11-18-24 UW BASKETBALL LOCAL POSTGAME SHOW

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the Badger Basketball Postgame Show.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
Which that's all the three Rights sidebook.

Speaker 1 (00:08):
Yet presented by JMK Security Solutions for home theaters to
smart lighting to a universal home control. Go online to
jksecurity dot.

Speaker 3 (00:18):
Com for three of the tide background. No good.

Speaker 1 (00:22):
Now here's your hosts, Dave Gasper and Nick bruce Awaitz.

Speaker 4 (00:28):
Welcome into the JANK Security Solutions Basketball postgame Show. I'm
Dave Gasper joined by Nick bruce Witz. Wisconsin survives an
upset bid from the Vicaros of ut Rio Grand Valley.
You can join the conversation with us on the hotline
six oh eight three two one thirteen ten. We would
love to hear from you after this nail bier of

(00:49):
a game coming into tonight. This had all the makings
of a trap game for the Badgers. Ope, I'm getting
some some of that in my headset. They were coming
off an emotional victory over Arizona on Friday. It's a sleepy,
rainy Monday night against mid major that's been playing teams
pretty tough this year. Wisconsin had a battle on their

(01:12):
hands all night. John Tanjay had a career game for
the win against Arizona, but it was John Blackwell's turn
for a career game for this win, Nick, and it
was exactly what Wisconsin needed out of Blackwell tonight.

Speaker 5 (01:24):
Yeah, Dave, I thought that this was one of those
performances where Wisconsin can certainly grow from it. And tonight
you survive a matchup against ut Rio Ground Valley and
you just happened to have a performance like you got
from John Blackwell. And his performance tonight was certainly the
difference maker for the Badgers. He ends up with thirty

(01:47):
points in this victory, and he was the one in
the second half the catalyst for this group. Seven rebounds
in general huge, he leaves the team in that category,
and of course the thirty points leads the whole game.

Speaker 4 (02:00):
Yeah, it was really a very important when when for
Wisconsin here and being able to get things going because
I mean, really the emotions here, I mean, I mean,
coming off that high that that Wisconsin had from Arizona.
You know, you worry about this team coming back down

(02:20):
and you know, Rio Grand Valley playing team so so
tough this year. That makes things, you know, very difficult.
But you know, John Blackwell really the perfect night for
him to have a career game and just the numbers
that he puts up eleven of eighteen shooting thirty points,
a career high six of eight from the from the
free throw line, seven rebounds. Really just fantastic stuff from

(02:44):
him and John Tanjay. You know, he kind of had
a bit of a slow start in this one, as
Greg Guard kind of talked about a little bit, but
he still did his usual get to the free throw
line quite a bit. Ten out of ten from the
free throw line. Nick, This dude is incredible. So we're
we're dealing with some some technical difficulties as we work
out Nick and I being able to hear each other,

(03:06):
We're gonna be able to take We're gonna take a
quick break here and get and get things sorted.

Speaker 6 (03:11):
Out, so we'll be right back.

Speaker 4 (03:12):
We're going to hear from Greg Gard later on the show.
We're gonna have fun facts with Dave as well. We're
also gonna have Nick Osen joined the show once he's
done with the post.

Speaker 6 (03:22):
Game as well.

Speaker 4 (03:24):
Badgers win over the Macaros of ut Rio Grand Valley
eighty seven eighty four. You're listening to the J and
K Scurity Solutions Basketball post.

Speaker 7 (03:32):
Game home team in a little bit of trouble right now.
Here's Blackwell backing in the lane, low on the left.
Up miss got his own rebound. He'll try it low
on the right, Yes, sir. From Relentless work Inside from Blackwell,
the sophomore out of Michigan sixty one fifty year eight

(03:53):
U two Rio Grand Valley.

Speaker 4 (03:57):
Welcome back to the jan K Security Solutions basketball host
game show. JANK Securty Solutions from home theaters to smart
lighting to universal home control. Go online to jksecurity dot Com.

Speaker 6 (04:08):
Dave Gasper here with you.

Speaker 4 (04:09):
Nick Brucewitz is at the Coles Center after this Badgers win.

Speaker 6 (04:15):
Nick, are you able to hear me now?

Speaker 5 (04:18):
Yeah, Dave, I can hear you somewhat.

Speaker 4 (04:19):
There we go, all right, now I can hear you
all right, So Nick, Wisconsin being able to win this game.
John Tonjay John Blackwell, the two Johns for Wisconsin really
having a big games. Blackwell a career high thirty points
for him, just leading the way for Wisconsin, the big

(04:42):
shot maker, the big shot taker in this one. We've
seen John Tonja be that guy for most of the season,
but tonight it was Blackwell. We saw Greg Guard switch
to a smaller lineup for this game. Pretty much pretty
much the entire time. We didn't see much from Stephen Kraal,
just twenty one minute from him, twelve minutes from Nolan Winter,

(05:02):
a lot of the very small lineup to match the
speed and the three point shooting of Rio grand Valley,
WHI spent thirty eight minutes from Blackwell and a career
high for him.

Speaker 5 (05:14):
Yeah, Dave, he was incredible. I thought that this guy
proved tonight why we felt so confident with him last
year that as a true freshman, you look at John
Blackwell and you thought this guy may be the next star.
He was unheralded. He was the third of three last
year where you looked at him and you said, Nolan Winter,

(05:35):
Gussy Alden, they got all the attention. John Blackwell, a
three star coming out of Michigan and a guy that
the Badgers were in on early. They're proving to be
right once again on a dude that not everyone was
in on, a guy that people felt is under the radar,
and he has proven so far this season alongside John Tanjay,

(05:57):
that they have two really, really talented guards that they
can rely on.

