Point the Way: Koenig at forefront of Badgers' offensive resurgence
February 24, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Mike Lucas
Getting in Swing of things helped UW's floor general shed pressure in favor of production
Playing point guard put the ball in Bronson Koenig's hands on every possession. Being one of the few experienced returners for Wisconsin put a target on his back. All of that combined to put plenty of weight on his shoulders. However, since he started pushing the buttons that make the Swing offense go, Koenig has felt the pressure recede and his production reach a level more in line with what the Badgers' floor general expects from himself. Â | Â From Varsity Magazine
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
By the time Bronson Koenig got out of the Kohl Center on Sunday night, it was nearing 10 o'clock and he still had to grab something to eat and write a paper, a rough draft for a Monday morning class, not the easiest thing to do when you're still decompressing emotionally after playing 34 minutes in a tense Big Ten game.
It's even tougher to get to sleep on such nights. Especially when you're replaying so many things in your mind because they're still so fresh and you're still so wired. "That's definitely what always happens," Koenig said with a sigh. "You think about the times you messed up and the stuff you could have done better."
In addition, everything is magnified by the importance of these February games for a Wisconsin team, an NCAA tournament bubble team, that does not have a large margin of error. "Usually I've got a lot of adrenaline going so it's kind of hard to fall asleep right away," Koenig said. "I do eventually. But it's definitely tougher after losses."
Although Wisconsin rallied for a 69-60 victory over Illinois, there were still plenty of things to keep him awake. The offense got off to a sluggish start in the first half — Koenig was 1-of-7 from the field, Nigel Hayes was 0-for-5 — and the Badgers trailed by as many as 13 in the second half.
But they were able to mount a spirited comeback on the strength of a 17-0 run, their second in three games (they also had a 17-0 counterpunch at Maryland). So while they were getting stops and forcing Illinois turnovers, they were making shots and drawing fouls to get to the free throw line.
That has been a winning recipe around Madison for a very long time.
"I knew things weren't going our way, but I knew we were going to make a run," said Koenig, who has become more and more comfortable with his leadership responsibilities. "When people were starting to put their heads down, I just told them 'Get your heads up. We have a run in us and they're going to start missing shots.'"
Koenig was motivated by something else Sunday night at the Kohl Center.
"We couldn't lose with those guys back," he said.
Captain America was in the house. So was the Energizer Benny.
Josh Gasser and Ben Brust.
Gasser led the 2015 Final Four team in minutes played, intangibles and family caravans. Nobody traveled like the Gasser clan from Port Washington.
Brust led the 2014 Final Four team in minutes played, 3-point scoring and cheerleading brothers. Nobody stirred up a crowd like Jonathan and Stephen Brust.
Gasser flew in from Germany — where he's playing professionally — to have an injury checked out.
Brust drove up from Illinois — where he's in business with Jonathan — to see old friends.
"It was awesome to have those guys back," Koenig enthused.
Both former UW guards/gym rats have influenced Koenig's development as a player/leader. Brust and Koenig were together for one year, Gasser and Koenig for two.
"Ben was a leader who led by example and did all the little things," Koenig said. "He was kind of like Josh in the way he did all the dirty work. He took charges and got a lot of rebounds for being such a small guard. He was a really good example for me.
"Josh was the same. Led by example. Did all the dirty work. Took charges. Played defense on the other team's best player. All that kind of stuff. Josh is the most favorite teammate I've ever had — just how unselfish he was. He was always in the right position doing the right thing at the right time."
In attempting to take the best from Gasser and Brust, the 21-year-old Koenig said, "I've tried to emulate their games in any little way I can and also incorporate the skills that I have, as well."
To this end, Gasser offered some thoughts on how Koenig has handled a different role in a Wisconsin program that suffered heavy personnel losses and underwent a mid-season coaching transition from Bo Ryan to Greg Gard.
"It's very different for him," Gasser said. "I keep in touch with Bronson and a lot of the guys on the team. Especially earlier in the year, you could tell that they were frustrated."
Koenig has admitted as much.
"I was pretty frustrated; I was stressed out that things weren't going the way that I had planned for them to go," he said. "But that's life. I never gave up. I was never too worried. I knew after awhile we'd be fine. Everyone is seeing that we've progressed. But we still have a long way to go."
