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Wisconsin Basketball: Wisconsin Badgers Reason for Optimism with Koenig

By Matt Ostrowski

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It’s truly incredible that Bo Ryan is still strolling the sidelines in Madison this season.

For a coach who is so close to retirement, yet lacks a championship ring, it’s hard to fathom a tougher heartbreak than getting bounced in the Final Four on one of Aaron Harrison’s miracle shots in 2014, then coming up just short to Duke in the National Championship game one year later. The idea of coaching one more year must be agonizing.

Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin Badgers /

Wisconsin Badgers

I’ll spare you the emotional rant. As someone who has a certain fondness for the Wisconsin Badgers, particularly the way they play basketball, the loss against Duke was a tough loss to get over. As the new season was approaching, I finally became brave enough to re-watch that game, and really dig into why they lost, outside of Tyus Jones Stones going bananas.

Of course, the same couple plays that stuck out when I watched the game live, also stuck out when I watched the game a second time.

With 6:03 remaining in the second half, and the game tied at 54, Bronson Koenig missed a layup, according to the play-by-play.

That shot is… less than ideal considering the situation. The Badgers hadn’t scored in over three minutes, and had a nine point lead earlier that half. They were desperate. Notice that Frank Kaminsky was being guarded by Amile Jefferson. The 7’0″, 242lb National Player of the Year was being guarded by the 6’8″, 216lb Amile Jefferson.

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Kaminsky should have touched the ball every time down the floor. He should have been dominating the game. But during the stretch in which Okafor was on the bench, the Badgers were outscored, and Kaminsky put up just two shots, making one of them. Now not all of that onus is on Koenig, but as the point guard, a lot of it should be.

And it doesn’t end there. With 1:53 remaining in the second half and Wisconsin down by five, arguably the most important possession of Wisconsin’s season, Koenig drove the lane again, and put up another wild shot.

Okafor was back in at this time, so it wasn’t obvious to give Kaminsky the ball. But Kaminsky still drew the switch and had the much smaller Quinn Cook on him. Sure, the Badgers were rushed for points, but they should have had a much better shot than that.

But I rest my case. This post isn’t about bashing Koenig. If he wasn’t there, it’s highly unlikely Wisconsin even makes it that far, as he filled in for the injured Traevon Jackson when he went down with a foot injury just a few games into Big 10 play. Koenig put up 10 points and 2 assists per game, and shot 45% from three in conference play, according to college basketball reference.

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But like anyone else, he has weaknesses, as he put in a miserable .882 points per shot in the paint last season, according to draftexpress. To put that in more perspective, while he shot a stellar 45% from three in conference play, he shot just 39% inside that arc. Yikes.

So basically, he was a spot-up shooter in Wisconsin’s offense last season. He was darn good at that, but that’s not someone that’s generally featured in a team’s offense. Being one of the Badger’s two returning starters, along with Nigel Hayes, much of the offensive pressure has been forced upon him. Thus, many people (myself included) are doubting that he could be the number one or two option for the Badgers this year.

However, he’s added some nice new aspects to his game this offseason that have me, and a few others, changing my mind.

And it’s obvious in watching Wisconsin’s games thus far that this hesitation move is a move he’s been working on diligently.

He’s suddenly became very crafty at the rim, featuring that hesitation move, and an array of scoop shots. That’s a major improvement for someone whose only offense at the rim was to chuck the ball at the rim and hope it went in.

As mentioned earlier, his best offensive asset is his shooting ability. Last year, when Wisconsin needed an easy three points, Bo Ryan liked to call for a quick drag screen for Koenig in semi-transition to free him up for a three. Ryan’s going to it a bit more this year now that Koenig is one of his two primary scorers.

Last year, smart defenders would go over the screen, daring him to take the ball to the hoop. This would often result in the Badger offense stalling. But that hasn’t been the case so far this year.

Also notable here is how Koenig uses his body to shield the trailing defender, preventing him from blocking the shot. He also finishes through a little bit of contact, something he never did last year.

In addition to his new array of scoop shots and hesitation moves, Koenig has clearly been working on his midrange jumper as well. When he gets defenders back-pedaling, he’s mastered a Westbrook-eque pull-up jumper.

And he even uses the backboard on this shot occasionally! The most underutilized shot in basketball.

All of this has led to a great start to the season for Koenig. He’s averaging 19 points, and shooting 45% from three-point range. Even better, he’s shooting a scorching 59% from inside the arc. Granted, the competition (Western Illinois, Siena, North Dakota) hasn’t been great, but it’s still impressive compared to what he was last year.

His assist numbers aren’t gaudy, and they never will be. Bo Ryan has made it clear that Nigel Hayes will do most of the playmaking for the Badgers this season. This means he can focus on scoring the basketball, something the Badgers, as they are traditionally built, are always lacking. Plus, he takes care of the ball, as he averaged just 1.1 turnovers per game last year, and sits at 1.5 per game thus far this season.

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The Badgers aren’t off to the greatest start this year. The loss to Western Illinois was a complete buzzkill after they unveiled another Final Four banner at the Kohl Center. Bo Ryan has said that it will take some time for this team to really his their stride. I was a little down on Wisconsin prior to the season, but despite the loss to the Leathernecks, Bronson Koenig has given me, and plenty of Wisconsin Badger fans, hope that this team may have a higher ceiling that we think.

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