Speaker 4 (06:04):
Yeah, and that's so important for Wisconsin in order to
compete in the Big Ten. Because you know, having that
that kind of guard play is so important because there
are a lot of other teams in this league that
have quick guards, very good guards that Wisconsin in the
past has been pretty susceptible to.

Speaker 6 (06:22):
When they face teams with pretty quick guards.

Speaker 4 (06:24):
We've seen Wisconsin lose, We've seen Wisconsin struggle, and in
order to have that, in order in order to be
able to counterbalance that, you've got to have some quick
guards of your own, and we're seeing that with with
tan Jay and Blackwell, Kamaria McGee as well. That last possession,
that that last part of the game where Kamaria McGee
ends up defensively on on the big guy and trying

(06:47):
to hold down the Ford. That was some incredible tenacity,
uh and just attitude from from Kamari McGee in order
to be able to square him up and just play
so tough defensively, get some help from from John Tanjay
coming in at the end, and then Blackwell with the rebound.

Speaker 6 (07:05):
That was I mean, that was massive considering.

Speaker 4 (07:08):
That the moment of that game, I mean, there was
really a chance that we could have seen a buzzer beating,
you know, winning shot for real Grand Valley over Wisconsin
in the Coal Center, but Kamaria McGee said not today.

Speaker 5 (07:24):
Yeah, Kamari steps up every time he touches the court.
That's kind of his thing at this point where he
comes over from UW GenB two seasons ago. He plays
well in limited action. Last year he was the spark
plug off the bench when he came in. He provided
such huge additional minutes when there was just five to
six minutes, it'd be like four points a rebound and assist.

(07:47):
In this year, he has really gotten a grasp on
that number two point guard rule. And he's kept four
star guard Daniel free Tag on the bench, and I
think free Tag ends up red shirting. And I do
believe that that's more of a testament to who Kamari
McGhee is than where Daniel is at or how good

(08:07):
he is as a freshman.

Speaker 3 (08:09):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (08:10):
Absolutely, And I think that's that's very interesting too, with
the recruiting aspect of it, with the four star of
free Tag coming in and when he was a highly
touted guy in this class and he's not really seen
much of the court at all, and Blackwell and tan
Jay and Kamaria McGee have seen a ton of that
playing time and we can get into that in the

(08:30):
recruiting trail a little bit there as well, with Nick
Osen coming up.

Speaker 6 (08:33):
Later on in the show.

Speaker 4 (08:35):
But another as you mentioned the red shirt there, Nick,
it reminded me of someone else who red shirted their
freshman year and is going to come out this next
year and has played a big role, and that's Jack Janicky.
Jack Janicky had You know, he hasn't been a superstar
perhaps in this early going. Just one shot today in
ten minutes of action, but it was a big one.

(08:58):
A three pointer when Wisconsin was down sixty nine sixty
eight puts Wisconsin up to seventy one sixty nine, and
you know from there, I mean that really kind of
helped continue that momentum for Wisconsin to stay in this
game because he had a John Blackwell three. Then Rio
Grand Valley answers right back with Fleming hitting a three

(09:18):
of his own. But Janicki hits a big shot, and
he was another guy who red shirted his freshman year,
wasn't as highly touted coming in, but he red shirted
and now this year, his red shirt freshman year, he
is having a big impact on this team.

Speaker 5 (09:35):
I find it hard to believe Dave that his stat
line tonight was what it was like. It felt like
he had more that he added than he did right
three points on one of one shooting, he hits the three,
but it felt to me like he was in on
a ton of rebounds. He had that near steal in
the first st half where it was a rebound between

(09:56):
Amos and Blackwell and neither of them grabbed, allowing UTRGV
to grab it themselves. But then Janicky had his paws
on it and he got hit in the face. No
foul call. UTRGV keeps the ball and then you know
it's just Jack Jenicky is potentially this year's unheralded hero.

(10:19):
Last year it was Carter Gilmour because I've already talked
about Blackwell, and although he was unheralded and he stepped
up to the plate, there was a belief in him
that he was as a freshman, going to carve out
some sort of role. Gilmore was a dude that many
people counted out last season before the year came in.
They said, Okay, they have Tyler Wall, but then after Tyler,

(10:41):
do they even have another guy they can trust on
the bench? And Gilmore came in played good. He did
a good job. And then this year Janicky's played more
minutes than I ever thought he would. I didn't know
if he would ever play, and he's playing ten minutes tonight.
I'm happy to see that Wisconsin has the depth or
a depth of options that they're confident in and willing

(11:04):
to see playing time for because they were nine deep tonight.
There aren't many teams that are nine deep, and Wisconsin
seems to be confident the day of nine guys to
roll with.

Speaker 4 (11:16):
Yeah, and that's such an important aspect of the whole
program and what Greg Guard runs. It's developing players and
you don't see it as often anymore in the transfer
portal era that we're in, and it's kind of gone
away a little bit, but it's still there for Wisconsin. Obviously,
they've adapted with the transfer portal, bringing in, you know,

(11:38):
someone like John Tanjay. You know, it's got Cameron Hunter,
Xavier Amos, So you've gotten a couple of guys in
the portal to help supplement your team. You've seen a
couple of guys leave that have been either player development
projects and have been really big contributors, such as Chucky Chucky,
Hepburn who left in the transfer portal. You've seen, you know,
a guy like aj Store head out the door. Then

