BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Hours before making his first collegiate start, freshman Tyler Wahl sat in the lobby of an Iowa City hotel Monday afternoon and discussed his on-going education, College Basketball 101.
From a team sense, and the 18-year-old Wisconsin freshman from Lakeville, Minnesota has always placed the team above everything else, he confessed, "It's been a roller coaster."
Wahl went on to talk about the peaks and valleys from week to week in an ever-changing landscape (the Big Ten standings) and concluded, "It's college basketball this year in a nutshell."
As for his own development, there have also been highs and lows — or exactly what you would expect out of an inexperienced, first-year player going through the inevitable growing pains.
"It's the different bodies you have to guard from night to night," said the 6-foot-7, 210-pound Wahl. "A couple nights ago, I was against (Evan) Boudreaux. He's a workhorse, always going to the glass."
The 6-8, 220-pound Boudreaux, a fifth-year senior, is a power forward who graduated from Dartmouth in three years and has spent the last two seasons at Purdue.
"Then, there will be a night like tonight," said Wahl, eyeing the Iowa matchup. "I'll have (Joe) Wieskamp. He's not as much of a workhorse, but more of a finesse player."
The 6-6, 210-pound Wieskamp, a sophomore, is a small forward, who had scored 18 or more points in five of his last seven games, including 26 against Maryland.
"It's just two different dynamics," Wahl said of the challenge in guarding bigger or smaller opponents, "and you have to change your mindset each night and do what you've got to do."
After being promoted to the starting lineup against the Hawkeyes in the absence of Kobe King, who didn't make the trip for personal reasons, Wahl played 25 minutes in Monday's 68-62 loss.
Along with scoring four points and grabbing seven rebounds, the second most for the Badgers, Wahl's versatility was on display whether posting 6-9 Cordell Pemsl or driving on 6-11 Luka Garza.
Ten days earlier, Wahl found himself matched against Michigan State point guard Cassius Winston who's generally considered to be the best at his position in the conference, if not the country.
It didn't take long for the accomplished Winston, a four-year starter, to take the youngster to school off the dribble. The result was predictable and instructive for Wahl.
"I was a little too antsy, first time at Michigan State, a good atmosphere, I was up on my toes, jumping around a little bit," Wahl said. "A good point guard is going to take advantage of it every time.
"When I got to the bench, Coach (Alando) Tucker told me, 'Just settle down and stay down (on defense) and just play basketball.'"
Wahl has filed away all of the "gotcha" moments.
"Oh, for sure," he said. "It always comes up on film and even then, there are some points in the game where he (Gard) knows that I know (what I did wrong) and he won't bring it up in film.
"It's just filed away in my brain and I've got to keep it there."
At times, Wahl has been overly aggressive to a fault leading to foul trouble, which was something that he was acutely conscious of before taking the floor at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
"Especially at younger ages, I was always fouling out and then I'd cry on the bench," said Wahl, retracing his earliest steps in the sport. "It's something that I've got to continue to figure out.
"We've been talking about it and that has been an emphasis the last week or two in practice. Coach Gard says, 'Be smart. Know when you can and when you can't (do things).'
"I just have to be smarter to the whole different speed of college basketball and try to get away from the more risky passes and risky fouls. But I have to continue to be aggressive."
Wahl's aggressiveness has made people outside of the UW family take notice. Like Robbie Hummel, the former Purdue star who has made a successful transition to television as a color analyst.
"I love that he competes, I love that he doesn't quit on plays; he rebounds, and he makes winning basketball plays," Hummel said. "He still has plenty of room to grow as an offensive player.
"He can certainly become a better jump shooter. He's certainly not a finished product. But you can see that he has the potential to be a really good player in this league."
Hummel can offer a unique perspective on competitive fire since his is still burning hot. USA basketball recently tabbed the 30-year-old Hummel as its 2019 Male Athlete of the Year.
Last summer, Hummel was the MVP of the 3-on-3 World Cup in the Netherlands. His sights are now set on helping qualify Team USA in February for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo (July 24-August 9).
"I definitely love his motor — his motor is phenomenal," Hummel said of Wahl. "You need guys like him to win conference championships which is Wisconsin's goal every single year.
