SPORTS
Wisconsin wins despite slower night for Tucker
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Also by Dave McGrath:
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by Dave McGrath
Monday, November 28, 2005
By the time the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team had finished its 29-4 run by the second half of play to bury the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, it was abundantly clear that this team isn't the "Alando Tucker and friends" show that many have made it out to be.
Instead, it was yet another incarnation of the complete-team effort Wisconsin fans have become accustomed to.
On a night where the much-ballyhooed Tucker scored just five points and took only one shot, the Badgers still rolled to a 38-point victory, with almost every player on the team contributing points.
Though Tucker is undoubtedly Wisconsin's biggest offensive threat, most dynamic player and the go-to guy on any given night, how well the team can perform when its star is having an off-game will be one of the key factors in how successful UW will be this season. If Saturday's game is any indication, UW should be fine.
Tucker, a pre-season all-conference selection and candidate on the Wooden Award watch-list, didn't have a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, despite only putting up five points. The junior forward made the only shot he attempted and provided three assists, two rebounds and a steal in 24 minutes of play.
"He was getting a lot of attention and some teams are going to do that to him — probably a lot of teams. But there were guys that were open," Ryan said. "He didn't have to shoot a lot, other guys were open. There are guys out there who think about awards and how to impress people and things like that. He's just going to play and do what's best for the team and I don't even have to say anything."
One shot was all the star needed to take, as Wisconsin showed the kind of offensive team chemistry that has become the signature of the Bo Ryan era. The Badgers turned the ball over only 11 times, while dishing out 23 assists.
As Coastal Carolina tried to keep Wisconsin out of rhythm, changing defenses seemingly every time down the floor, the Badgers were able to calmly swing the ball around the perimeter and into the post for open shots. Thus Tucker, his creativity, and his playmaking skills weren't necessary, at least not on this night.
"He didn't force anything, but when you are getting the kind of shots we were getting … there was no reason to force anything," Ryan said.
An interesting side note that bodes well for Wisconsin should Tucker have more quiet games like Saturday's: the Badgers are 15-1 all-time when Tucker scores fewer than 10 points. The only loss came against Illinois last year in the Big Ten tournament championship game, when Tucker was held to nine points.
Williams gets quality minutes
Redshirt freshman guard DeAaron Williams played a career-high 15 minutes Saturday and made his presence felt, scoring eight points on 4-of-8 shooting while chipping in six boards. Williams was very active and drew the crowd's applause on several occasions, most notably when the former Illinois slam-dunk champion took to the sky to convert an alley-oop from Michael Flowers in the first-half.
"Over the years I've been fortunate to have guys who just try to make the most of the minutes that they do get," Ryan said. "DeAaron just wants to play. He is going to try and take advantage of the minutes he does get, to try and get more minutes."