(11:59):
you've also seen some of those player developments, you know,
type of projects, guys like Isaac Lindsay or Gus Yalden
or some of those other players that you know, they
could stick it out for a couple of years, work
on that development, work their way up and earned that
playing time. And Jenicky probably could have done the same
thing if he really wanted to. He could have transferred
out to you know, maybe a smaller program and played

(12:21):
a lot more minutes and been a starter. But he
chooses to stick it out at Wisconsin, chooses the red
shirt his freshman year, and now he's coming in and
he's playing such a big role, coming off the bench
and getting a decent amount of minutes. It's so crucial
for Greg Guard for Wisconsin to be able to retain
guys like that and have them step up in these
kinds of moments. You know, Janicki did it in that

(12:42):
one moment here tonight. It's just kind of, you know,
one piece of a larger puzzle here in this game,
because this one was very close throughout. Rio Grand Valley
was leading for a good chunk of it. Wisconsin only
led for seven minutes in this game after leading for
nearly all of the game against Arizona. Arizona didn't lead
for a single second in that game on Friday, and

(13:04):
in this one, Real Grand was leading for a lot
of it. But Wisconsin, they were leading at the most
important part of the game, the end of it.

Speaker 5 (13:16):
Yeah, they really had us in this game, Dave, They
really had us convinced that this one might be the
ultimate letdown after what they did against Arizona. Right, you've
talked about it, you said it. Rio Grandevelli had the
lead for almost the entire second half until Wisconsin finally
took it back with a three pointer from Jack Janicki.

(13:41):
That's the guy that we've been talking about. And then
it continued with Tanjay and again credit to Wisconsin. Their
free throw shooting tonight down the stretch remains the difference
between wins and losses of this season. I get they
won by fifteen over Arizona, but if they didn't off

(14:01):
night from the free throw line, it would have been
a drastically different result. And Holy Cross and appse State
and their matchups to open the season continue to be
very similar, and Wisconsin's free throw percentage tonight eighty four percent,
twenty seven of thirty two. But down the stretch they
were borderline perfect.

Speaker 4 (14:22):
Yeah, they were just one miss from from Blackwell there,
but Tonjay two of two, Tanja two of two, Blackwell
two of two, Blackwell one of two, Tanja two of two, Blackwell.

Speaker 6 (14:32):
Two of two.

Speaker 4 (14:32):
I mean, really from from the Klesmet jumper to put
Wisconsin up seventy six to seventy four. Wisconsin didn't hit
another field goal the rest of the game. That Klesmet
jumper was the last field goal for Wisconsin. After that,
it was all free throws. It's just it's remarkable this
team's ability to get to the free throw line. You know,

(14:53):
we've seen in recent years when they've struggled with it,
they've struggled getting there. But Greg Gard has really driven
this point home, the point of emphasis of getting to
the free throw line, making more free throws than the
other team attempts. They and that's one of their goals
for every single game, and they're able to do that.
Tonight twenty seven free throws made. Ut Rio Grand Valley

(15:14):
attempted just eleven free throws, So you get yourself to
the line. You get all those free points, you don't
let the other team get free points. That's a good
recipe for winning. Wisconsin has followed it so far. This
was their closest one yet. It was one that a
lot of people were overlooking when they first saw the schedule.
But Real Grand Valley they played Wisconsin tough. They brought

(15:39):
them right to the edge. But Wisconsin, as you mentioned, Nick,
the free throws were so crucial to Wisconsin winning this
game because we saw a couple of couple of key
misses there for Real Grand Valley and their limited opportunities,
and that makes a difference there.

Speaker 5 (15:55):
In the game, no doubt about it. In the three
point shooting, we knew that our UTR was gonna come
into this game and they were gonna fire three after
three after three, and they sent up a whole bunch
of them tonight and they were red hot early, but
down the stretch it dried up for them. Wisconsin's defense hardened,
they got ready, and they battled and they pulled one out.
A game like this can tell you a lot about

(16:16):
who you are as a team. We'll hear from head
coach Greg Guard later in this program, but to dig
deep to be able to come back to win. It's
a sleepy Monday night here at the Cole Center. The
fans took forever to get into it, but once they did,
it felt like it pushed them over the edge.

Speaker 6 (16:33):
Yeah, I could.

Speaker 4 (16:34):
I could definitely see that with you know, bringing in
a mid major opponent like this on a Monday night,
It's like, okay, are they going to figure it out?

Speaker 5 (16:43):
Then?

Speaker 4 (16:44):
Like this game still stays, you know, close in Wisconsin's behind.
As you get into the second half, it's like, okay,
we you know, we really need to kick it up
a notch in order to get this team over the top.

Speaker 6 (16:54):
And they did. And you mentioned the.

Speaker 4 (16:57):
The the bigs there in the three point shooting that
that Rio Grand Valley the UTR GV was putting up.
That's why Greg Gard went with that small lineup for
most of the game there. I mean it really we
haven't seen them go with that small of a lineup
most of the season. I mean, even with the size
advantage that Crowl and Winter would have down there in

(17:19):
the post, they really in order to keep up with
the guards, in order to keep up on defense, they
had to go with the small lineup. In order to
guard these three point shooters, and you had to limit
Crowl and Winter.

Speaker 1 (17:33):
Your new home for the Bay packagem mil watch down
the game.

Speaker 5 (17:43):
I thought that the big men came out early for
Wisconsin here and they've played well. I thought that Nolan Winter,
he scores the first buck of the game, he continues
to progress in ways that we may not see directly.
He just didn't fit the mold of what they were
attempting to do tonight. As you highlighted, this is a
team on the other side that is going to shoot threes.

