Wisconsin counting on freshmen forwards to anchor frontcourt depth

While saying Gray's departure won't change his approach with how he manages the depth of his frontcourt, Gard was stingier with how he distributed minutes through the exhibition season.
Winter and Rapp played 139 of a possible 160 minutes in the two exhibition games, while Bieliauskas played 13 against Oklahoma and eight against Platteville and Garlock logging eight and six, respectively.

"What I like is they both can get a lot, lot better," Gard said of his freshmen. "I see it more in practice, and that's typical with young guys. Maybe they don't have the opportunities in games; they don't have the number of possessions I see in practice."

"They both are going to be really good players," he later added. "They are good players right now, but they are inexperienced in some ways."

At 6-10 and 235 pounds, Bieliauskas has a wealth of international experience having played professionally in Lithuania, especially when it comes to playing off of ball screens. Garlock would have been the first pick in a schoolyard draft in a recent practice because of his low post work but has been splitting his time in practice working with the rotation and the scout team due to numbers, dividing his attention and adding a further challenge to receiving consistent playing time. Regardless, Garlock gives Wisconsin a rim presence at a legit 7-feet and his footwork is more advanced than a typical freshman forward.

"Both of them bring their own unique game style," Winter said. "(Aleksas is) a strong physical force down low. Obviously, he has a lot of experience overseas playing against some high-level competition. For that to translate over here, he's been really impressive. He's been super mature. He's an older freshman, so he's been fun to work with.

"(Garlock is) filled out. His ceiling is very high. As a freshman, I've been there too in this offense. You get on the Kohl Center for the first time in front of a lot of fans, your head could be spinning. With a little bit of time, I know both of them will make an impact for our team in their own unique ways."

The Badgers may have the ability to go deeper as the season progresses. Junior Riccardo Greppi struggled down the summer open media practices but has started to stack consecutive solid practices. Jack Robison redshirted last season and could fit into a Gilmore-type role of utility player.
But until that duo become more consistent, the Badgers are rolling with a four-man unit.

"I am very confident those are the four we've got to continue to work with," Gard said.