Big Ten Basketball Preview: #1 Wisconsin Badgers

I truly hate to say this, you know I do, but the Badgers are by far the best team in the conference and it isn't particularly close.  I just wrote about how Ohio State has all that crazy talent, but the Badgers were an excellent team last year and have basically the entire squad back.  This is usually where I might bash them for not having that much talent on paper and stuff, but at this point that's just stupid.  Bo Ryan might never win the recruiting awards or whatever, but he knows how to get players to run his boring system and he knows how to take guys who seem like stiffs for two years suddenly blossom when he needs them to.  I can no longer deny his wizardry or his ugly grinch face, but I sure don't have to like it.

Frank Kaminsky is the best example this year, following in the footsteps of all the other ugly white stiffs and becoming a star.  Two years ago Kaminsky averaged just 10 minutes per game, shot 44% from the floor, and averaged just 4.2 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.  Then Berggren, Evans, and Bruesewitz graduated, and he suddenly averaged 13.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and won Big Ten honors.  It's some kind of horrible circle of life.  Well he's back, and despite being the best player on the team he's probably third in talent level, because Nigel Hayes (conference sixth man of the year as a freshman last season) and Sam Dekker are poised to breakout.  

We said the same thing about Dekker last year, and although his improvement wasn't exactly a breakout, it was a step in the right direction (from 9.6 to 12.4 points per game and from 3.4 to 6.1 rebounds).  It did come with a minute increase though, from 22 to 29 per game, and his advanced stats were basically stagnant from last season, other than rebounding.  Wisconsin's only major loss is Ben Brust, and although they have the pieces to pick up his minutes Dekker may see more time with the ball - this can only help.  Hayes is one of my favorites in the conference already, if I could have a favorite who played for Wisconsin, which I cannot.  He doesn't fit the Badger model at all since he's an athletic beast, but he's smart and fundamentally sound so he works.  He's also a defensive terror, which they like.  He doesn't have the three-point shot Sconnie loves, but he does have a smooth jumper out to the perimeter so it wouldn't surprise me if he develops it eventually, maybe this year.  He's going to be First Team All-Big Ten eventually.

Like I said, Brust is gone, but Josh Gasser (8.8ppg/1.9apg), Traevon Jackson (10.7/4.0), and Bronson Koenig (3.5/1.1) are all back so there's no shortage of perimeter players.  Jackson has turned himself into an awfully good point guard by learning to score while becoming a better distributor at the same time, and Gasser was basically back to the same player he was three years ago prior to his knee injury, so he'll look to take another step forward and take on some of Brust's scoring from last season.

Pretty solid lineup:  Jackson, Gasser, Dekker, Hayes, and Kaminsky.  This is going to suck.


OTHER PREVIEWS:
#2 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
#3 NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS
#4 MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS
#5 ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI
#6 MICHIGAN
#7 MICHIGAN STATE
#8 IOWA HAWKEYES
#9 MARYLAND TERRAPINS
#10 INDIANA HOOSIERS
#11 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
#12 NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS
#13 PURDUE BOILERMAKERS
#14 RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS