BTO’s Wisconsin Postgame Report

[bleedingTNorange]

1. What a win, wire to wire lead, on the road against a fringe Top 25 team…those aren’t easy to get, especially early in the year and that is really going to pay dividends come March imo, that should look really good on the resume. Have to think playing that exhibition at Michigan State probably helped the guys a bit in this one.

2. Dalton Knecht continues to really impress, so far he has been the exact player we all were hoping he would be and Barnes appears to see it as well, and even though he’s not the best defender in the world Barnes realizing he has to be on the court is nice to see. Since the Grant/Admiral years it’s felt like we haven’t had someone you can go to late when you need a bucket, we just went straight ISO with him a few times late and got everyone out of his way and let him work, that’s a nice luxury to have.

3. We got our first glimpse of what the rotation is likely gonna look like, no real huge surprises except for Dilione, he appears to likely be the 9th or 10th man and that’s not what anyone expected coming into the year. Not a knock on him, if anything it’s a testament to just how deep and talented this team is, especially on the perimeter.

4. Won’t draw any final conclusions 2 games in, but given the exhibitions overseas, the exhibitions on the schedule and now 2 games that count, this offense appears to be legit. We are now up to #21 offensively on KenPom after starting the year at 33 iirc. This is also without Vescovi having hit a 3 yet this year, which is definitely not something I expected to see. We do need to get him going to reach our ceiling, I’m sure it’s an adjustment for him with Knecht & Gainey getting a lot of looks, but to his credit he doesn’t seem the least bit bothered, just need him to find that niche and some aggression, he starts hitting a few 3’s a game and this offense looks even more lethal.

5. Knecht is getting lots of love, and absolutely deserving, but JJJ is off to a phenomenal start to the year and I hope on everything it continues for him. He’s fully bought into his role and he’s excelling at it right now, he had another super efficient night last night, and as always was a great defender for us and did all of the little things. Obviously small sample size but 2 games in and he’s averaging 13 & 7 while only taking 7.5 shots a game, he’s been REALLY good in his new role.

6. This was one of those toss up games early, you win it and getting to 23+ wins gets easier, you lose it and getting there isn’t impossible but the margin for era is definitely thinner. Great road win which again will look great come March, we come home for what should be a pretty easy game against Wofford and then off to Maui where we should get another great look at what this team can do as they should get a couple of great opponents.



GBO!!!

 

[Orangeblooded615]

Lots of fouls but very encouraging start. Get ZZ and Santi goin on Offense and keep the turnovers down, we got a squad.

 

[cncchris33]

The JJJ haters certainly are noticeably absent.

I am surprised at how bad of a defender Dilione is, and I think that is likely what is keeping him off the floor along with a lack of experience relative to the guys playing ahead of him. His guy gets past him way too much and he likes to gamble on defense. Barnes isn't going to go for that.

 

[StoneokeyVol]

I don't know about y'all but our team is pretty damn good.

 

[Lukusw]

Also, big shout out to Aidoo's interior defense and defensive adjustments.

Aidoo altered multiple shots

Barnes put James on Hall (sp?) #5 who was cooking inside for WI, and that plus tired legs shut him down the last 5 minutes. We also made adjustments defending Storr in the second half and it showed.

And can I say Barnes played our depth beautifully? WI was exhausted with no legs by the end. I'll be interested to see if that effect comes into play in a tourney environment like Maui

 

[Sudden Impact]

The JJJ haters certainly are noticeably absent.

I am surprised at how bad of a defender Dilione is, and I think that is likely what is keeping him off the floor along with a lack of experience relative to the guys playing ahead of him. His guy gets past him way too much and he likes to gamble on defense. Barnes isn't going to go for that.

Barnes can fix it.

How many seconds have we trailed this year in exhibitions and season play?

 

[omghulkhands]

Also, big shout out to Aidoo's interior defense and defensive adjustments.

Aidoo altered multiple shots

Barnes put James on Hall (sp?) #5 who was cooking inside for WI, and that plus tired legs shut him down the last 5 minutes. We also made adjustments defending Storr in the second half and it showed.

And can I say Barnes played our depth beautifully? WI was exhausted with no legs by the end. I'll be interested to see if that effect comes into play in a tourney environment like Maui

Yes! Aidoo has been playing winning basketball.

 

[yoyoyoyo]

ZZ is probably 75% health wise and Vesco is coming back after being gone for 2 weeks with his family situation. This team operated offensively at a C level compared to their potential. Great win and only scratching the surface of what they can be offensively once everything gets rolling.

