Lucas’ 3-Pointers: Wisconsin vs. Nebraska
December 22, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Mike Lucas
Three things to know before Wisconsin opens conference play
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — The Badgers begin Big Ten conference play on Tuesday against Nebraska at the Kohl Center. Here are three things to know:
1. Harry Has Nothing On This Potter At 3-Point Line
Third grade. An elementary school basketball team coached by his dad. That's when Micah Potter first fell in love with the 3-pointer ("All I wanted to do was shoot 3's; at that point I wasn't huge, I was bigger than most third graders, but I wasn't a lot bigger."). The triple became an even bigger part of his game after transferring from his Mentor (Ohio) high school team to play his senior year in Florida at Montverde Academy where he was teammates with R.J. Barrett, Marcus Carr and Bruno Fernando, among others ("They needed a big guy who could shoot the ball, that's what they were expecting me to do and I ended up doing that, I shot the ball really well and that's where my confidence came from."). During his two years at Ohio State (59 games), he cited a "lack of opportunity, a lack of confidence" before getting a new lease on his hoops life at Wisconsin ("When I got here, I was able to be myself and play my game."). Last season, only Michigan State point guard Cassius Winston had a higher percentage from beyond the arc (51-105, .486) in league games than the 6-foot-10 Potter (23-49, .469). Through the UW's seven nonconference games this season, Potter is shooting 50 percent (9-18) on 3's (so is 6-11 Nate Reuvers). Potter's formula hasn't changed ("You're making sure you're square to the bucket and finishing high and all that kind of stuff. It goes back to the old fundamentals of third grade.").
2. Tucker Has A Better Idea For Ford
Whereas Nebraska has shown a penchant for getting off to fast starts this season — the Cornhuskers have outscored their seven noncon opponents by a combined 65-35 to the first media timeout and have trailed only twice during that span — Wisconsin's Aleem Ford has suffered through some slow offensive starts. Ford was just 1-of-6 from the field (0-3 from the 3-point arc) in the first half against Louisville. By sharp contrast, he didn't miss a shot (4-of-4, 2-of-2 from 3) in the second half and finished with 12 points. Noting "I feel like I've had some pretty good looks in the first half," he recognizes the importance of staying the course ("I really pride myself on not getting down.") and maintaining his aggressiveness ("It's a long game and when some shots aren't falling, I'm just trying to make sure I stay active and do the little things."). UW assistant Alando Tucker has constantly been in Ford's ear ("The game is based on rhythm and I tell him how to control that with his mindset."). Moreover, Tucker believes "It's just a level of focus from the start of the game, kind of shaking off those nerves and getting into a position of comfortability." In other words — Tucker's words — don't think about scoring. Just come with energy and attack, especially by "understanding and identifying his job defensively and everything else will come to him."
3. Transfer Of Power
The Cornhuskers have a diverse collection of transfers who have combined to account for nearly 4,000 points, 1,300 rebounds and 600 assists at their previous stops. The top six scorers are newcomers: Teddy Allen (Western Nebraska CC), Dalano Banton (Western Kentucky), Kobe Webster (Western Illinois), Trey McGowens (Pittsburgh), Lat Mayen (Chipola College) and Shamiel Stevenson (Pitt). Thorir Thorbjarnarson and Yvan Quedraogo are the only active holdovers from last season's team. By comparison, the Badgers have two transfers on their roster: Potter and Trevor Anderson, who started 20 games as a freshman at Green Bay before being sidelined by an injury. Against Louisville, Anderson matched his UW high with 11 points (4-of-4 FG, 3-of-3 on 3's). On the season, he's shooting 80 percent from the field (12-15), 83 percent from the arc (5-6) with 13 assists and just five turnovers.
Potter: "The biggest thing with Trevor is that he really does a good job of setting up our offense and getting us moving. Obviously, he's been shooting the ball like crazy. He has been shooting it really, really well. He's a point guard and he's going to have the ball in his hands a lot. But he does a really good job of moving off the ball."
