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Wisconsin Basketball: Where do the Badgers need to improve for 2018-19?

By Lukas Harkins

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 24: The Wisconsin Badgers mascot performs against the Florida Gators during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament East Regional at Madison Square Garden on March 24, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 24: The Wisconsin Badgers mascot performs against the Florida Gators during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament East Regional at Madison Square Garden on March 24, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 01: Brad Davison #34 of the Wisconsin Badgers celebrates. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 01: Brad Davison #34 of the Wisconsin Badgers celebrates. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

3. Star power

Lastly, who is going to be the second star? Ethan Happ is a proven college basketball superstar. I do not think that anyone would really dispute that, either. He is arguably the best post scorer in the entire country, has plenty of collegiate experience, and is active on both ends of the floor. With him on the court, the Badgers clearly have a go-to star that at the very least gives them a floor similar to last season, which they sadly fell to due to injuries.

However, if Wisconsin is to seriously hit its full potential this year, somebody else needs to emerge as a star. And while I think Brad Davison definitely emerged as a more than serviceable starter as a freshman this past season, can he be the guy who averages 15+ points per game on an NCAA Tournament team? I’m not so sure.

Related Story. Top 2019 recruiting targets for the Badgers. light

During this past season, he posted 12.1 points per game but did so while just shooting 40.5% from the field and on a poor overall team. To me, Davison has already proven that he can be an above-average starter in the Big Ten. However, expecting him to be the secondary scorer on an NCAA Tournament team is asking a lot early in his career.

Some other candidates for this role might be the D’Mitrik Trice and Kobe King, both of whom are guards returning from injuries last season. Both of these players have shown the potential to create for themselves and have range out to beyond the 3-point arc. However, as is the case with Davison, these players also are not the most experienced guards in the country. It will be interesting to see how the year plays out when it comes to who emerges as the crunchtime scorer out of the backcourt.

Next. Analyzing Wisconsin's 2018-19 rotation. dark

Overall, Wisconsin basketball returns every major contributor from last season while also adding some pieces. However, despite this, there are still these areas for improvement that could take the team to the next level. Even though the team looked better down the stretch of last season, they still have a lot of ground to cover in terms of improvement in order to get into tournament contention this season.

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