(18:04):
They're gonna spread you thin. You're not gonna be able
to play traditional back to the bucket, backing down guys.
And that's where crow and Winter saw their minutes go away.
And this is another feather in the cap of the
Wisconsin Badgers who can play in different ways. It'd be
one thing if this was twenty twenty three per Due
and you were forced to take Zach Edy off the
court or keep him on and he can't play the

(18:26):
matchup he's facing. Wisconsin has shown to be a chameleon
this season, working big and small. Last game against Arizona,
Arizona roars back and ties the game, up in the
second half. You know how Greg Gard responds, Sis, Fine,
let's play some small ball. Puts in the small lineup,
gets to the free throw line. John Tanja gets their
a billion times faster quicker than the opponent. Tonight, they

(18:47):
did what they needed to do. They matched up in
the second half playing small ball, and they won the game.
You got to give credit to the coaching staff for
pulling this one out because we know if they had lost,
what the internet would be doing right now who they
would be talking about. So if we're gonna be that
group of people if they lose, you gotta be the
same type of group of people and flip it to

(19:07):
the other side and reflect on how they pulled this
one out, which was transition and changing things from halftime
into the final moments.

Speaker 4 (19:15):
Yeah, which way is the Greg guard Gage facing? And
it looks like it's gonna be a tough night for
the Great Guard Middle.

Speaker 5 (19:21):
I mean, people will say it shouldn't have been that close.
Win's a win, You win ugly, You'll take any win.

Speaker 4 (19:27):
Just like the Packers on Sunday. Never apologize for winning,
no matter how ugly it is. Just accept that that
you got the win and move forward. We are going
to We're gonna hear from Greg Guard coming up in
a little bit on the show here.

Speaker 6 (19:42):
We're else gonna hear.

Speaker 4 (19:42):
From Nick Osin as well, excellent Badger supporter, to get
his insight on Greg Guard and the players what they.

Speaker 6 (19:50):
Talked about after the game. That's coming up.

Speaker 4 (19:52):
Wisconsin victorious over ut Rio Grand Valley tonight, eighty seven
eighty four.

Speaker 6 (19:58):
He's Nick, I'm Dave.

Speaker 4 (19:59):
This is Jank Scaredy Solutions Basketball postgame Show.

Speaker 7 (20:03):
Blackwell left wing, Gilmore ready to come back in inside feed,
crowdcatches back out the Blackwell for three leaps guide money.
John Blackwell is feeling it and my Badger's lead by
two with ten thirty five to play, sixty eight sixty six, Wisconsin.

Speaker 4 (20:30):
Welcome back to the Jank Scaredy Solutions Basketball postgame Show.
From Home Security to Automation Jay and KSE Scurity Solutions
has you covered? Go to jksecurity dot com for more info.
Dave Gasper here, Nick Bruswiz there, and he is joined
by Nick Osen of twenty four seven Sports. After this
Badger's eighty seven eighty four win over ut Rio Grand

(20:51):
Valley and uh Nick Nick Osin that is got two
nicks over there. Uh, Nick, you just got back from
from talking with the player and Greg Guard And did
they seem a little little surprised at how close this
game was or were they expecting a tough fight from
Rio Grand Valley?

Speaker 8 (21:12):
You know, Honestly, Dave, while I'm not sure that they
expected maybe this close of a game, they actually didn't
seem like super surprised, just because I think they gave
a lot of credit to the Vocos and how they
kind of use their mismatches, right, I mean on paper
and you know, talent wise, you might not think that
they have a ton of mismatches against a top twenty team,

(21:33):
but as you can see, they can shoot pretty well
from deep really one through four, one through five.

Speaker 3 (21:37):
So I think that there was a lot of credit there.

Speaker 8 (21:40):
And then it was actually really cool to hear the
opposing head coach kind of break down, you know, the
mentality right of a team like this against Wisconsin. He
gave kind of a really cool analogy. You know, you
can have like a five star high school offensive tackle
six six, three hundred going against maybe a six foot
defensive end, and sometimes that smaller defensive can beat you

(22:01):
just because they can move a little bit differently, and
I think tonight was a good example of that, and
I don't think that maybe the defensive intensity was where
it should have been early on as well.

Speaker 6 (22:12):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (22:13):
Yeah, the defensive intensity, it certainly was a struggle early
on the way that they were going with Rio grand
Is kind of coming out, and that's where I think
we also kind of saw Greg Guard do that a
little bit of a change too, because, as you mentioned,
kind of with the size advantage there, the Badgers had
the size advantage with Stephen Crowell and Nolan Winter, and
even with all of that, crow plays twenty one minutes,

(22:35):
Winter plays just twelve, you don't see much of them.
Greg Guards switched to that small lineup, and that really
seemed to be the difference on the defensive end, even
though offensively it's not like Crowl or Winter we're playing poorly,
but on the defensive end is where they really needed
to switch to that small lineup.

Speaker 6 (22:52):
Yeah.

Speaker 8 (22:53):
I really could not agree anymore. In fact, Dave, that's
one of the things that I really kind of focused
and keyed in on in the pressers. I asked kind
of the players as well as coach Guard specifically about
Carter Gilmour within that lineup. I think that when you
look at maybe the stats, you know, his box score
isn't necessarily jumping off the page, but if you're actually
watching the game, you can see his positional versatility, the

(23:15):
work he can do at the point of attack, and
I think just the trust and really experience right that
he has garnered being a fifty year player here in
this program, I think is really beneficial. And David Nick,
I'd give a lot of credit to coach Guard for
maybe taking off, you know, a couple really talented players,
the two seven footers, realizing that's not going to lead

(23:35):
to a win in a game like this, and let's
shift things a little bit. Kamari McGee obviously probably the
best defensive possession of the game as well.

