Greg Gard says the Wisconsin depth is so good it's hard to figure out who will play

The starting five for the Wisconsin Badgers is easy to figure out this year; it's the depth behind those five that remains a bit of a mystery. With Nick Boyd, John Blackwell, Andrew Rohde, Austin Rapp, and Nolan Winter getting the start, the players behind are important, but the rotation is unknown. Head coach Greg Gard says the depth is so good that there are 12 players pushing to be in the rotation, but he only wants 10.

The interesting nugget is that there are only 13 scholarship players. Which means basically every scholarship player figures to compete for minutes. Gard wants to narrow it down to 10. He will use the exhibitions to narrow it down.

Wisconsin basketball may have more depth than fans initially assumed

Related: Depth behind Nolan Winter and Austin Rapp is unknown but one name rises to the top

Let's see if we can work this out. The guard depth behind Boyd, Blackwell, and Rohde has to be focused around Jack Janicki and Braeden Carrington. Then you think maybe true freshmen Zach Kinziger and Hayden Jones will fight for one of those last rotational spots.

For the forwards/centers after Winter and Rapp, Gard says he likes all of Elijah Gray, Riccardo Greppi, and even both true freshmen Will Garlock and Aleksas Bieliauskas. However, this is 13 players, and he mentioned only 12. The assumption then is that he has one player in mind to redshirt.

It makes sense that it would be Garlock or Bieliauskas from a by-the-numbers standpoint, but he gushed about each of them recently and their readiness to play this season. Maybe then it's Zach or Hayden? However, that would make the guards a bit thin, yet it makes more sense.

The Red-White scrimmage on Sunday will reveal a bit more about what this team's rotation will look like in the upcoming season. The exhibitions even more so. The excitement for basketball is real.