This season, the I-94 rivalry went to Wisconsin, and it wasn't even close as the Badgers beat Marquette by 20 points. The star of the game was easily John Blackwell, who scored a game-high 30 points and was making shots from every level of the floor. After the game, Marquette's head coach, Shaka Smart, heaped praise on John Blackwell and his game.
Smart said, "Blackwell is a special player. I've coached a couple of guys the last few years who are now in the NBA, and he's that good."
Blackwell tested the NBA waters after his sophomore campaign last year, and the NBA scouts gave him the necessary feedback to come back to college and work on a few things to be ready for this year's NBA Draft. So far, that plan seems to be working. In the last three games, Blackwell has scored 30, 26, and 30. All against power conference opponents in TCU, Northwestern, and Marquette.
Powered by the scoring effort of John Blackwell, Wisconsin buried Marquette
Related: 3 key observations from the Wisconsin beatdown of Marquette
He seems to have found another gear in the last week, and he's clearly comfortable taking the main character role for the Badgers. That spot was often filled by John Tonje, who's now in the G-League for the Utah Jazz. Blackwell can play the back seat if another player is taking the spotlight, like Nick Boyd, but he's been the hot hand of late.
Smart has recognized this about Blackwell's game and sees him headed to the NBA shortly. It's high praise coming from a coach that truly has seen a lot of NBA talent come through his rosters at VCU, Texas, and Marquette. It's also big for Blackwell to pick up that praise from a rival. Yet, his talent is hard to miss, and Blackwell continues to shine.
He recently passed 1,000 points in scoring, and he's been named to the Naismith Player of the Year watchlist.