Speaker 5 (23:44):
Yeah, Nick, we were talking about Jack Janicki and how
he's seemingly kind of come out of nowhere. We knew
who he was, we knew he was red shirting this
past season, but he's gained the trust to this coaching
staff pretty quickly.

Speaker 8 (23:57):
Right.

Speaker 5 (23:58):
We all heard about Daniel Freed and we all heard
about Jack Robison. Neither of them seem to be part
of the picture currently. But a guy like Jack Janicki
ten minutes tonight. His stat line doesn't really tell the
full story three points on one of one shooting, but
I felt like he was a big part of what
they did down the stretch.

Speaker 3 (24:18):
Yeah, Nick, you know, it's been really cool.

Speaker 8 (24:20):
I'd give a lot of credit actually to Max Klesman
and John Blackwell for mentioning Janicki probably a good two
months ago or so. Hey, that's this is a player
that has kind of taken a big step, somebody you
guys need to look out for, and they were spot on.
I think what really jumped out to me the most tonight.
We've seen him make a few shots early on this season,
but just the way he can probably consistently guard one

(24:42):
through three, one through four. He's got a pretty good
wing span, He's gotten a little stronger since last season.
And again that trust factor. I think that when you
see him launch a corner three, you know, throwing up
the mellow three. I think it's very obvious the confidence
that he has. But I think he's really earned that
and kind of put in that world, and I think
that that's going to continue to lead for more minutes

(25:04):
for a guy like him and I think Xavier Amos
had a pretty good first half as well, still growing
defensively but offensively, provides a nice scoring punch off the bench.

Speaker 5 (25:14):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (25:15):
And speaking of the scoring punch, John Blackwell a career
game for him, And I mean, we've seen for most
of the season so far, I know it's early on still, Nick,
but the bulk shooter, the volume shooter has really been
John Tanjay for the most part. But tonight it was
John Blackwell, eleven of eighteen, shooting thirty points, a career

(25:36):
game for him, seven rebounds as well, and then I
mean the biggest one was coming in at the end
on that final possession. And I think, Nick, do you
think that this can make really for a very strong
one to two punch when it comes to guards, Because
Nick and I were talking about this a little bit before,
when it comes to just kind of the quick guards

(25:58):
that can shoot and put up points. The Badgers have
had struggles with that facing other teams that have that
in recent years, and this year they seem to have
that themselves with Tanjay and Blackwell.

Speaker 8 (26:10):
I think that I would even add Klesman at times
to that mix, because he obviously had a near thirty
point game earlier this year too. But Dave, I think
you're spot on, and we've been waiting a little bit
to see that from Blackwell. Right, He's had his moments,
and obviously, you know Tanjay, you will take games like
that from him any day of the week.

Speaker 3 (26:29):
But we watched some of the practice coming into.

Speaker 8 (26:31):
The year and we heard kind of some good buzz
about John Blackwell kind of carrying some things over from
last year and maybe being ready to take that next step.
Even Greg Guard said he's not going to be, you know,
Johnny Davis in year two, but was kind of thinking
and having the mentality of taking a Johnny Davis like
step going into year two. And I think tonight that
really showed me something, Dave. I think most importantly the

(26:54):
mentality of realizing, Okay, we're down right now. You know
this guy's not hitting, we're not getting into the cup easily,
and he just consistently was driving to the lane, drawing
a couple fouls, obviously finishing down low second chance points.
I think that was most impressive to me, and I
think that mentality is going to lead to a lot
more success for that backcourt.

Speaker 5 (27:15):
Like you mentioned, all right, Nick, the Badgers are five
and zero. We've seen good starts from this group many years,
really great starts, and then February March, things starts slowing down.
Depth has been a concern in the past. Dave and
I talked about it. I felt like tonight they were
nine deep, and all nine guys were strong contributors. Do

(27:35):
you think that this team is more well suited for
what is a very long season, because I know last
year they got finned specifically a big man because winter
was still coming along. Carter Gilmore's an undersized four and
they didn't really have any other additional options. What do
you make of this group from last year to this
year and maybe their depth in general.

Speaker 8 (27:54):
Frankly, Nick, I love it. I think the depth I
probably could have put in ten or eleven guys that
I think I really would have trusted in a game
like this. You know, I think Marcus Ilver has shown
that he can be relied upon a little bit. I
still think, even though we haven't seen it, maybe a
guy like free Tag in spots can kind of provide

(28:15):
some things.

Speaker 3 (28:16):
That's eleven right there.

Speaker 8 (28:17):
And when you talk about guys, not just the numbers,
but actually going a little bit deeper into the rotation
like Amos, I felt did a lot of good things.
JANICKI I think is deserving of maybe even more minutes,
just because of his skill set, his defense, his versatility.
So I think there's a lot to like. And even
though there's maybe not one or two huge names like

(28:37):
we've seen in some years with some of these programs,
if this group can stay healthy, I think they can
win big. I think that they can obviously play small
like you saw tonight. I think they can do a
lot of good things, and maybe more than anything, I
feel they're very unselfish and don't necessarily need to be
kind of that go to scorer to be happy and
lead to wins together out here, all.

Speaker 6 (28:59):
Right, last question for you, Nick, do you like fun facts?

Speaker 3 (29:04):
I don't just like them? Dave, I love them?

Speaker 1 (29:06):
You love them?

Speaker 6 (29:07):
You love fun facts?

Speaker 4 (29:08):
Well, that's perfect, Nick, You're a great addition to the
postgame show. Absolutely love that answer, because it is time
for my favorite part of the show and everyone's favorite
part of the show, fun facts with Dave, and there
are a couple of fun facts here after this win.

