Badger of Honor
Fansided

How Wisconsin Basketball can beat Rutgers

By Joey Lovell

BLOOMINGTON, IN - JANUARY 14: Chucky Hepburn #23 of the Wisconsin Badgers shoots the ball during the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on January 14, 2023 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN - JANUARY 14: Chucky Hepburn #23 of the Wisconsin Badgers shoots the ball during the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on January 14, 2023 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 3
Next
MADISON, WISCONSIN – FEBRUARY 14: Connor Essegian #3 of the Wisconsin Badgers drives to the basket on Dug McDaniel #0 of the Michigan Wolverines during the second half of the game at Kohl Center on February 14, 2023 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)
MADISON, WISCONSIN – FEBRUARY 14: Connor Essegian #3 of the Wisconsin Badgers drives to the basket on Dug McDaniel #0 of the Michigan Wolverines during the second half of the game at Kohl Center on February 14, 2023 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) /

I was going to try and be witty with that last header, but I didn’t want to get people’s hopes up thinking that I was promoting the idea of replacing Greg Gard. I’m not.

Look, the guy won Big Ten Coach of the Year two out of the last three years. When people complain about his lack of recruiting, think of this.

In Bo Ryan’s first seven years as head coach, his average recruiting class ranked 93rd in the nation. Wisconsin’s recruiting under Gard has averaged 65th.

Wisconsin basketball has only had two 5-star recruits (2003’s Brian Butch and 2012’s Sam Dekker). There has been a total of 15 4-star recruits as well. Gard has brought in 4 of those 4-stars, which is 26.7%.

So, no, the changing of the guard refers to the emerging new team leader, not sacking the coach.

Since earning a spot in the starting rotation, Connor Essegian has led the team in scoring with 14.2 points per game, including a career-best 23 last game against Michigan. Proving that he’s not just a scoring machine, he also grabs 4.5 rebounds a contest as well.

Taking a deeper look at advanced analytics shows that Essegian’s basketball IQ is high, as his 2.5 fouls drawn per game place him in the 76th percentile of guards.

He averaged 33.8 minutes per game, second only to Chucky Hepburn’s 33.9.

As it becomes evident that Tyler Wahl’s injury seems to be hindering his production, more and more has been asked of Essegian. With plays like this, it seems that Essegian is more than capable of doing so.

And remember, folks, he was only a 3-star coming out of high school.

Home/Wisconsin Basketball