Unlike Barnes teams normally, this one should continue to improve as the season progresses. Should be an exciting ride.

 

[VolunteerVandiver]

Great collection of talent at every level, and the depth on this team is insane. That was a Q1 win on the road against a very underrated team. This team could be special

 

[Stoked]

Aidoo has been a huge (literally) surprise to me this year! So glad to see Uros out and Aidoo getting all of his minutes.

Jordan Gainey… I owe you an apology I wasn’t really familiar with your game (Shaq voice)… I knew he could shoot the ball but wasn’t really expecting him to have that dog in him as well and be able to drive the ball to the rim like that!

ZZ
Gainey
DK
JJJ
Aidoo

Is a lineup I’m super looking forward to once ZZ gets settled in. That’s a lot of speed and athleticism and 3 point shooting.

 

[Batman1948]

1. What a win, wire to wire lead, on the road against a fringe Top 25 team…those aren’t easy to get, especially early in the year and that is really going to pay dividends come March imo, that should look really good on the resume. Have to think playing that exhibition at Michigan State probably helped the guys a bit in this one.

2. Dalton Knecht continues to really impress, so far he has been the exact player we all were hoping he would be and Barnes appears to see it as well, and even though he’s not the best defender in the world Barnes realizing he has to be on the court is nice to see. Since the Grant/Admiral years it’s felt like we haven’t had someone you can go to late when you need a bucket, we just went straight ISO with him a few times late and got everyone out of his way and let him work, that’s a nice luxury to have.

3. We got our first glimpse of what the rotation is likely gonna look like, no real huge surprises except for Dilione, he appears to likely be the 9th or 10th man and that’s not what anyone expected coming into the year. Not a knock on him, if anything it’s a testament to just how deep and talented this team is, especially on the perimeter.

4. Won’t draw any final conclusions 2 games in, but given the exhibitions overseas, the exhibitions on the schedule and now 2 games that count, this offense appears to be legit. We are now up to #21 offensively on KenPom after starting the year at 33 iirc. This is also without Vescovi having hit a 3 yet this year, which is definitely not something I expected to see. We do need to get him going to reach our ceiling, I’m sure it’s an adjustment for him with Knecht & Gainey getting a lot of looks, but to his credit he doesn’t seem the least bit bothered, just need him to find that niche and some aggression, he starts hitting a few 3’s a game and this offense looks even more lethal.

5. Knecht is getting lots of love, and absolutely deserving, but JJJ is off to a phenomenal start to the year and I hope on everything it continues for him. He’s fully bought into his role and he’s excelling at it right now, he had another super efficient night last night, and as always was a great defender for us and did all of the little things. Obviously small sample size but 2 games in and he’s averaging 13 & 7 while only taking 7.5 shots a game, he’s been REALLY good in his new role.

6. This was one of those toss up games early, you win it and getting to 23+ wins gets easier, you lose it and getting there isn’t impossible but the margin for era is definitely thinner. Great road win which again will look great come March, we come home for what should be a pretty easy game against Wofford and then off to Maui where we should get another great look at what this team can do as they should get a couple of great opponents.



GBO!!!

Of the couple of games that I've watched, Dilione seems to play out of control and when he does that, it's a turnover just waiting to happen. Maybe the game will come to him, and he starts playing under control. He has tons of talent and is a great athlete.

 

[Col_Cathcart]

Aidoo has been a huge (literally) surprise to me this year! So glad to see Uros out and Aidoo getting all of his minutes.

Jordan Gainey… I owe you an apology I wasn’t really familiar with your game (Shaq voice)… I knew he could shoot the ball but wasn’t really expecting him to have that dog in him as well and be able to drive the ball to the rim like that!

ZZ
Gainey
DK
JJJ
Aidoo

Is a lineup I’m super looking forward to once ZZ gets settled in. That’s a lot of speed and athleticism and 3 point shooting.

And no Vescovi in that lineup either. It’s crazy depth when you can omit a 2 time all sec player from a lineup you’re excited about

 

[screenthis]

Interesting that Cade Phillips played and JP Estrella did not.

 

[Stoerner Fumbles]

The JJJ haters certainly are noticeably absent.

I am surprised at how bad of a defender Dilione is, and I think that is likely what is keeping him off the floor along with a lack of experience relative to the guys playing ahead of him. His guy gets past him way too much and he likes to gamble on defense. Barnes isn't going to go for that.

