3 quick takeaways from Wisconsin’s Red-White scrimmage

The Wisconsin Badgers hosted their annual Red-White scrimmage on Sunday, as they split their team up into two teams and competed for two 20-minute halves.

Here is how the teams lined up, with the starters in bold.

White: Max Klesmit, John Tonje, Camren Hunter, Carter Gilmore, Nolan Winter, Chris Hodges, Isaac Gard, Daniel Freitag

Red: John Blackwell, Kamari McGee, Jack Janicki, Xavier Amos, Steven Crowl, Riccardo Greppi, Jack Robison, Markus Illver, Aidan Knopp

Here are three quick takeaways from Wisconsin’s Red-White scrimmage, where the White Team beat the Red Team 64-43.

Shot takers emerge

Wisconsin has a new-look team this year, with six new faces that could be a part of the rotation this year.

As the open practices have gone on, there have been some trends starting to unfold when it comes to the main shot-takers on the team, and that continued on Sunday in the Red-White scrimmage.

On the Red team, Blackwell was one of the clear leaders on offense, as he looked to find his spots with the midrange, taking on more of an on-ball approach as a ball-handler.

He led all players with 13 points on 6/13 shooting, hitting 1/2 of his threes, which came dribbling off a screen into the shot with the clock winding down to end the first half.

Blackwell also led the Red team with four assists, while mainly taking midrange jumpers and driving to the basket in a productive day for the sophomore guard.

Steven Crowl had his shots as well, scoring 10 points on 5/9 shooting, while missing his lone three. Crowl got a lot of touches in the paint as a focal part of the offense, and had a solid enough day, rolling well on a couple of plays to get open buckets at the rim. He also had three assists, which included a nice pass to a cutting Blackwell for a layup early in the first half.

Interestingly, Kamari McGee took 12 shots on the day, scoring 11 points while being more aggressive in hunting his opportunities attacking the rim. McGee really started to settle in during the second half, having a tough double-clutch layup and a catch-and-shoot three. He’s been the most steady point guard thus far, and would be the top player on the depth chart as of now.

On the White team side, Max Klesmit was clearly looking to hunt his shot, taking 15 shots on the day, while scoring 10 points on 3/15 from the field. Klesmit was really looking for his threes, both on and off-the-ball, but didn’t connect at a high rate, shooting 2/9 from deep.

While the senior guard had a few forced shots, Klesmit was taking good looks for the most part, and has been hot in practice over the past few weeks, so the efficiency shouldn’t be too much of a concern. Still, it’s clear that he’ll take a bigger role this year, potentially seeing more on-ball chances leading the offense.

The Newcomers

Much of the attention was on the newcomers on Sunday, as it was the first look for the public on the six new players.

John Tonje, Camren Hunter, Daniel Freitag, and Riccardo Greppi were all on the White team, and played various roles.

Tonje, who has emerged as one of the bigger scorers through the open practices, had 12 points on the day, leading the White team. He shot 3/7 from the field and 2/4 from three, knocking down a few jumpers from deep, including a stepback three and a nice shot off the dribble off a screen with a defender in his face.

Tonje also looked to attack the basket, getting fouled twice, and hitting four of his five free throws. While it’s unclear how many minutes he’ll play, given his past injuries, the transfer should have a big role in the offense this year.

Hunter was quieter on Sunday, scoring just four points in 29 minutes, while mainly playing in an off-ball role. With Klesmit and Freitag taking most of the on-ball chances, Hunter didn’t get as many opportunities, missing his lone three off a kickout. He did have a few nice defensive plays, including a block on a drive from Kamari McGee.

Freitag looked to assert himself offensively, taking control with the ball in his hands and ending with nine points, hitting 4/7 of his shots and 1/3 of his threes. Freitag’s shot is still developing, but he worked the pick-and-roll well, making a nice pass to a rolling Riccardo Greppi, while hitting a few midrange jumpers and attacking the rim as well.

Greppi had one of his better days, as he showed off some of his potential with his passing, making a sweet no-look behind-the-head pass to a cutting Markus Illver, while also moving the ball well elsewhere. The touch and feel for the game is still coming, but he got fouled twice, while having a few good defensive plays, including a sweet block on a Kamari McGee drive.

On the Red team, Xavier Amos and Jack Robison were both there, playing complementary roles. Amos started, playing 20 minutes, and had five points on 2/6 shooting, while missing both of his three-point attempts.

Amos drove more than he’s done in the practices, looking to attack, but he played more in an off-ball role, serving as a screener and roller in the offense.

Robison came off the bench and played 20 minutes, hitting a pair of threes for six points, while also bringing down six rebounds. It’ll take some time as Robison continues to add on weight, but he’s got a solid profile as a scorer offensively that could round out well for Wisconsin.

Sleeper rotational piece

One player that has really started to pick up steam is redshirt freshman Jack Janicki, who came in as a walk-on and sat out last year.

Janicki, a 6’5, 200-pound wing, has a sweet shooting stroke and a competitive nature on both ends of the court that just meshes well with Wisconsin’s style.

Janicki scored eight points on Sunday, shooting 3/7 from the field and 2/5 from three, but impacted the game in a lot of ways. He had a number of nice passes, setting up layups for Steven Crowl, while hitting a few jumpers, both from midrange and from deep.

Defensively, Janicki worked well against a bigger John Tonje on a drive, forcing a turnover and making another “winning” play.

It’s unclear how the wing fits into the picture this season, given how much depth Wisconsin has across the board. But, it wouldn’t surprise me if the redshirt freshman finds a way to earn minutes in head coach Greg Gard’s rotation, as he’s a great fit with the culture and plays a style that can help the Badgers win.