Speaker 6 (29:22):
They're always more fun after a win.

Speaker 4 (29:24):
Right, Nick, Absolutely, absolutely so, Wisconsin as Nick Brucewitz just
mentioned Wisconsin five and oh to start the season. This
is Wisconsin's first five and oh start since the twenty
eighteen twenty nineteen season, so it's been a few years.
And Wisconsin, you know, starting off undefeated here through the

(29:45):
first five games. That's that's always a pretty fun start
to a season.

Speaker 5 (29:50):
Yeah, it's very fun. I think we got to establish
nicknames here right, Like I could be Bruiser, I could
be Bruce, I can be Brucewitz, I could be whatever.
Need to do. This needs to start to become like
Mike and Mike, where it was Greeny and Golic. I
think we need to figure one out because when he
says Nick, I think he's talking about I love Bruiser,
and I think that, Okay, I'm Bruiser. He's ohs all right,

(30:15):
So Bruiser and Os. All right, that's that sounds pretty fun.

Speaker 6 (30:19):
Yeah, it sounds like it sounds like maybe a serial
you know, Bruther Rose.

Speaker 5 (30:24):
Bruiser and Os. Yeah. Yeah, there doubt about it. I
mean it's gonna be hardhoes.

Speaker 6 (30:31):
Notes.

Speaker 4 (30:31):
Yeah, you guys, you can you guys can start to
singing it and doing a you know, putting out albums.

Speaker 3 (30:38):
Don't tell me there we go.

Speaker 5 (30:40):
That's true.

Speaker 6 (30:41):
Well, all right, another another fun facts here for you.

Speaker 4 (30:45):
On fund Facts with Dave John Tanjo, we've talked about
free throw shooting quite a bit. Uh John Tanjay was
perfect from the free throw line tonight, ten out of
ten from the free throw line. The last Badger's player
to be perfect at the free throw line minimum ten
attempts was Brad Davison all the way back in twenty

(31:07):
twenty two against Indiana. So we haven't seen it in
a little bit, not since the days of Brad Davison,
It's not that long ago. But ten out of ten
for Tanja tonight, we haven't seen that before. He's been
great at the free throw line, but we haven't seen
him be perfect through at least ten attempts, although he
was twenty one of twenty two, which should count for something.

Speaker 5 (31:27):
I would his last amount to play him in knockout
or lightning or whatever you call it, especially if you're
playing from the free throw line, because if you miss
your shot and he's behind you, you're cooked.

Speaker 3 (31:39):
It's over.

Speaker 5 (31:40):
It's over, it's over. He is so good at free throws,
but he's so spectacular at drawing the file. I mean,
this guy has a knack for getting to the rim,
whether it is a make or a miss. When he
gets there, he's drawn a ton of contact and it's
working in the Badger's favorite because people will look at
it and they'll say free throws, great, free throws, opportunities,

(32:02):
charity stripe. You got to make the most of them.
But you also got to think about how often he's
allowing his teammates to get a collective breather. I mean,
how many times has he stopped the ball he's at
the free throw line, the team gets to take their breath.
It doesn't happen if he doesn't get fouled, right, if
he goes to the rim and misses, draws contact, misses,
no foul call, they have to get back on the

(32:22):
other end. And more often than not, he's struggling to
get back because he just took a ton of contacts.
So he's doing it, he's drawing the contact and he's
getting the foul calls. I mean, john Tonja has been great.
Oh yeah, taking bad shots.

Speaker 4 (32:34):
And one last fun fact with john Tonjack from the
free throw line. Now on the season, he has forty
seven of forty nine.

Speaker 8 (32:41):
Wow.

Speaker 4 (32:41):
In his trips of the free throw line. It is remarkable.
He's been there nearly fifty times and he's missed just twice.

Speaker 5 (32:48):
I wonder where he ranks in the country in total
free throw at times. I'm sure there's some big guy
out there that's been there a million times. But you know,
if there's a stat out there, I'm sure Brandon Harrison
will find it where it's like minimum forty three throw attempts.
He's gotta be number one in the country. I mean,
first seven of forty nine.

Speaker 6 (33:06):
You kidding me, Yeah, it's it's remarkable.

Speaker 4 (33:09):
It's been a great performance from John Tanjay through these
first five games, and he's helped get Wisconsin to five
and zero to start this season for the first time.

Speaker 6 (33:18):
Since twenty eighteen, twenty nineteen. So those are fun facts.

Speaker 4 (33:22):
With Dave here on the jan K Securedy Solutions basketball
postgame show. Nickoson of twenty four seven Sports, thank you
so much for hopping on and we look forward to
talking with you more throughout the season.

Speaker 3 (33:33):
Man, I look forward to it. Guys, thank you so much.

Speaker 4 (33:36):
Appreciate it all right for Bruiser and ohs, Dave Gasper
here with you for a little longer. We're going to
hear from coach Greg Guard coming up after the break.
As Wisconsin is the winner tonight eighty seven eighty four
over ut Rio Grand Valley. You're listening to the j
K Security Solutions Basketball postgame Show.

Speaker 2 (33:58):
Wunsers to Tan J Long three left side, got it,
Tom j with thirteen Badgers League seventy four seventy two,
five littles remaining at the call, Sir, Welcome.

Speaker 4 (34:14):
Back to the JK Security Solutions Basketball postgame Show. Jane
K Security Solutions can give you the power you never
thought possible. Learn how JANK can integrate your world. Visit
jksecurity dot com. Dave Gasper here, Nick Bruswitz there, as
Badgers are winners eighty seven eighty four over ut Real
Grand Valley in a very close game that was a

(34:37):
little bit unexpected, but it was not totally caught off
guard for the Badgers. They seemed prepared. They made the changes.
Greg Guard made some in game changes, and he talked
with Matt Lepey and Brian Butch after the game.

