BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Before embarking on their New Zealand/Australia exhibition tour, three returning "bigs" — Andy Van Vliet, Alex Illikainen and Charles Thomas — admitted to flying "down under" last season.
Down under the radar.
Statistically, the 7-foot Van Vliet from Antwerp, Belgium; the 6-9 Illikainen from Grand Rapids, Minnesota; and the 6-8 Thomas from Highland, Maryland didn't have much of an impact.
Van Vliet played in 14 games and averaged 3.4 minutes, 1.3 points and 1.4 rebounds.
Illikainen played in 27 games and averaged 8.3 minutes, 1.3 points and 1.5 rebounds.
Thomas played in 28 games and averaged 6.3 minutes, 2.2 points and 1.3 rebounds.
With the graduation of Nigel Hayes and Vitto Brown, the urgency is real since each player is going into their junior season and must help fill the void on the frontline around Ethan Happ.
Here's how each has approached the challenge of becoming more of a factor on the floor starting with Wisconsin's exhibition opener Tuesday with the New Zealand Breakers:
GETTING DOWN ON THE BLOCK, BUT NOT ON HIMSELF
Illikainen had trouble sustaining his weight at 230 over the duration of his sophomore season. "My weight is back up where I want it," he said. "My body is feeling great. Physically, I feel stronger."
While continuing to hone his outside shot — "The coaches have been working with me in making sure it's as simple as possible and the same shot every time" — he has worked on his post-up game.
"After the past two years, I've wanted to get better at the post," he said, "and be able to handle my own in there offensively. I want to be able to score and be a factor.
"Working out with Andy and Brevin (Pritzl) — who's always on my butt about getting post touches — we worked on it together. Even though he's a guard, Brevin is very smart in that area."
As a true freshman, Illikainen appeared in 33 games and showed glimpses of becoming a steady contributor. In the Big Ten opener against Purdue, he had 10 points, which is still his career high.
As far as his overview of last season, he chalked it up to another year of growth. There's a history of "bigs" developing at their own pace, some faster than others, in this program.
"There were a lot of ups and downs personally as a player," said Illikainen. "But it was a great learning experience. Yes, I wish things would have been different in some cases. But I've learned from those mistakes and that's going to carry over in just being smarter, being older, being more mature and in just being confident every time I step on the court."
Illikainen, who is slated to start the Badgers first of five exhibition games alongside D'Mitrik Trice, Brevin Pritzl, Khalil Iverson and Ethan Happ, thinks the trip will help shape the team's identity.
"It's a great opportunity to get more reps and experience and play with each other more than we would have (normally)," he said. "It's going to help kick-start the beginning of the season."
RIGHT FOOT FORWARD STARTS WITH BETTER FOOT WORK
Van Vliet was happy to get back home for a little more than a month. "It felt good being with family and friends again," he said of his trip home to Belgium. "I missed my mom's cooking."
After sitting out and losing his freshman season due to an NCAA eligibility ruling, Van Vliet was unable to crack the rotation as a sophomore. He saw action in only five Big Ten games (nine minutes).
"It was hard," Van Vliet said of the transition to this level of competition. "But it opened my eyes to what I needed to improve on the most. Nothing comes easy. That's what I learned."
Because of his wing-span and shooting range — the lefty has a nice touch from the 3-point arc — he poses some matchup problems. But he needed to apply himself more on the other end of the floor.
"I've been working out more on my lower body and footwork," said Van Vliet. "I've not worked as much on my shooting, but more on getting my body right and more on the defensive end.
"I felt that was something I had to improve on the most, especially from practices last season. I feel different because I'm more able to move on my feet. That helps a lot."
Especially in terms of his confidence, he noted, with his post-up game and low-post defense. During his off-season workouts at the Kohl Center, he said the focus was on "footwork and quick feet."
Van Vliet is anxious to put what he has learned into action during the exhibition games.
"It's a great time for a trip because we have so many new guys," he said. "It will be good to see the style of play and who's going to play hard. It will also show who's ready and who has been working."
LESS (WEIGHT) IS MORE (MOBILITY)
At his heaviest, Thomas estimated that he was 262 pounds. He's now weighing 248.
"I'm lighter and I feel a lot better," said Thomas, who played 10 or more minutes only five times last season. "I just feel a lot quicker on my feet and with my lateral movement and jumping."
Young players are conditioned to thinking that they must be big to play in the Big Ten.
"You feel like you need the size," Thomas agreed. "But once you know how to manage it (weight), you don't have to be huge. You just need to know how to use what you have."
During the off-season, Thomas addressed all facets of his game.
"I've taken these first two years as a learning experience," said Thomas, who played only two minutes over the last eight games. "I've learned how to run the offense and how things work.
"I'm ready now to step into a bigger role on the team. I'm learning from the other guys and the coaches and I'm just taking every day as an opportunity and another step to get better."
Thomas, like the others, can't think of a better way to start the season than with the New Zealand/Australia tour. Especially since it resulted in nine Madison practices before departure.
"By practicing earlier in the summer, the team chemistry has gotten a lot better since everyone has gotten on campus," Thomas said. "Hopefully, we're a step ahead of other teams in the Big Ten.
"And, hopefully, we can go over there and figure out our strengths and weaknesses. The trip will be a good learning experience. Hopefully, we can learn a lot of things that we can take into the season."
