Granted, tonight’s exhibition matchup between the Badger men’s basketball team and the Division II Rangers of UW-Parkside doesn’t have much tangible meaning.
There are no Big Ten consequences, no in-state rivalries, grudges or prizes at stake; in fact, the two teams have never met before — such an interdivisional contest wasn’t even allowed until Bo Ryan lobbied the NCAA to change its rules this season.
If the Badgers don’t win, they don’t win. They won’t slip in national polls or in the Big Ten standings or even in self-respect.
“It certainly wouldn’t be the end of the world,” said head coach Bo Ryan. “What it might be for some teams is a wake-up call about certain things, and if [Division II schools] are coming in and knocking teams like us off, we better figure out what it is they did and how to counter that.”
But, while the end may not matter much, for those who follow Badger hoops, there’s still plenty of reason to take interest in the means. Many of the storylines that will pervade the Badgers’ 2004-05 season may be determined by the time they trot off the court tonight.
The opening left in the UW backcourt in the wake of Devin Harris’ departure to the professional ranks will be the first order of business.
“We’re not sure [who will start] yet,” Ryan said Tuesday. “Anybody in a uniform will be on the floor. I don’t know about minutes or anything else tomorrow.”
Those likely to see the majority of the time at the opening include sophomore Kammron Taylor, senior Sharif Chambliss and true freshman Michael Flowers.
Taylor figures to get the first shot at the job. Though he never played more than seven minutes as a deep backup behind Harris and Boo Wade last season, Taylor has looked solid in practices and is the only player with any real amount of experience with Ryan’s system.
Chambliss is another option. Though he is a two-guard by trade, the former Penn State star may have enough ball-handling skills and the right shooting touch to play the point with a style similar to Harris’. If he were to move from shooting guard, it would also open up a spot in the starting rotation for senior guard Clayton Hanson, who had a terrific summer playing internationally.
Michael Flowers may offer the Badgers the most intriguing option. A graduate of Madison La Follette High School, Flowers has been the object of much speculation in the past week. Rumors had Flowers following in Brian Butch’s footsteps and taking a redshirt this season if he wasn’t going to see playing time.
Ryan has indicated that he doesn’t foresee Flowers taking this option. “Nothing has changed,” was the only comment he offered on the issue, but continued to say that redshirting Butch, Jason Chappell and Alondo Tucker in 2003-04 should be looked at as an exception and not the rule.
Regardless, if Flowers — or fellow freshmen Greg Stiemsma or DeAaron Williams — decide to play tonight, the option to redshirt is taken out of their hands.
Tonight’s game may also clear up the Wisconsin frontcourt jumble. With Mike Wilkinson, Alondo Tucker and Zach Morley figured to fill the three dominant roles as forwards during the regular season, there are at least five players that will be competing for spare minutes.
Andreas Helmigk, who started 15 games last season, and Ray Nixon, who averaged 11.1 minutes off the bench, are joined in the hunt by touted 6-foot-11 former McDonald’s All-American Butch, explosive wingman Williams, 6-foot-11 Stiemsma and 6-foot-10 Chappell.
Ryan says that the way his team clicks offensively will go a long way toward determining some of the question marks.
“[It’s important] to make game adjustments while the game’s going on,” Ryan said. “[We’re] looking to find out how we’re playing off one another offensively, off our screen, our cuts, our ball movement — if we see zone — what to recognize against the zone, what type of zone, if the team’s trapping, if they’re full-court pressing, if whatever.”
Regardless of who gets the minutes — and where — Ryan said he’s confident his team will come together enough to stick out a win
“I’ve never gone into a contest thinking anything other than you’re going to be successful,” Ryan said.
The matchup will pit Ryan against Luke Reigel, who Ryan coached at UW-Platteville.
“[Reigel was a] very hard worker, very good shooter, [but] probably one of the slowest athletes you’d ever want to see,” Ryan joked. “So what he did was he worked harder … [he’s a] very good coach, gets the kids to play hard.”
The Rangers couldn’t pick up a win in their first exhibition match of the season. Mainly predicated upon a horrific shooting performance (13 of 53 from the field and two of 20 from three-point range), Parkside was routed by Loyola University 66-42.
Junior forward Chuck Weslowski came up with the lone impressive performance for the Rangers, scoring 10 points, nabbing five boards and shooting 67 percent from the field.