"He knows how to win, it's clear he knows how to win," Gasser said. "He has to trust himself that he knows that he can lead a team because he has shown that he can."
Gasser talked about how Koenig had to adjust his game to how opponents were defending him.
"Every time he comes off a ball screen, he's seeing bodies," Gasser said. "The big guy (opposing center) is coming out with him as opposed to last year when they were sticking with Frank (Kaminsky). They weren't going to leave Frank open, so Bronson had a lot more room to operate."
Koenig has acknowledged as much.
"It has been a little tough," he said. "Obviously not having the shooters that we've had, the floor is nowhere near as spaced. There are not as many driving lines. Guys are scouting me a lot harder and getting up and pressuring me a lot more. I mean, it's tough. All I really tell myself after having a tough game is that it's only going to make me better in the long run."
When Gard took over, he recommitted to the Swing offense, long a UW staple. With so many skilled offensive players the last few years, the Badgers got away from it to tap into the individual talent.
"Before we put the Swing in, the spacing was pretty bad," said Koenig, who started 24 games last season for the injured Traevon Jackson. "I felt like when I tried to drive, I was literally running into guys. Now, it gives everyone a spot to be in and they know where to go, especially the younger players.
"It's five guys constantly moving and cutting and screening. It's about getting the ball in the post and playing inside-out and getting to the free throw line. It's a continuity offense. There are a lot of actions off the Swing that we haven't really picked up on yet. I'm sure we'll get better with time."
Brust, who joined the team for its shootaround before the Illinois game, has taken notice of something with Koenig that only another scorer might pick up on. "A lot of times Bronson is missing shots when he's open," he said. "When he has a hand in his face, he has a laser focus in his eyes where he knows that he's knocking it down."
Koenig has conceded as much.
"For some reason, I just feel more comfortable when a guy is closer to me than when I'm wide open sometimes," he said. "I don't know exactly why that is.
"From the start, there were not many driving lines and I've been forced to take so many more tough shots. My shot has felt really good the past six games (all in double-figure scoring). The past couple of games, I felt like I could have had 30-point games. I just wasn't aggressive enough, whatsoever, and that's my fault."
What's the best advice that Gasser could give to Koenig?
"Keep plugging along, keep learning," said Gasser, who was scheduled to return to Germany on Monday. "He knows how to win, it's clear he knows how to win. He has been in two Final Fours in his first two seasons and he played a big part in both of those seasons.
"He has to trust himself that he knows that he can lead a team because he has shown that he can."
Koenig has accepted as much.
"That's something I've been working on — trying to be the best leader that I can be," he said. "I think I've gotten more vocal, which has helped out guys. You have to know how you can lead every single person and how you can talk to everyone, because not everyone responds the same way.
"Me and Nigel talk a lot about what's going on with the team and what we need to do. After the Northwestern loss, we kind of put our heads together and decided enough is enough. We're going to have a team meeting and get all of our emotions out in the open. I think it did us a lot of good."
There was a much different leadership dynamic for Koenig at La Crosse Aquinas High School.
"In high school his play could dictate so much of the game whether he was vocal or not," said Dave Donarski, a Koenig confidant and mentor. Donarski assisted head coach Rick Schneider at Aquinas before taking over the girls' program a couple of years ago.
"We trusted him just like Coach Gard does to make the right decisions and the right reads. That's really where he's at his best. We gave him that at the high school level, a lot of the confidence to go and do it. And I feel like the same thing is occurring this year."
Since leaving La Crosse, Koenig has still stayed in touch with Donarski and Schneider.
"I talk to them quite a bit about everything," Koenig said. "They know the game and they see what's going on. It's definitely comforting that other people can see how I'm seeing it."
Most of their communication has centered on positive reinforcement.
"He has a real high basketball IQ," said Donarski. "Even if he's frustrated, he knows what the right answers are. So, in a lot of cases, in those conversations, he ends up answering a lot of his own questions because he just knows how to play.
"And, certainly, it's all about winning with him. It always has been. I feel like it's a reflection of what has happened over the last eight games. You can really see a big transition with that basketball team. It's not just him, but he has a large role in being their floor leader."
