Freshman center Will Garlock doing his best to maximize his minutes

MADISON, Wis. - The physical nature of the Big Ten, the need to add proper weight and strength, the importance of adjusting to the speed of the game have all been used as reasons why incoming high school forwards and center spend their first collegiate season watching and developing from the bench.

Unfortunately, the University of Wisconsin doesn't have the luxury of being able to wait. Fortunately for freshman Will Garlock, neither does he.

It hasn't been easy, it never is for a college true freshman, but the 7-1 Garlock has started to create a role for himself in Wisconsin's frontcourt rotation.

"I didn't know what my role coming out of high school was going to be, but I was going to work hard and be ready for the moment when it came," Garlock said. "Getting thrown it there, I was ready for everything."

Will flexing through traffic 😤

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The Middleton, Wis., native has been practicing well, according to head coach Greg Gard, and his minutes have been growing as a result. his work has been sparse. After averaging 7.7 minutes per game over the first 11 games, Garlock has played over 25 combined minutes in UW's last two wins over Central Michigan and Milwaukee. He's not an offensive force, yet, having attempted only seven shots, and needs to improve on defending without fouling (averaging 1.5 fouls per game). However, Garlock has been a willing passer with 18 assists (most among UW's reserves) and limited the turnovers to two.

In Wisconsin's 80-60 win over Milwaukee, Garlock showcased his growing confidence around the rim, positioning himself properly to draw fouls, grab rebounds, and convert an offensive rebound into an easy two points.

"Will is close to looking like he shouldn't be out there and he's close to looking like dynamite," Gard said. "He's just scratching the surface. There are days where he looks like, what the heck is he doing, and moments where he's just a massive, athletic human being. That's going to do a lot of things."

Some of Wisconsin's best frontcourt players haven't started their careers playing limited minutes. Former head coach Bo Ryan chose to play Frank Kaminsky as a freshman. The undersized center was ill equipped physically to play his first season and averaged just 7.7 minutes but served as an important starting point to Kaminsky's career arc.

Garlock isn't being compared to Kaminsky, but Gard hasn't tempered his excitement for Garlock's potential, lauding the center's maturity and how seamlessly he's fit into the program.

Then there's the physical attributes, which caught the attention of his teammates from the first few summer workouts.

"He’s got crazy attributes," junior Nolan Winter said of Garlock. "He’s 7-1 and can jump out the gym. He makes the ball look like a nerf ball, and throwing him lobs, I think for these guards, I think it’s pretty fun for them to throw him lobs, they haven’t really had someone like that in a while."

Garlock said the skill comes from a combination of hard work put in during weight room sessions and the being blessed with always having decent footwork. He never had a gigantic growth spurt, just a steady growth up to his current 7-1 size and practice working through ball screens and guarding multiple positions on the court.

"Growing up I played all the positions," Garlock said. "Being able to develop those guard skills, I wasn't always sitting on the block, so I think that translates to how I move. I'm not dribbling through my legs, but everything works together to being able to move and have some guard skills."

Wisconsin (9-4, 1-1 Big Ten) heads into Saturday's home game against No.5 Purdue (12-2, 2-0) still trying to define roles. UW has struggled with its defensive intensity in its losses, as well as playing aggressively and finishing around the rim.

UW is hopeful that Garlock and freshman Aleksas Bieliauskas can impact those areas in the second half of the season. Bieliauskas has started the last six games in place of struggling sophomore Austin Rapp and has averaged 4.5 rebounds per game, although Rapp has looked better, at times, coming off the bench. Garlock and Bieliauskas have played well off the other in practices, especially with one player rolling to the rim and the other popping the perimeter.

With a four-man frontcourt rotation all with different skill sets, Garlock is hopeful his contributions are laying the groundwork for bigger things ahead.

"He's a big young pup, but he's just a young pup," Gard said of Garlock. "His ceiling is immense of where he can be."

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