Wisconsin Basketball: Essegian’s Patience Will Pay Dividends

After his breakout freshman season, Connor Essegian was poised to be a huge part of the offense for the Wisconsin basketball team heading into the 2023-24 basketball season.

As a freshman, Essegian played in 35 games, starting 19. He averaged 27.4 minutes per game and 11.7 points per game while shooting almost 36 percent from three on over five attempts per game.

With his successful season, he was named to the Big Ten’s All-Freshmen team.

The hype around Essegian was palpable in Madison. The Wisconsin basketball team consistently went through scoring droughts over the previous seasons and many Wisconsin basketball fans thought Essegian was going to remedy that problem and that he was primed for a huge sophomore campaign.

Connor Essegian’s Second Wisconsin Basketball Season Derailed by Injury

Despite his success and 19 starts for the Wisconsin basketball team in 2022, Essegian started the season coming off the bench. The Badgers brought back just about every player from last season. Jordan Davis, whom Essegian replaced as a starter in 2022, transferred to Illinois State.

But the Badgers also made some more additions to the program, plucking AJ Storr (St. Johns) from the transfer portal and adding a three-man recruiting class that includes John Blackwell and Nolan Winter. Both Blackwell and Winter have gotten meaningful minutes as true freshmen.

Despite not starting, Essegian was one of the first players off the bench for the Badgers, giving the second unit some juice offensively.

In the Badgers’ first game of the season against Arkansas State, Essegian suffered a back injury while battling for a rebound.

Since his injury, things have not necessarily gone the way Essegian or Wisconsin fans had envisioned. While he was working his way back, the team started to rack up wins and played well together. Despite Essegian being cleared to play, he was played sparingly.

However, when Gard was asked about it, the Wisconsin basketball head coach was relatively transparent about it. A big part of it was his defense. With the team having more scoring options, players are going to have to provide more than just offense to get minutes.

From an outsider’s perspective, it was surprising that a player who was such a big part of the team last year was essentially benched.

Naturally, Wisconsin fans on social media went wild with assumptions. Without getting a ton of playing time, many people assumed Essegian was as good as gone, especially with the way the transfer portal is in college sports.

Essegian’s Attitude Could Buck the Transfer Trend

But credit to Essegian, he bounced back positively.

He didn’t even get a full minute in the Badgers’ previous game against Iowa. But in the Badgers’ next game against the 12-2 Nebraska Cornhuskers, he got into the game in the first half and made the most of it. He hit three shots from deep, totaling nine points in an explosive first half for Wisconsin that totaled 51 points.

The Badgers’ sharpshooter played 12 minutes and finished the game with 12 points, going 4-9 from the field and 4-7 from three. His 12 points are a season-high for him. His next-closest scoring output was six points against Western Illinois.

After the game, the BigTen Network’s Andy Katz caught up with Essegian. His comments don’t sound like a guy who is ready to quit on this program and transfer. He admits things have been challenging mentally, but no matter what he’s going to face it head on and do whatever the team needs him to do.

With the transfer portal as an option, it has to be easy for a player like Essegian to face some hard times in a program and just jump into the portal and go somewhere where he can get playing time more easily. You never know, maybe he will still transfer out after this year, but his comments here would lead you to believe otherwise. Hopefully, he is the type of player who bucks the trend of leaving when things get hard.

"Whatever the team needs, I'm here."

Connor Essegian joined @TheAndyKatz after his strong performance in @BadgerMBB's win over Nebraska: pic.twitter.com/MZYAMZ0npZ

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 6, 2024

Essegian’s Patience Will Pay Off for the Wisconsin Basketball Team

Essegian’s attitude and approach to the situation will only help the Wisconsin basketball team.

This team has more depth than it has in years. Having a guy like Essegian who can be the third or fourth guy off the bench and provide the shooting and offense that he does could make a huge difference for the Badgers in the long run. He can provide a jolt of offense if needed or be the go-to scorer for the second unit, helping the Badgers avoid those dreaded scoring droughts.

Right now, Tyler Wahl is the only member of the team slated to leave next year. If Storr continues to play the way he is he could very well leave early for the NBA. Should Storr leave, the door would be open for Essegian to get right back into the starting lineup, or at the very least, for more minutes.

If Essegian does stay with the Wisconsin basketball program, they are going to have a player who has faced a lot of adversity and he will be better because of it.

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