"He's a great piece and somebody you can continue to build your program around. With the recruits they've got coming, there are some highly-ranked guys (top 10 class nationally).
"And Tyler Wahl is the guy who can fit in with anybody. He doesn't dominate the basketball. And he can play with pretty much anybody you put around him."
• • • •
While the Badgers were recruiting Nate Reuvers at Lakeville (Minn.) North High School, they couldn't help but take note of the playmaking ability of one of his younger teammates, Wahl.
"He caught our eye even as a freshman and we just continued to develop that relationship," said assistant Joe Krabbenhoft. "He played hard all the time; he was scrappy.
"He just did a lot of things that didn't stand out or didn't go on a stat sheet. He was a jack of all trades. And we found out that he's got a lot of off-court characteristics that we like, too.
"He's just a really good kid, a coachable athlete."
Wahl was raised in a basketball family. His father, Tim, is a member of the Minneapolis Southwest High School Hall of Fame. During his senior year (1977), he averaged 27 points per game.
Tim Wahl, a 6-4 guard, went on to letter four years at Mankato State (now Minnesota State). He was the MVP, captain and the leading scorer in the Northern Intercollegiate Conference as a senior.
"There are always people who tell me about how much he scored," said Tyler Wahl, who like his dad — just 42 years later — was a finalist for Mr. Basketball in the state of Minnesota.
"He was always my travel coach and emphasized playing the game the right way. It never really mattered how much I scored though there were a lot of games I wouldn't score and he'd get on me."
Smiling, he added, "We'd watch basketball together and he'd point out little things that people were doing right."
Lindsay, the oldest of Tyler's three older sisters, played basketball at UW-La Crosse. As a result, he was always around the sport, even at a young age, and he was a fast learner.
"I remember going to watch him as a junior in the state tournament before we had even offered him," Krabbenhoft said. "He was doing things that I had never seen before out of him.
"That's when he really sparked our interest when he started making plays with the ball. And he's starting to do that there, too. He's got that ability."
Don't be fooled by his lanky frame, either, Krabbenhoft warned.
"He's a wiry, long athlete," he said. "People look at him and may think, 'Skinny, not the greatest athlete.' But ask the guys who he's guarding what kind of an athlete Tyler Wahl is.
"He's got great anticipation, good feet and he's really long. He's got the frame and he works incredibly hard. He will fill out. He will live with Erik Helland all summer."
Helland is the men's basketball program's strength and conditioning coach.
"With all of these guys, there's a predictable step forward that they need to take," Helland said. "You never look at it and say, 'He's going to reinvent himself …' That doesn't really happen.
"But he's a really, really mature freshman. It's his decision-making and the consistency in how he takes care of himself. He's getting his sleep. He's trying to eat well.
"And his consistency on the practice floor or in the weight room is really outstanding. He always gives good effort and his attention to detail is really good.
"He's an exceptional fast learner and then he retains it. If he's making a mistake, you correct it and then he doesn't make the same mistake the next day. He tends to resolve these things."
Wahl's resiliency matches his energy level, which is extremely high.
"He never puts his head down," Krabbenhoft said. "He never quits."
Wahl didn't stop attacking the basket after having a couple of shots blocked at Iowa.
"He doesn't back down," Helland said. "He's resilient and sound in what he does."
Asked if he still feels like a freshman, Wahl jokingly suggested that when the Badgers resumed Big Ten play in the new year (Jan. 3) with a win at Ohio State, he came of age, so to speak.
He couldn't use youth as a crutch. Not that the coaches ever do in film study. Not that he has ever done. He had four points and seven rebounds against the Buckeyes. Same as Monday night.
"I've been here long enough," said Wahl, who rooms on campus with Mike Vorlicky, a freshman hockey defenseman from Edina, Minnesota. "I know what's allowed and what's really not."
Wahl will turn 19 on March 7, the final day of the regular season. As the team's only freshman, he noted, "It has been different and I've been more open to asking questions of the upperclassmen."
Now, he's in a position to come up with some of his own answers.
"I'm just enjoying my time," he said, "and doing whatever I can to help."
