Wisconsin Basketball: 5 keys to a successful 2019-20 season

Immediately find a consistent scoring hierarchy.

Ethan Happ was Wisconsin’s offense during this past season. Even though he held down the center spot, he received a touch on just about every single possession and that is evident by his team-leading 33.6% usage rate. I will say, though, that this is partially a testament to Happ’s skill level as he was not just a great post scorer. Despite the fact that he lacked scoring ability outside of 10 feet, he was a tremendous rebounder, ball-handler, and passer. This allowed him to run the offense from time-to-time.

Now that he is gone, though, the entire offensive philosophy will likely shift back to guard play. This is where rising juniors D’Mitrik Trice and Brad Davison will need to show up. These two held down the starting backcourt for all of last season and they are the top returning scorers on the roster this year. Trice averaged 11.6 points per game last season while Davison landed at 10.5 per contest. They are the only returning double-digit scorers from a year ago and will see their usage rates shoot up in the absence of Happ.

Additionally, fellow junior Nate Reuvers is a 6-foot-11 big man that looks poised for a breakout season (more on that in a bit). If he emerges as a star right away, the offense will run through him on occasion as a post option with the ability to stretch the floor out to distance. With Happ/Iverson gone, Wisconsin loses two key scorers but their offense could exhibit far better spacing. Everybody in the rotation this year should at least be a decent threat from 3-point range and that makes this team potentially dangerous.

It is certainly fair to be concerned about the losses of Happ/Iverson and how that might detrimental to the offense, but spacing is paramount to success in college basketball and the Badgers should have enough of it. The most important step now is determining who will be the top scoring options for the team. It seems likely that Trice and Davison will be those top guys while Reuvers is the frontcourt option. Watch for Pritzl, King, and Ford to be supporting cast scorers.