Speaker 7 (34:51):
Joined by the Badger's head coach. I was telling Butchie,
I was going to ask you. The first question was
going to be about two guys who didn't score a point,
Carter Gilmour what he did and Kamari McGee on the abdul.
But you're really excited, ye that last play.

Speaker 9 (35:08):
Bulldog defense And so I didn't know what you guys
normally do on the guard guard screen.

Speaker 6 (35:13):
All night long, they were setting it and we were
going under it with the team most of the time.

Speaker 9 (35:18):
Last possession, I said, I'm not in practice all the time,
but if I'm them, I'm gonna switch it no matter
what it is.

Speaker 6 (35:23):
And that's exactly what you did.

Speaker 9 (35:25):
And it's Kamar like they have the mismatch they had,
but they didn't have the heart of Kamara.

Speaker 6 (35:29):
That's just to me. That was where it played out.

Speaker 10 (35:32):
And the John Blackwell rebound was a man absolutely to
go get that thing. Yeah, I mean, it's unfortunately, it's
kind of what I feared in terms of how they
play that if we gave him some confidence, it was
going to be a hard game for our big bigs
to play in because of the spread floor because in
our and our perimeter didn't do our bigs any favors

(35:53):
in the first half in terms of how we got
behind on some chases. We got back cut a couple
of times we got rejected on a ball screen set
up a crackback three in the corner. So we we
violated a lot of disciplinary rules or disciplined rules within
what we do defensively. And then then our fours and
fives are running around, you know, you know, behind the play,

(36:13):
trying to rescue their their buddies, and and you know
the big guys are out shooting threes, twelve and thirty
three and that. So, like just Coach Weber just said,
go small was really what we had to do and
try to get that somewhat under control.

Speaker 6 (36:28):
At what point did you think going small as right call?

Speaker 10 (36:32):
Because I did a little bit in the first half,
you know, but I didn't like playing small against their zone.
I don't want to completely give our advantage away. Yeah,
you know, and make them because it's tough, right because we.

Speaker 9 (36:43):
Even talked about it during the brockas said, the toughest
thing about going small is offensively. Now you've got a
guard playing your four who's not necessarily used to playing
in that four spot of.

Speaker 6 (36:53):
The zone offense, you know, on the glass at all
those things. It took.

Speaker 10 (36:57):
It takes our advantage and correct gates it and that's
the danger of obviously any team. But when you play
these mid majors, that the three ball, Matt, We've talked
about it one hundred thousand times.

Speaker 6 (37:10):
The three ball is the great equalizer.

Speaker 10 (37:11):
Specifically, if you got bigs that that can shoot it,
it just puts you on such a a tilted world,
so to speak, with your fours and fives, because they're
not accustomed to the movement of that fast and the
help and recover. And then while long shots, long rebounds,
we gave up some of those, you know, but we
find a way. I mean, that's the we're not We

(37:31):
weren't pretty tonight. It wasn't perfect, but we got to
the line thirty two times, did a decent job at
taking care of the ball, and you know, got that
shooting percentage for them down a little bit the second half,
and then kept them off the line too.

Speaker 9 (37:44):
Well.

Speaker 7 (37:44):
The beauty of this team, among other things, Greg, is
the ability, like you never know who's going to go off.
I mean, we know what John Tanjay did Friday night.
Max has had big games and now you get thirty
from from John Blackwell and just like no no fear,
pressure free throw.

Speaker 10 (37:59):
Yet all the boxes and he got got to the rim.
You know, he really you know, when I thought he
was a little, a little.

Speaker 6 (38:05):
A step late.

Speaker 10 (38:06):
The first half, I thought it just not engaged defensively,
and second half I thought he was much better. And
uh and obviously offensively get himself to the rim playing
off two feet made a much better job that from
that standpoint.

Speaker 9 (38:23):
You bring up that that crack back three, that was
a moment that I tapped Matt on the shoulder.

Speaker 6 (38:27):
I said, can you call the time out right after that?

Speaker 9 (38:29):
Yeah?

Speaker 6 (38:30):
I got I said, I'm gonna be harsh on Max here.

Speaker 9 (38:33):
You can't fall asleep in that situation, right, You've played
enough reps.

Speaker 6 (38:37):
You know what's coming, you know, and it just it
That's exactly what it was.

Speaker 10 (38:42):
And it's also the other side it was it was
actually pulled the wrong guy out when I when I
saw but I pulled the violator out. But I wanted
to get better defensively, and and uh, yeah, it was
actually we got rejected off a ball screen.

Speaker 6 (38:58):
That sets it up.

Speaker 9 (38:59):
You can gate all that baseline website, and there was
a crack back and it was wide open, it was
falling up.

Speaker 6 (39:03):
I mean, it was a heck of a shot him yeah, yeah,
that beats it.

Speaker 10 (39:06):
Yeah yeah, it's you know, simple things can uh not
execute it properly can get you in trouble. So I thought, uh,
you know that that's a pretty decent team. I watched
just how they gave Creighton and Nebraska the same problem,
and it's just it's hard to play big Kulk Brenner
gets forty nine against him because he just ate at
the ram, but he had.

Speaker 6 (39:24):
A hard time running around with bigs that shoot three.
So it was a game and they and they were
making them and then they got a little house money going.

Speaker 7 (39:31):
There's no pressure there, all right, So you good, good
game to have again, the variety that you guys have faced.