My last season defense of banged up Phillips gives me an orange glasses credibility ding, but Dillione has missed a decent amount of practice from injuries. He’s definitely better than what we’ve seen. I winced a few times yesterday when he went for steals or bit on fakes. Minutes are going to be tough for anybody not in the first six. Those minutes will be very scarce if he gambles like he did yesterday. Hopefully he’ll keep his confidence and keep growing. He’s a better player than what we’ve seen in the last couple of games, but he’ll sit more if he can’t play his role.

 

[therickbol]

Interesting that Cade Phillips played and JP Estrella did not.

Not really. What Estrella brings to the table is a little redundant with our current roster. Estrella was always a more developmental, high ceiling recruit. Phillips gives this team some things that they don't have a ton of. High energy, toughness defender that can switch and hedge with his athleticism. And he rebounds relentlessly which we don't have much of outside of Awaka.

 

[LibertyVolance]

Knecht and Gainey were great complements to the offense. The scoring lapses that they would find themselves in are not happening much now. Knecht can make things happen in a variety of ways and will attack the basket when he sees an opening. The energy those two guys have added was needed and is noticeable.

 

[MinisterofDef#92]

Well...if you had only told me we shot 29% from 3 and the other team scored 70 then "gun to my head" I would say we lost. Fortunately, we had 5 players (minimum 3 shots) shoot 60% or more from 2-pt range (DK, JJJ, SV, JA, TA). I understand it's just 1 game so we will have to see if this is a 1-off or not but this is EXACTLY what we hoped to have happen which is a team that can still score when the 3 isn't falling and especially on the road against a tough team. Oh, shooting 83% from the line on 23 attempts really helps as well.

Knecht and Gainey continue to show they more than belong at this level. JJJ is coming out of the gate hot which I am sure is a direct result of the first time in his career he has fully participated in all summer and fall activities which the announcers called out against TTU. Not worried about Santi at all.

Nice to see Jonas efficiently score 10 while grabbing 7 boards and throwing in a couple of blocks. Noticed the box score shows Tobe only played 12 min (6 pts, 6 reb) - was he still not fully recovered from being sick earlier in the week?

GBO

 

[TheMookieMonster]

It was such an impressive win. To score 8 without hitting a single 3 in the 2nd half speaks to how diverse our scoring ability has become. We are no longer a one-dimensional offense. We can score in so many different ways. The perimeter shooting will come along I’m sure.

I can’t remember the last time Barnes had a guy he allowed to just ISO late in the game and takeover. Seeing our entire team get out of the way and let Dalton work those final 2 minutes last night was so refreshing. Can’t wait to watch Knecht grow, too. He hasn’t played much high-level competition in his career. Once he starts hitting outside shots more consistently his game is going to be lethal. Going to go ahead and make a prediction now, we see Dalton score 40 in a game this year. He’s a first round talent.

I’m so pleased with how JJJ is playing. An under-appreciated role right now. He had a quiet 14 last night and took over the game in a key 2 minute stretch in the 2nd half. If he can stay healthy, a big if, he’s going to be so good for us.

And Aidoo? Man, he looks great. It’s SO nice having a big that looks to slam it inside 2 feet instead of trying to lay it in.

Obviously, ZZ and Santi are struggling. But that is understandable. I don’t imagine those two will shoot this poorly all year. When they finally figure things out, this offense is going to be lethal.

I put this in another thread but I’ll just close by saying, we only scored 80+ in 9 total games last year. We have now scored 80 in our first two games….

 

[VolArmy74]

Nice to see Jonas efficiently score 10 while grabbing 7 boards and throwing in a couple of blocks. Noticed the box score shows Tobe only played 12 min (6 pts, 6 reb) - was he still not fully recovered from being sick earlier in the week?

Awaka got in early foul trouble with two fast ones.

 

[AirForceVol74]

I watched the couple of minutes Dillione played and his defense is awful. IMO until he figures that out he won't see the floor much. I think team has enough weapons that even though he is talented offensively, they don't need him out there with his defense being a liability.

 

[aaronvol]

1. What a win, wire to wire lead, on the road against a fringe Top 25 team…those aren’t easy to get, especially early in the year and that is really going to pay dividends come March imo, that should look really good on the resume. Have to think playing that exhibition at Michigan State probably helped the guys a bit in this one.

