Greg Gard is still clearly figuring out his team, and they are still figuring each other out. It's hard to always know what group of players will thrive together and what group needs a glue or a spark. This Badger team also has basically a full roster of players who deserve to play or could contribute in some meaningful way. Gard notes this: "It will be difficult to play 11 or 12 guys consistently, specifically as we go further into the season.
For game one against Denver, the starters were mostly not a surprise, with one exception. The first five were: Owen Foxwell, Braeden Carrington, Eian Elmer, Victory Onuetu, and Nolan Winter. The only real surprise was Austin Rapp not being in the group. However, he was the first player off the bench and was in after only about six minutes.
The next players in were Zach Kinziger and Jack Janicki. Yet, Kinziger only saw five total minutes. Gard really only played seven players for any meaningful minutes. It was those starting five: Rapp and Janicki.
Gard isn't tied to this strategy at all, though. "We have to collectively do this together, just with how this group is built," Gard said. "So from a bench standpoint, it may not be the same combination every single night. I mean, maybe six, seven, eight might be, but that 9-10 could change as players improve, as they battle it out in practice, the flow of a game, what we need within a game, who's playing well in that 8 and 10 spot."
Wisconsin's rotation is still a bit of a mess, as Gard considers it a work-in-progress
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After the first, maybe six or seven (if you count Will Garlock), it's not so settled. "There are a lot of factors, and we're far from it," Gard said post-game. "I think the competition is good, and practices have been really competitive."
He even admits that some of the problems with Denver in the second half were because of the rotation. "Some of the rotation herky-jerkiness of it was part of it," Gard explains. But if they can't get production off the bench, the Badgers are doomed. "We've got to be able to have more production off the bench and more, kind of, because those guys can. But they also didn't have a whole lot of minutes, the sample there. So we're still learning how they're all going to fit together."
Gard isn't set in a plan going forward, and in many ways this is what the non-conference is for: figuring it all out. Gard has a ton of options and would love to continue to see the players compete for those spots, playing time, and the ability to be trusted by the coaching staff.
There's also his go-to plan, which Wisconsin fans have seen for years: "We'll continue to work with everybody and ride the hot hand." Gard also mentions there will be the opportunity for some lineups to go small and slide down a bigger guard in the four-spot. So, there are clearly options and a lot for Gard to figure out going into this season.
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