Lucas at Large: Potter finding his rhythm as a Badger
January 08, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Mike Lucas, Varsity Magazine
Returning home to Ohio with new team a special trip
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — A former Dukie, RJ Barrett, the third overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, was Micah Potter's teammate. So was a former Terp, Bruno Fernando, a second-round draft choice out of Maryland. So briefly was Anfernee Simons who skipped college and went directly to the league.
It didn't stop with the pros. Silvio De Sousa (Kansas), EJ Montgomery (Kentucky), Howard Washington (Syracuse), Davonta Jordan (Buffalo) and Marcus Carr (Minnesota) were also among Potter's teammates at Montverde Academy, a prep school in Central Florida, just outside of Orlando.
"It's like playing in college with all those guys playing high Division I basketball," Potter recalled. "That's what you'd get every day in practice — in high school — it was super helpful in my development as a player getting me ready to play at the next level.
"But it was a big adjustment period for me. It took about three months to get used to the speed and physicality and another three months to become a good player at that level … practices were super physical and super tough ... me and Bruno were guarding each other and pushing each other every day."
Montverde's Kevin Boyle was just named Max Prep's Coach of the Decade (2010-2020). "He does a great job of teaching people," Potter said, "and teaching players how to get along with each other and how to play with each other because he always has the top talent.
"It was a great learning experience … it got me ready for college."
Potter was 17 when he left home (Mentor, Ohio) and transferred to Montverde for his senior year of high school. "It was tough because my family is super close," he said. "But I knew I had to make the decision and Coach (Thad) Matta was very helpful in getting me there."
Matta was then the head coach at Ohio State and one of his former Buckeye players, D'Angelo Russell, had played at Montverde Academy. "That's where the connection came in," Potter said. "I went down and visited and worked out and they said they wanted me."
Potter was a team MVP by the time he left Montverde for Columbus, Ohio where he played his freshman season for Matta. In early June of 2017, the Buckeyes moved in another direction and fired Matta. "I would have never expected that to happen," Potter said. "That started the whole process."
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Last Friday morning, Potter sat in the lobby of Wisconsin's hotel on the Ohio State campus. He was not far from Woody Hayes Drive and the Horseshoe (Ohio Stadium); not far from the Schottenstein Center and Value City Arena; not far from his old apartment.
"A two-minute walk from here," he said.
The night before, the team ate at a Columbus steakhouse where Potter ran into a former Ohio State student trainer that had just gotten married. Earlier, he got a "Wish I could be there" text from the former director of the Buckeye NutHouse, the student cheering section at basketball games.
"He works in Chicago now," Potter said.
Life moves on. As it has for Potter, now 21, now finally eligible with the Badgers.
"I was not planning on leaving after he (Matta) left because I wanted to make it work because I grew up as an Ohio State fan," Potter was saying. "But that (firing) changed everything. I tried to make it work for a year-and-a-half (under a new coaching staff) and it didn't work.
"It's definitely been a whirlwind the last couple of years and definitely not what I expected. I expected a little bit more solid ground, so to speak. But you know what? God has a reason for everything … you can see how it's all coming to fruition and how it's supposed to be right now."
The Badgers had just returned to the hotel after their morning shoot-around. "Every shot felt good because I've had thousands of shots in that arena," he said. "The way the ball feels, the way the arena looks, I'm just so used to it because I lived here for practically three years.
"This game has definitely been on my mind. But it's a serious trip as any away game should be. We're here to win a basketball game. It will be fun. I don't know how the crowd is going to react. But the 'W' is the biggest thing. Just win."
The Badgers and Potter got what they came for — an upset win over No. 5 Ohio State. The students were still on holiday break. There was no pep band and little energy in the building. Potter played almost 11 minutes and had four points and three rebounds. He was the first UW player to score.
"From my observations, I thought he handled it all really well," said Wisconsin coach Greg Gard. "There was nothing out of character or off track, just like how he has handled the past four or five months of us going through this whole appeal process (with the NCAA) to try and get the waiver.
"He had a very mature approach. I talked to him a couple of times about it (returning to Columbus). But I wasn't telling him anything that he hadn't already thought himself in terms of keeping his emotions under control and just playing the game — controlling what you can control.
"He had good support from his teammates as well," continued Gard, who has slowly been implementing Potter into the rotation. "They kind of reiterated the same things, 'Hey, let's just go play the game and not get caught up in the emotional things that can be attached to a situation like this.'"
A self-described "big relationship guy," the homecoming couldn't have gone any better for Potter who had friends and family supporting him at the game, including his "little" brother Noah (6-foot-6, 262), a highly-regarded freshman defensive end for the Ohio State football team.
"Seeing all these people," he said, "and relationships that I developed while I was here — and even the relationships I've developed at Wisconsin in the short time I've been there — having the connections everywhere is super special to me and I'm super thankful for all of them."
Potter admitted that his earlier transition as a transfer from Mentor to Montverde has made this transition easier. But he's still getting up to "game speed" after a long layoff (92 weeks, 644 days) between his final game appearance with the Buckeyes and his first with the Badgers (Dec. 21).
"Everyone, including myself, hopes to get in there and just play at the highest level," he said. "But if you're going to look at it realistically, that's almost impossible. No matter what level you're at, if you haven't played, and you're on a brand-new team, it's going to take time to find your rhythm again.
"In practice, it's getting better every day because you're learning tendencies, you're learning how to play with each other with a set offense. The second half of the Rider game (on Dec. 31), I really started to feel more comfortable."
While finding his rhythm, the 6-10 Potter has provided relief for the 6-11 Nate Reuvers. "He has been able to help Nate keep his batteries fresh, to keep his tank full," Gard said. "Nate's minutes have gone down, but his scoring and his efficiency have gone up. Micah has had a positive affect keeping Nate fresher."
Potter has focused on "playing hard and controlling the controllable." He explained it this way: "You can play super hard, you can defend hard, you can be a voice on offense and defense, you can rebound the ball and you can be a good teammate. Those are the things that you can control."
A month from now, what might this conversation sound like? "We'll be much more comfortable with each other in the flow of the offense," he projected. "We're a balanced team which is really good. No one is selfish with the amount of points they score, either. The biggest thing is winning."
