Wisconsin Basketball Defeats UW-SP: Here’s What Stood Out

On Wednesday night, Greg Gard and the Wisconsin Badgers basketball team welcomed head coach Kent Dernbach & his UW-Stevens Point program to the Kohl Center for its annual exhibition against a WIAC opponent. 

The Badgers walked away with a convincing 87-44 win over the Pointers, improving their record to a perfect 19-0 all-time against programs from the WIAC.

Here are a few things that stood out from the Wisconsin Badgers exhibition win over UW-SP. 

Wisconsin Basketball Makes a Change in the Starting Lineup

It’s just an exhibition contest, so you try to avoid overreacting to anything you just saw. That said, Greg Gard made a notable change in his starting lineup, slotting St. Johns transfer AJ Storr in as the starting small forward, keeping Max Klesmit at the shooting guard spot, and bringing Big Ten All-Freshman team standout Connor Essegian off the bench. 

While I’ll admit this is unexpected, I’m remiss if I didn’t mention that this specific combination has the potential to raise the Wisconsin basketball team’s ceiling. 

Storr led the Badgers with a team-high 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor and knocked down two threes. His athleticism will be a critical component of Wisconsin’s transition game — and defensively, he will match up better against most opposing teams’ more athletic wing players.

Keeping Klesmit as the starting two also makes a lot of sense because, defensively, he’s a much better player than Essegian and can still be an effective scoring option, even if it comes from a low-usage role. 

This brings me to my last point, which is that Essegian could win the Big Ten 6th Man of the Year award for the Wisconsin basketball program if this is the role he plays all season for the Badgers. 

Essegian finished the game with 11 points and connected on 3-of-9 three-point attempts while being an offensive spark-plug.

For his defensive limitations, there’s no denying that the Indiana native can light it up from beyond the arc and, as Coach Gard put it, “Isn’t bashful” when it comes to shooting. Essegian struggled down the stretch and wore down because of the heavy minutes he was asked to play. 

From downtown! @CEssegian

Stream on @BigTenPlus pic.twitter.com/UH8p0bGPjF

— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) November 2, 2023

Given the influx of depth to keep him fresh — and now having an even greener light to come into games and get buckets, Essegian could be heading for a breakout sophomore season — while providing the Badgers a much-needed scoring punch off the bench. 

Wisconsin Basketball Has Plenty of Options in the Rotation 

Last year, the kiss of death for the Wisconsin basketball team was it had little to no depth. But after returning 92% of its scoring from a year ago, having an offseason to improve physically, and adding a few new pieces, the Badgers are unequivocally in a better spot depth-wise. 

Connor Essegian, freshman forward Nolan Winter, and Carter Gilmore will be fixtures in the nightly rotation when the season begins. However, there are a handful of players who all have a case to see the floor, namely John Blackwell, Kamari McGee, and Markus Ilver, depending on matchups. Maybe even Isaac Lindsey if you’re in desperate need of another shooter.

The point is that Greg Gard will have his work cut out for him early in the season while he explores different lineup combinations. 

What a wonderful problem to have for the Wisconsin basketball team. 

Other Wisconsin Badgers Musings

I want to start by saying THIS is the role Chucky Hepburn was born to play: facilitator. Hepburn finished with 7 points, 6 assists (0 turnovers), and also chipped in a team-high 4 steals.

Hepburn was asked to shoulder a lot more of the scoring load a year ago than you’d probably prefer, but now the Wisconsin Badgers have a much better complement of talent around him to take that burden away. In turn, that allows for the slimmed-down Hepburn to push the pace, better control the game’s tempo, and get his teammates involved — which brings more cohesion to the Wisconsin basketball team as a whole.

10/10 would recommend, no notes.

***

Nolan Winter will be the Badgers next stud frontcourt player. He is an immediate boost to the frontcourt rotation and is further along physically than I would have anticipated at this point in his development.

A thing of beauty. Defense ➡️ Offense

Stream on @BigTenPlus pic.twitter.com/Vg6Cf8k0EQ

— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) November 2, 2023

The Minnesota native finished with 9 points & 9 rebounds while connecting on all four free throw attempts. His outside shooting will be a plus off the bench, and his ability to move well laterally on defense should allow him to play next to either Tyler Wahl or Steven Crowl.

***

Greg Gard foreshadowed it during his most recent media availability, but man, Markus Ilver did some really impressive things last night — and absolutely deserves an extended look.

Ilver finished the game with 7 points, 3 rebounds (2 offensive), 2 steals, and a block in 12 minutes off the bench. He looks much better physically, and even though it was a Division Three opponent, his confidence is noticeably growing.

AIR ILVER!! @ChuckyHepburn connects with @MarkusIlver

Stream on @BigTenPlus pic.twitter.com/vdupKWStjn

— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) November 2, 2023

Does anyone like to see themselves shoot more than Markus Ilver? No. But if he can hold up against opposing teams’ frontcourt players defensively, his shooting could be a nice shot in the arm for the bench this season.

***

The Wisconsin basketball team will officially open the season on Monday against Arkansas State at The Kohl Center.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to read our work at BadgerNotes.com. For more Wisconsin Badgers Athletics and Big Ten content, follow us on Twitter & Facebook. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. For feedback, questions, or to apply for a writing position, please email our Publisher @DillonGraff at Dillon.T.Graff@gmail.com. 

Also, be sure to check out our shop, subscribe to our newsletter, and the BadgerNotes After Dark podcast, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other streaming platforms. Because of your support, we have become one of the fastest-growing independent media outlets focused on giving a voice to the fans!