 percent from 3-point line.
- Only victories have come over Lakeland, Florida A&M, Eastern Illinois, UW-Parkside and Rockford. Picked for sixth in 10-team Horizon League preseason poll. Oakland overwhelming favorite.
- Green Bay took major personnel hit with the loss of 6-10 forward Kerem Kanter, a grad transfer this season at Xavier. Kanter averaged 11 points and 6 rebounds in 2016-17 for Phoenix.
- Also lost freshman guard Trevor Anderson who started the first 20 games before being sidelined with back injury. Anderson has since transferred to Wisconsin and is sitting out this season as a redshirt.
- Badgers won last season's game, 73-59, at Kohl Center. Ethan Happ (14 points, 10 rebounds) Khalil Iverson (3 points) and Charles Thomas (2 points) are only returning active UW players who scored. Small had 12 for Green Bay.
