Written by Mike Abelson at Bloguin
Another season of college basketball is underway, and while football is still center stage, the November slate of hoops is always fun with endless enticing non-conference matchups. The 2K Classic at Madison Square Garden brought Duke, Wisconsin, Georgetown, and VCU to Manhattan, and they played four action-packed games that entertained the thousands. A lot happened, a lot was learned, and a lot of questions were brought up. Let’s chomp into this one and try to make sense of it all.
1. Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig need consistent help
Hayes and Koenig played major roles in Wisconsin’s run to the national title game last year. Now they are the veteran leaders on a team with eight new players. The dynamic is totally different, and at times they did too much on the floor. Yes, the Badgers did beat VCU in the consolation game, but points were a chore to come by for large chunks of both games, especially in the Friday loss to Georgetown.
It was a small moment, but something that stood out was a play in the second half against VCU. Hayes got the ball in the middle of the paint with an open teammate on each block. Instead of dishing for an easy two he tried for a quick drive and layup. In that moment two VCU defenders closed in, hassled the shot, got the rebound, took it the other way, and drew a foul. The Rams scored both the shots so Hayes’ play ended in a four-point swing in VCU’s favor. It wasn’t selfish at all. It just looked like Hayes didn’t trust his teammates yet. That will have to change in a big way going forward for the Badgers to succeed.
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