BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — After Monday's practice, the final tune-up before facing Rutgers in the Big Ten opener, Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard gathered his players together and broke the team huddle with this perspective-inducing comment, "The second season has now started. You're into chapter two."
Gard didn't have to explain what he meant to his four seniors, all starters. Nigel Hayes, Bronson Koenig, Vitto Brown and Zak Showalter have been down this path before and should be well-prepared for what awaits them starting Tuesday night against the Scarlet Knights at the Kohl Center.
"They know that the page has turned, I could sense that even today in practice," Gard said. "They understand that we're on to season number two. And every possession — just like we've emphasized during all the non-conference schedule — is extremely important.
"Now it takes another step because your level of competition is higher, consistently higher. Not that we haven't played good teams. But, consistently, game-in and game-out, we're going to see bigger bodies, more athletic teams and probably more concise scouting reports because of the familiarity.
"Now that you get into league play, you can't have those possessions where you're not accountable. As I told the team the other night, 'You don't have any mulligans.' Some of them didn't even know what a mulligan was. There are no golfers in this group. (He laughed.)
"But the seniors understand," Gard went on. "They understand every possession is going to be more magnified. And they'll be able to pass it on to the younger guys. I've already heard a couple of them say, 'Hey, in the Big Ten you're not going to be able to get away with that — not in this league.'"
Big Ten pundits have tagged Wisconsin as one of the preseason favorites along with Purdue and Indiana. The national polls, Associated Press and Coaches, reflect that projection with the Badgers, Boilermakers and Hoosiers ranked No. 14, No. 15 and No. 16, respectively, going into the first week of league competition.
Considering the experience of the seniors (games played/starts), along with their confidence level (two Final Fours), you can understand why Hayes (126/88), Koenig (125/72), Showalter (105/48) and Brown (96/47) engender so much respect among those handicapping the conference race.
"They understand what each opponent brings (in the Big Ten)," Wisconsin assistant coach Howard Moore said of the seniors. "They understand each venue and the level of intensity and fan participation. But they also understand that the preparation that we put in every day is important.
"They understand what we're about to get into and everything else that goes into that. Finals are over. All we have to focus on now is basketball. Nothing else should trump what you're doing right now other than family as far as being prepared and going into each game ready to play."
That preparation, a Wisconsin trademark, can't be underestimated.
"The stakes are a little higher now and everybody knows what is coming every night," said UW assistant Joe Krabbenhoft, a veteran of 136 games in a Badger uniform, including 76 battles against Big Ten opponents. "You have to rely on your seniors. This program has done a good job of that."
Krabbenhoft went about his business as a UW player in a workman-like fashion.
Most of the programs in this conference have taken on the same personality.
"We don't have a league where you have one team that is going to press for 40 minutes and another team that is going to play a zone like Syracuse for an entire game," said Wisconsin associate head coach Lamont Paris. "We don't have teams that play drastically different types of basketball.
"Games are going to be physical. Games are going to be tight, no matter who you're playing. You could be in first place and playing the last place team and it's going to be a competitive game. When you have seniors, they have a lot of things to draw upon and can help you win a lot of close games.
"It's more about what you do — remembering who you are and what your identity is. For us, it means getting the ball inside and playing inside-out. It's trying to score in there (the paint) and getting to the free throw line. It's playing tough, hard-nosed defense. Those are the things that have identified us."
Rutgers, under first-year head coach Steve Pikiell, is trying to follow a similar blue print. Especially on the defensive end. At Stony Brook, Pikiell's teams were known for their soundness. So far, so good. The Scarlet Knights are off to an 11-2 start. Last season, they finished 7-25, 1-17 in the Big Ten.
"Going back and watching the film from last year, they've improved in a lot of areas," said Krabbenhoft, who was in charge of the Rutgers scouting report. "Number one, I would say defensively, they're taking a lot of pride at that end. The way they do it, a lot of their rules, are similar to us."
Pikiell, a two-time captain under Jim Calhoun at UConn, has been getting balanced scoring from Nigel Johnson, a Kansas State transfer; Deshawn Freeman, who missed most of last season with an injury; Mike Williams, the top reserve; and Corey Sanders, the leading scorer (15.9) as a freshman.
The 6-foot-7, 225-pound Freeman is one of the top rebounders in the league.
"He's a tough sucker," Krabbenhoft said, "and relentless on the glass."
High praise, indeed, given that Krabbenhoft collected 747 career rebounds at Wisconsin.
"He's active," Krabbenhoft added, "and he plays with extremely high energy."
Purdue's Caleb Swanigan leads the Big Ten in rebounding with a 12.5 average followed by Freeman and Wisconsin's Ethan Happ. Both are averaging 9.5. A year ago, Happ had 16 points and 10 rebounds in a 79-57 win over Rutgers at the Kohl Center. He made 7-of-8 field goal attempts.
Showalter topped Happ by making all eight of his shots, including four triples, to finish with a career-high 21 points. Williams, who had 20 points, is the only returning player from the Scarlet Knights' starting lineup in that early January game, the only meeting of the season between these teams.
"They're a new team," Krabbenhoft suggested, "pretty much across the board."
That obviously contrasts with Wisconsin.
"Our strengths," Moore said, "are the fact that we've got veterans who understand what it takes to play and be competitive in this league and what it takes to compete for a championship. They understand the work that has to go into it. They understand you can't take anything for granted.
"Every night is going to be a fight whether you're on the road or at home. No opponent should be taken lightly. I like that we're battle-tested and we're also starting to come into form on both ends of the floor. Roles are firmly established and our bench has the capability of being deeper than it has been.
"We're poised to start off the Big Ten season the right way."
