OT: Wisconsin's depth?

[mufan2003]

I have heard an analyst or two so far this year state that Wisconsin has great depth. While Wisconsin is a very good team, I don't see the "great depth." They are very good because their rotation of 7 players are very good. For example, in the championship game against Oklahoma (in which Kaminsky picked up 2 quick fouls), only 2 players on the bench played more than a minute (Dukan-33 and Koenig-18). Kentucky is a team with "great depth," 10 guys that play in the regular rotation. Wisconsin could very well win it all this year (hopefully not), but foul trouble could hurt them, especially to Kaminsky with no true backup center.

[Markedman]

I think what they meant was their top 7 are all very good...that they can survive against a good team even if 1 or 2 of their starters have off games or get in foul trouble liked happened against Georgetown and Oklahoma.

The thing that impresses me about the Badgers this year is they have great size and great skill.......Hayes has really improved.

Pretty impressive to be able to play Koenig and 4 guys 6'9 or taller at the same time.

[Nukem2]

I think what they meant was their top 7 are all very good...that they can survive against a good team even if 1 or 2 of their starters have off games or get in foul trouble liked happened against Georgetown and Oklahoma.

The thing that impresses me about the Badgers this year is they have great size and great skill.......Hayes has really improved.

Pretty impressive to be able to play Koenig and 4 guys 6'9 or taller at the same time.

That is a big team. Even Koenig has good size for a PG.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

Off the bench, Koenig, Dukan, Brown, and Showalter can all contribute. It's not Kentucky but Bo can go 9 deep.

[mufan2003]

I think the better word is "versatile," not "deep." The size and ability of their top 7 guys to play multiple positions makes them versatile. In tight games, Bo basically is playing 7 guys with Koenig and Dukan off the bench. Showalter and Brown are not very good, Brown is better and the 8th man, but MU is playing 8 guys right now. UW, IMO, is no more deep than most teams in college basketball.

[WarriorNich]

I wouldn't say the Badgers have great depth. They're two injuries away from having no bench. I would say they have no holes in their starting 5 and both Dukan and Koening are capable of stepping up on any given night. That's 7 players with very little drop off but there are clear tiers. Kaminsky is definitely their best player, Hayes and Dekker are the next tier with Traveon Jackson a half notch below them. Gasser is the glue guy but he's a good shooter capable of leading the team in scoring on any given night. Dukan and Koening are both capable of scoring double figures in a game but they lack the consistency of the top 3. Brown played a combined total of 5 minutes against Georgetown and Oklahoma. That tells me there is a drop off between Dukan and Brown. Showalter is the 4th guard but I see a big dropoff from Koening to him. Brown and Showalter are energy guys at best. Brown will be counted on to develop and contribute by next year. Not sure the same can be said about Showalter.

The Badger backcourt will be thin next year. Koening and Pritzl probably start but Jordan Hill, Riley Dearring and Showalter are all great unknowns. If Pritzl struggles as a frosh they could be in real trouble at G.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

My guess next year will be Koenig and Dearring starting. Dearring seems like an ideal Bo-type of player. Up front, most likely Hayes and Brown, though question will be if Dekker comes back and if they land Stone. With those two, Wisconsin could be fighting for a Big 10 title again and one of the better teams in the country. But if they aren't there, there will be a ton of questions. Probably still a top-half Big 10 team and NCAA bid, but that's about it.

Though don't we say that every year? GD Death, Taxes, and Bo Ryan

[TheSultan]

I wouldn't say the Badgers have great depth. They're two injuries away from having no bench. I would say they have no holes in their starting 5 and both Dukan and Koening are capable of stepping up on any given night. That's 7 players with very little drop off but there are clear tiers. Kaminsky is definitely their best player, Hayes and Dekker are the next tier with Traveon Jackson a half notch below them. Gasser is the glue guy but he's a good shooter capable of leading the team in scoring on any given night. Dukan and Koening are both capable of scoring double figures in a game but they lack the consistency of the top 3. Brown played a combined total of 5 minutes against Georgetown and Oklahoma. That tells me there is a drop off between Dukan and Brown. Showalter is the 4th guard but I see a big dropoff from Koening to him. Brown and Showalter are energy guys at best. Brown will be counted on to develop and contribute by next year. Not sure the same can be said about Showalter.

That really is no different from last year. UW went only seven deep...just substitute Brust for Dukan. However Dukan emerged for them real late in the year and gave them good minutes down the stretch. And remember how hurt we thought they would be losing Brusewitz and Bergeren?

My guess is that someone else will emerge this year. That isn't unique for UW either.

[DowntownSweeney]

Dukan and Gasser can only score if they are allowed to spot up and catch and shoot. Neither has any ability to score off the dribble.

GT really played UW close. Not much difference between GT and UW IMO, and GT is only the third or fourth best team in the BE.

Brown and showalter are clearly not as good as any of their top seven.

Next season UW will be replacing 4 big contributors, 5 if Dekker leaves, with players who have little to no experience in D1 college basketball. They will regress even if Dekker sticks around and they somehow land Stone.

Bottom line this is the best basketball team UW has ever had. Can they win it all? There are no NCAA tournament games in Wisconsin this season, so I am thinking no.

[IrwinFletcher]

I think some people here are underestimating UW for next year (again). They will have Koenig and Hayes to build around and if they get Stone, that is a very good core to build around. Worst case, they are a middle of the pack Big 10 team.