The Wisconsin Badgers are on a heater right now, winning three straight and two against top-10 opponents. Many are pointing to the resurgence of Austin Rapp as part of the catalyst for this stretch. Becoming the guy that many thought he would be coming to Wisconsin. The Ryan and Bucky Podcast has even said he's now the most important player off the bench.
Is this imagined because he's had some big point totals over the last few games, or has he actually turned a corner? Because he's had big point totals before, but still was mostly figuring out his role. Has he truly turned a corner? What do the stats say?
1. Austin Rapp's minutes are back up
Greg Gard started the season with Rapp in the starting lineup, and the forward was playing north of 20 minutes every single game. Then he was sent to the doghouse to figure things out after the Purdue game. He was then lucky to find the upper teens in minutes. Rutgers, he played 10 minutes, Penn State 17, USC 14, and Minnesota 15.
In the last three games, Greg Gard seems to trust him again. He's been north of 20 in all three games: 20, 31, 23, respectively. This is a good sign that Gard thinks he's turned a corner. It's not that injuries have helped expand his role; he just is trusted again.
2. Austin Rapp's stats are trending up
Rapp on the season up until a few games ago was averaging around nine points a game with not much else on the scorecard. He'd get a few rebounds in each game, but wasn't impressing anyone there.
Over the last three games, he's averaging nearly 15 points a game. He's also averaging around five rebounds in the same span. That's not remarkable, but it's up. The real hit is that he's at 33% from behind the arc over the course of the season. The last three games? He's over 50% from three. That's an impressive jump.
Now, it could just be a hot stretch for Rapp, and maybe he hasn't turned the corner, but the first stat is the most important to see if he's actually turned the corner; the coaches think he has.