Speaker 6 (39:37):
It was last thing I've got, though.

Speaker 9 (39:39):
You've got your two bigs in there that obviously don't
play a lot, but now you've got Green Brier coming
up against you know, three really good teams are there.

Speaker 6 (39:45):
You can see two of them.

Speaker 9 (39:47):
I've been in that locker room enough against games like
this where you're just like, can I play against another
seven footer?

Speaker 6 (39:52):
Can I like, can we get done with this?

Speaker 1 (39:54):
He?

Speaker 6 (39:54):
Can we finally play against the bigs?

Speaker 10 (39:56):
Because we talk it's just easier to play, right, that's
It's just what's the difference between Friday night and tonight,
you know? For yeah, it was a seven footers buffet
on on Friday night.

Speaker 6 (40:06):
Tonight.

Speaker 10 (40:07):
Yeah, No, seven footers got to stay on the bench
for the most part until we I thought, if we
could get a lead, then you play.

Speaker 6 (40:13):
Then it becomes an advantage.

Speaker 10 (40:14):
But when we're sitting here trying to catch them and
trading buckets, it's not not a time to put ourselves
in that position.

Speaker 7 (40:21):
Well, you're five and oh, go enjoy that are okay?
That's what they That's what Justin told me. So I
think you're five and oh.

Speaker 6 (40:27):
So knows all the facts. I appreciate it. Thanks guys.

Speaker 7 (40:29):
All right, Badger's head coach Greg Guard here is Wisconsin
Winnsday tonight, eighty seven to eighty four.

Speaker 4 (40:35):
All right, there was head coach Greg Guard talking with
Matt Leape and Brian Butch after this eighty seven and
eighty four win for the Badgers over ut Rio, Grand
Valley and uh Nick Wisconsin's five and oh and coming
up next for them is the Green Briar tip Off.
This is going to be the first time that they
have played outside of the Coal Center.

Speaker 6 (40:56):
This season.

Speaker 4 (40:56):
They're going to be heading to West Virginia to White
Sulfur Spring. Sounds like a lovely place to be in
November for the Green Briar tip Off facing off against UCF.
That game is coming up on the on the twenty
second here on Friday night, and then they're gonna have
their their next game for the Greenbriar tip Off on

(41:17):
Sunday against either LSU or Pitt and Nick. You know,
that's really these tip off tournaments is where we see
Wisconsin hit their stride. But Wisconsin seems to be hitting
their stride pretty well so far through these first five games.

Speaker 5 (41:31):
Yeah, nothing against West Virginia, but typically these tip offs
are in like the Bahamas or yeah, Florida, Hawaii, access
or some somewhere you know, again, West Virginia. We appreciate
the lovely people of West Virginia, but it's not quite
the same. And you're spot on. These are the tournaments
that we have seen in the past where we say, wow,

(41:51):
Wisconsin can kind of hang with some good groups because
they hadn't really proven much of anything quite yet. And
they did beat Arizona, which is a app salute. Wonderful.
Can't take it away from them win. But in their
other games this season there are other four wins. There
have been moments where you're like, what is this team?
Are they legit? Can they be good? Because they've proven

(42:14):
that they can come from behind over and over and
over again. This year they proved one time against the
best team on their schedule by a mile, that they
can get a lead and hold a lead for an
entire game because they never squandered the lead. They ended
up being tied at one moment with Arizona in the
second half, but never we're trailing. I think that this
is an opportunity for them to play programs of a

(42:35):
higher pedigree, you know that starts on Friday, and then
whether it's LSU or PIT on Sunday, they'll be in
a position to say that we have now seen our
handful of really talented teams. And that's not to take
away from what UTRGV has done this season. They've played
tough against some really good opponents, including some big ten fos.

(42:56):
So I think that with Sconson following tonight's contest, you
go into the weekend Friday accounts the weekend five and
oh and five and oh is the best record in
college basketball.

Speaker 6 (43:09):
I mean, yeah, for the best record, can't beat it.
Can't be much better.

Speaker 5 (43:13):
Better than what they are with the five games they've played.
So I'm cautiously optimistic. I'm gonna allow myself to slowly
slip into the hype train at some point this season.
Down the hype slide, I guess would be a better
way to say it. You know, I'm sliding down it.
I'm about to have a lot of fun. But I
do want to see them beat these teams this upcoming weekend.

(43:36):
If they're at seven and oh, you're gonna feel pretty
good about who this team is. Is they then have
big ten matchups on the horizon.

Speaker 4 (43:44):
Yeah, they do, and that's going to be coming up.
But first on the horizon is the Green Briar tip
Off in West Virginia. That game on Friday. It tips
off at four pm, so it's an afternoon game. Pregame
coverage will begin at three and then of course you'll
have it right here with us on the Jane Kse
Scurty Solutions postgame show after the game talking about it.

(44:07):
He's bruiser, I'm nick Er. He's a bruiser. I'm Dave,
He's nick Brucewitz. That'll do it for US Wisconsin winners
tonight over ut Rio Grand Valley eighty seven eighty four.
Back in action on Friday in West Virginia. Thank you

(44:27):
for listening. This has been the Jank Scurty Solutions Basketball
postgame show.

Speaker 7 (44:38):
An Asan abdul Hakim, who will be inbounded with winter
in his face, So here we go. He's looking a
duel Hakeem chuckling looking looking bows to Clint Davis half

(44:58):
courty for the.

Speaker 6 (44:59):
Time, no good and the Badgers hanging on. Oh what
a game this turned out to be.

Speaker 7 (45:07):
As Cliff Davis with that half court heave it would
not fall and the Badgers escape eighty seven to eighty four.