Given several mentions of "stress," how does Koenig relieve the stress?
"I do a little meditation, which helps quite a bit," he said. "I try to get my mind off basketball, whether it's going to a movie or just getting more rest. It has been a long season and I've played a lot of minutes, so I try to get as much rest as I possibly can."
Koenig just started doing meditation on the recommendation of Fred Nicklaus, the owner and master instructor of Martial Arts America in La Crosse. Nicklaus' son, Kirk, played with Koenig on one of Aquinas' state championship teams. Koenig wasn't interested in learning karate moves to ward off Big Ten defenders. But he went to Nicklaus for some core training exercises, many involving boxing.
"I wouldn't spar or get hit or anything," said the 6-4, 193-pound Koenig. "But I'd work with the bag and he'd have hand pads on. At first, I was like, 'How is this going to help my basketball?' But I did some research and talked to other guys who had done some boxing in the past and it was great for me."
"Bronson was looking for a little different way to train (during the offseason) as opposed to just hitting the weights and the normal cardio stuff," Donarski said. "This was a welcomed opportunity to do something different. There are some funny videos of him working out, punching and stuff."
Laughing, he noted, "I'm glad he's a basketball player and doesn't have to live with his fists."
"You can really see a big transition with that basketball team," Donarski said. "It's not just him, but he has a large role in being their floor leader."
As far as being introduced to the powers of meditation, Koenig said, "It works when I do it consistently. That's the key, consistency. A lot of successful people meditate every single day, like Kobe (Bryant) and LeBron (James), and a number of others. When I was stressed out, I meditated."
There has been far less stress lately. Over the last six games, Koenig has scored 11, 13, 12, 16, 12 and 14 points. Consistency. There haven't been the wide swings in production like the 27 he scored in the first Michigan State game to the eight that he had in the very next game at Penn State.
In four of the last five games, he has connected on three 3-pointers. Overall, Koenig has made at least one triple in 38 consecutive games, one shy of the school record held by Sean Mason (1995-99). Moreover, he has been guilty of just seven turnovers the last 186 minutes.
"He has been getting back to some of the things that we were counting on him to do and he has been playing better overall," said UW assistant coach Lamont Paris. "He has been really solid with the ball and you see his numbers for assists-to-turnovers getting back to where we're used to with him. That helps set the tone for how we're going to play."
Gard feels like Koenig is just scratching the surface as a floor general.
"I think he can still be a much more effective point guard as time goes on," said Gard. "This has been a big adjustment for him this year. Bronson and Nigel have not only had to go through a learning curve on the floor, where they're getting everybody's best shot, they've also had to adjust to a new role.
"Their seats have changed, so to speak, in our locker room. They went from sitting in the fifth, sixth, seventh, eight row to being up in row one. That's as big of a challenge as anything that Bronson has seen on the floor, too."
It's only a two and one-half hour drive to La Crosse and Koenig has enjoyed going back home, particularly when he can spend a month or so there during the offseason.
"We have enjoyed his time back, too," Donarski said. "He's in the spotlight in La Crosse but it's a little different than downtown Madison. We can kind of kick back and talk about basketball. We tape all of his games and we'll sit and watch them. He has really become a big part of my family over the course of the last seven years. He's like a brother to my kids."
Donarksi, like Gard, is buying Koenig stock. "I personally know him really, really well," he said, "and he has more to give to this team. He has shown some incredible spurts of growth."
Koenig has never lost confidence in his shot, nor has he lost his focus on the team and all the things that go into playing as one. "Playing for each other and being unselfish," he said. "And that's not necessarily just passing the ball. It's doing everything within your power to help the team, whether that's chasing guys off screens or boxing out every single possession. Those are the little things that you can do to help the team win."
Looking back on how this season unfolded with all of its rough edges, with so much inexperience on the roster and so many unexpected home losses, Koenig confided, "I put a lot of pressure on myself. And no one is going to play up to their potential when they do that. Now, I feel like I'm going out there and letting the game come to me more. I'm not pressuring myself and forcing the issue."
He could probably write a book on what he has gone through.
Sunday night, he settled for writing a paper; a rough draft, at that.
