Two is always better than one. Whether it be mints or Oreo stuffing, having doubles is always better than singles. The same goes with guards on a basketball team.

This year, the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team not only features a pair of experienced guards in Jason Bohannon and Trevon Hughes but also a pair of freshmen guards in Jordan Taylor and Rob Wilson.

Coming in tandems has a lot of benefits, too. Both Hughes and Bohannon came in as freshmen during the same year. As they became familiar with the offense, they were able to learn from the pair of guards who started before them — Kammron Taylor and Michael Flowers.

“That is a good thing to have when you come in as a tandem,” Bohannon said. “When me and Trevon came in, we learned from Kam and Mike. That was a great two guards to learn from and, hopefully, Jordan and Rob are doing the same thing and learning from me and Trevon. So, we are trying to do what we can and try to bring them along as quickly as we can as well.”

When Jordan Taylor was in high school, the 2007 Minnesota Mr. Basketball was also part of another scoring tandem. At Benilde-St. Margaret High School, he and current Tulsa freshman Armond Battle led their team to the Minnesota Class AAA title in 2008. Taylor believes playing in tandem has helped him throughout his career.

“Ever since I was in seventh or eighth grade — or even back to fourth grade — I played with my best friend as a tandem,” Taylor said. “I like it because it’s always great to have another guy who can play well and play alongside you and keep the pressure off.”

While Taylor came from the Twin Cities, Wilson is from Cleveland, where he was named to The Associated Press All-Ohio team as well as earned conference MVP honors. Although he did not have a perennial wingman like Taylor did, Wilson believes he and his teammate in the backcourt are becoming more acquainted with college play.

“There are a lot of things I started learning once I got here, like playing in the post,” Wilson said. “[The players] are bigger and faster, and there are moves that our coaches teach us that always work.”

Both Taylor and Wilson began seeing more time off the bench since the beginning of the year. After the loss against Purdue, Taylor is averaging 10.6 minutes per game and Wilson is averaging 8.3, the two-highest among freshmen.

Even though he is no longer playing with his childhood teammate, Taylor believes his relationship with Wilson and the rest of his teammates act as the wingman he had as a prep star.

“It takes pressure off of you; you know you can trust them,” Taylor said. “Not just Rob, but all the great teammates we have and all the great players we have here. Even if it is not a specific tandem, hooking up with one guy, knowing they can take some of the pressure off of you.”

While they are not playing many minutes, Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan has continued to show a growing confidence in the duo, especially in times when you would expect a more experienced player to come in. For example, when Penn State guard Stanley Pringle went on a hot streak in the second half, Ryan trusted Taylor to try to cool him down while also giving Hughes a rest.

Although Pringle stayed hot, scoring 26 points and almost bringing Penn State back to beat the Badgers, it was important for the coaching staff to see the freshman keep cool in a pressure situation.

“Pringle got away a little bit,” Taylor said. “He got hot, and I made some mistakes defensively, but, like I said, all the coaches told me I need to learn from my mistakes and just do what I can out there. I take pride in trying to shut guys down, but obviously it didn’t work too well because he was hot. But, there are some things I could have done better and next time he hopefully won’t go off like that.”

Wilson has also shown confidence in tough situations. Against Connecticut during the Paradise Jam Tournament early this season, he took the ball to the hoop against Husky center Hasheem Thabeet, who, at 7-foot-3, averages 3.6 blocks per game. Even though he drew the foul, he had the confidence to drive the lane few of his teammates had.

“My confidence, I would say, hasn’t gotten better, but it has always been there,” Wilson said. “It is just something that I knew what to do.”

Part of the duo’s growth is due to its growing confidence in the swing offense and not having to be the go-to unit they were during their high school days. While they still need to be able to make plays like they did as prep stars, there are different intricacies in the offense, which can only come with experience.

“A lot of it is being able to work without the ball and when they have the ball, they need to be able to make the right read,” Bohannon said. “So, they need to be able to look at the post and be able to make reads off the post.”

While the duo still has a lot to do to have the impact the tandems of Taylor-Flowers and Hughes-Bohannon have had, they are well on their way. As they continue to learn the offense and become more comfortable with what the coaching staff expects of them, they are sure to make a large impact during the conference season and into tournament play.

“Me and Trevon came from two different areas, too,” Bohannon said. “We roomed together and really hit it off great. Same with them; they are always together and always around each other and know each other both on and off that court. That is a great duo to have.”