Nolan Winter flashes against UW-Platteville, but Wisconsin Badgers center still has room to grow

Against Platteville on Wednesday, Winter flipped the switch and played the dominant brand of basketball that Gard, and Winter himself, hope becomes regular.

Glimpse of dominance, but plenty of room to grow

Playing against a Division-III team without a player taller than 6-foot-9, Winter was in prime position to bounce back from his rough outing the game before. He capitalized on the opportunity, crashing the offensive glass and imposing his will as a post scorer.

Winter dominated to the tune of a 17-point, 15-rebound double-double. He made seven of his eight attempts from inside the arc, and he didn't commit a foul or a turnover. The lone blemish was that Winter missed all four of his free throw attempts, one of which resulted in an airball.

The juxtaposition of Winter's massive double-double and lackluster free throw shooting served as a harsh reminder that the junior big man is still learning what it takes, mentally and physically, to be a star.

"For him, the biggest step is going to be from [the neck up]," Gard said. "It's that mentality that I want him to play with all the time because... he goes 0-for-4 from the free throw line. That has nothing to do with his physical ability to shoot the ball."

"Just him having a mindset and not allowing anything to take him off that path. That's the jump he's got to make to become an elite player, because at his size, with how he shoots it, how he moves... he has all the physical attributes you need. Now, it's a matter of [having] the maturity to make himself a really complete player."

Luckily for Winter, the Badgers exhibitions are an opportunity to learn and grow. And it seems Winter is taking advantage of them.

He acknowledged his and the rest of Wisconsin's free throw shortcomings in the two exhibitions were a result of a poor mental state.

Winter noted that he and the team needed to rely on muscle memory and their inherent talent when shooting free throws, while avoiding overthinking or getting in their own heads.

Although there's still a long way for Winter to go to reach his lofty basketball ceiling, he's approaching his successes and shortcomings in a way that could yield plenty of benefits for himself and the Badgers.

"I threw that [Oklahoma] game out the window a long time ago, so I'm moving forward, head high, I know what I'm capable of," Winter said. "Moving forward, you know, finishing stronger, going with the mentality of dunking everything. That's where I got to be at, just a more physical mindset."