Wisconsin Basketball: Badgers prepared to be without Bronson Koenig for extended time
It is unclear when starting point guard Bronson Koenig will return to the Badgers lineup.
Prior to the Wisconsin Badgers Thursday night loss at Michigan, it was announced starting point guard Bronson Koenig would be out with a strained left calf.
It was no secret that Koenig has been battling a lingering injury, seeing his production steadily decline over the last several games. No timetable or severity of the injury was disclosed prior to Thursday night’s game, other than that true freshman D’Mitrik Trice would be starting in his place.
Losers of two straight and in the light of their biggest game of the season to this date- vs. Maryland, the Badgers may now be without out their senior star for longer.
“I don’t know,” coach Greg Gard said when asked if Koenig would be available for the game against the Terrapins. “It’ll be day-to-day. It has been — and will be — in the medical staff’s hands. They’ll tell me what his status is each day.
“I don’t know when (or) if (he’ll return). I don’t know any more than I did before the game that he wasn’t going to play (Thursday night),” he continued.
After averaging around 75 points per game to start the season, the Badgers are floating around 60 points in their last six contests, in which they have gone 4-2 in. Koenig’s replacement, Trice, went just 2-15 from the field in the team’s 64-58 loss to Michigan. Despite the poor shooting performance, the confidence and poise from Trice never faltered.
“He got himself in some positions where he had to take tough shots,” Gard said. “I’ll break it down shot-by-shot of what was good and what was not. I thought he got himself in trouble at times, too. But he also found himself open a few times, too, and you got to knock down shots when you have the opportunity.”
With the mystery surrounding Koenig’s condition, the Badgers must prepare to move forward and keep their eyes on the prize, with the starting point being a Big Ten championship.
“It is going to be tough without (Bronson),” Badgers forward Ethan Happ said when asked how UW would respond to its first losing streak of the season Sunday against visiting Maryland. “It’s tough to not have (Bronson) in there, of course.”
Without Koenig, the Badgers will need to find an additional offensive weapon other than Happ, who has seen many double teams the last few games and will likely continue to do so.
“It’s not on any one person,” Happ added. “I thought [Trice] did well subbing in for Bronson; it is tough to fill Bronson’s shoes.”
Trice will likely start in the team’s home matchup on Sunday versus one of the teams tied with the them for first place in conference. Maryland and Wisconsin will tip off at noon on CBS.