Wisconsin Badgers basketball depth gives Greg Gard more flexibility with rotations

The current roster was still being labeled as in "installation mode" by Gard on October 13, but he lauded the pieces and the competitiveness of the group. He pointed to Wisconsin's in-house scrimmage on October 11 that had each session coming down to the final possession.

The red-white scrimmage equaled the drama. New point guard Nick Boyd drew a charge on backcourt-mate John Blackwell in the closing minutes, and Blackwell's game-tying jumper bounced off the rim in the waning seconds, the difference in a 46-44 game.

"They're always right down to the buzzer," Boyd said of UW's offseason competitions. "That's how most games are going to be this year. You've got to have a little bit of mental toughness, and you get a little bit of luck, and you make big plays, like a charge or a loose ball you run down. It's good practice. We're in there competing every single day and it comes down to the wire, and that's what it's going to be this year."

Boyd and his Final Four experience will be the pace setter of the group, with Blackwell's experience and senior transfer Andrew Rohde's perimeter confidence leading the backcourt.

Junior Nolan Winter and his added weight will be a fixture at the rim, while 6-foot-10 sophomore Austin Rapp can play in the low post or from the perimeter.

UW's bench was a strength a season ago with savvy seniors like Carter Gilmore and Kamari McGee, and Gard replaced them with Tulsa guard Braeden Carrington and Temple forward Elijah Gray.

The development of guard Jack Janicki and forward Riccardo Greppi as a returning sophomores, guard Zach Kinziger and center Will Garlock as incoming freshmen, and guard Hayden Jones and forward Aleksas Bieliauskas as international freshmen give depth and options for the staff based on matchups.

"They all bring something a little bit different in terms of their skill set," Gard said of his freshmen.

Gard noted following Sunday's Red-White Scrimmage that there are "a lot of good things" with the group but a lot to improve on. He wants UW's point guards to not let up on pace, put the ball into the low post more consistently, to hit rim rollers when they are open and not bypass quality looks.

It's all areas on his checklist he hopes to see growth in against the Sooners, which could potentially allow him to go deeper into his bench than he ever has before.

"There's a lot to like about with this group, but the thing I like even more is there is a lot we need to get better at," Gard said. "It's exciting. it puts the ceiling much higher with this group."