2. Dalton Knecht continues to really impress, so far he has been the exact player we all were hoping he would be and Barnes appears to see it as well, and even though he’s not the best defender in the world Barnes realizing he has to be on the court is nice to see. Since the Grant/Admiral years it’s felt like we haven’t had someone you can go to late when you need a bucket, we just went straight ISO with him a few times late and got everyone out of his way and let him work, that’s a nice luxury to have.

3. We got our first glimpse of what the rotation is likely gonna look like, no real huge surprises except for Dilione, he appears to likely be the 9th or 10th man and that’s not what anyone expected coming into the year. Not a knock on him, if anything it’s a testament to just how deep and talented this team is, especially on the perimeter.

4. Won’t draw any final conclusions 2 games in, but given the exhibitions overseas, the exhibitions on the schedule and now 2 games that count, this offense appears to be legit. We are now up to #21 offensively on KenPom after starting the year at 33 iirc. This is also without Vescovi having hit a 3 yet this year, which is definitely not something I expected to see. We do need to get him going to reach our ceiling, I’m sure it’s an adjustment for him with Knecht & Gainey getting a lot of looks, but to his credit he doesn’t seem the least bit bothered, just need him to find that niche and some aggression, he starts hitting a few 3’s a game and this offense looks even more lethal.

5. Knecht is getting lots of love, and absolutely deserving, but JJJ is off to a phenomenal start to the year and I hope on everything it continues for him. He’s fully bought into his role and he’s excelling at it right now, he had another super efficient night last night, and as always was a great defender for us and did all of the little things. Obviously small sample size but 2 games in and he’s averaging 13 & 7 while only taking 7.5 shots a game, he’s been REALLY good in his new role.

6. This was one of those toss up games early, you win it and getting to 23+ wins gets easier, you lose it and getting there isn’t impossible but the margin for era is definitely thinner. Great road win which again will look great come March, we come home for what should be a pretty easy game against Wofford and then off to Maui where we should get another great look at what this team can do as they should get a couple of great opponents.



GBO!!!

Vescovi will get a good share of 3s. Once everyone focuses in on knecht and Gainey, as they should, vescovi will have less pressure and more open looks.

 

[cncchris33]

My last season defense of banged up Phillips gives me an orange glasses credibility ding, but Dillione has missed a decent amount of practice from injuries. He’s definitely better than what we’ve seen. I winced a few times yesterday when he went for steals or bit on fakes. Minutes are going to be tough for anybody not in the first six. Those minutes will be very scarce if he gambles like he did yesterday. Hopefully he’ll keep his confidence and keep growing. He’s a better player than what we’ve seen in the last couple of games, but he’ll sit more if he can’t play his role.

Absolutely agree. I know he's better than what we've seen, especially offensively. I think he knows minutes are scarce and he's pressing to make something happen in his limited time. That is simply youthful exuberance. He will have to learn that Barnes is more concerned about him fitting into the role he's being asked to play and less about the splash play that shows up in the postgame highlights. The gambling on defense won't be tolerated for too long.

 

[cncchris33]

Not really. What Estrella brings to the table is a little redundant with our current roster. Estrella was always a more developmental, high ceiling recruit. Phillips gives this team some things that they don't have a ton of. High energy, toughness defender that can switch and hedge with his athleticism. And he rebounds relentlessly which we don't have much of outside of Awaka.

Estrella also missed time with the broken finger, so he's not seen as much court time in addition to things you mentioned.

Phillips has a tinge of Fulkerson to his game. A really good athlete in a big body.

 

[cncchris33]

I watched the couple of minutes Dillione played and his defense is awful. IMO until he figures that out he won't see the floor much. I think team has enough weapons that even though he is talented offensively, they don't need him out there with his defense being a liability.

"Awful" may be harsh, but it may be accurate, too. His defense is very undisciplined, that's for sure, and perhaps not terribly surprising for a freshman. However, he enrolled in January and has spent 10 months in this system. I'm just surprised it was never mentioned as an issue, before. Maybe it was and I missed it.

 

[Chemvol]

2. Dalton Knecht continues to really impress, so far he has been the exact player we all were hoping he would be and Barnes appears to see it as well, and even though he’s not the best defender in the world Barnes realizing he has to be on the court is nice to see. Since the Grant/Admiral years it’s felt like we haven’t had someone you can go to late when you need a bucket, we just went straight ISO with him a few times late and got everyone out of his way and let him work, that’s a nice luxury to have.