Wisconsin Basketball Guard Named Freshman of the Week For Third Time

Greg Gard and the Wisconsin Badgers basketball team are red-hot, emerging as the Big Ten’s team to beat following their thrilling 6-1 start to conference play.

While the Badgers find themselves in terrific form right now, the future is seemingly even brighter. For the third time this season, guard John Blackwell was named “Big Ten Freshman of the Week” — a rare feat that Badger fans haven’t witnessed since the 2015-16 campaign.

John Blackwell has been named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the third time this season! 👏 pic.twitter.com/kQmEycuwKv

— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) January 22, 2024

Wisconsin Basketball Guard John Blackwell Earns 3rd Freshman of the Week Honor

Blackwell, averaging 9.1 points and 3.6 rebounds in his inaugural collegiate season, has played an immense role off the bench for Wisconsin this year. Last week, the Highland Park, Michigan native notched 12 points against Penn State and 14 against Indiana en route to his conference recognition.

The 6’4″ freshman is also shooting an impressive 51.5% from beyond the arc while looking even better from mid-range. Contrary to most preseason predictions, Blackwell has been Wisconsin’s most impressive freshman, and would start on almost any other Big Ten team. With 13 games remaining in the regular season, it’s hard to imagine that this is the last time Blackwell will earn conference honors.

Gard’s squad is set to face Minnesota on the road and Michigan State at the Kohl Center this week. In their first matchup with Tom Izzo’s Spartans in December, Blackwell finished with 10 points and four rebounds, leaving the legendary coach sincerely impressed with the freshman’s abilities in his post-game presser.

With a potential spot in the nation’s top 10 on the line, expect Blackwell to provide valuable, sixth-man minutes for the Badgers as they take on two of their biggest conference rivals.

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