All Badgers

Greg Gard shakes up practices to help build synergy with the Wisconsin Badgers

Benjamin Worgull|
Nick Boyd reacts during the second half of Wisconsin's exhibition game against Oklahoma.
Nick Boyd reacts during the second half of Wisconsin's exhibition game against Oklahoma. | UW Athletics

In this story:

Wisconsin Badgers

MADISON, Wis. - Achieving the dream of playing college basketball was on the goal list of Nick Boyd throughout a star-studded prep career in New Jersey. Experiencing the reality of that dream in a COVID-restricted arena in front of 945 fans in Mobile, Alabama, wasn't exactly what he had in mind.

The emotions he experienced though were spot on.

"I felt like I made it," Boyd said. "I was excited to get out there. Ultimately, I think I played two minutes."

Boyd actually played seven minutes off the bench for Florida Atlantic, the start of a career that has totaled 2,817 minutes at two schools, three NCAA Tournament trips and a Final Four appearance. He embarks on his final college season tonight and while the emotions have changed, the level of excitement is still there.

"To have the opportunity to play at the highest level, the biggest stage, the brightest lights, it's those butterflies" he said. "I am just excited to show what I can do and compete."

Following two exhibition games, Wisconsin fans will get their first look at Boyd and the Badgers' new-look roster in a game that actually counts when the nation's 24th-ranked team opens the season tonight against Campbell at the Kohl Center (7 p.m./BTN+).

UW only has three holdovers from last year's 27-10 team (guards John Blackwell and Jack Janicki and center Nolan Winter), meaning eight players could be making their Badgers debut tonight. It will be a similar situation on the opposite sidelines, as first-year head coach Jeff Andrzejek will be integrating nine new players into his up-tempo offense.

Wisconsin has video from Campbell's two preseason games, but head coach Greg Gard is centered more on his team's development than scouting matchups.

"I'm more concerned with our progression and our improvement," Gard said. "From a matchup standpoint, size wise we match up fine, but our focus is on we can get ourselves better faster. This group is individually really talented; collectively we're not in sync yet. We've got to do that on both ends of the floor."

That lack of continuity can be seen through Wisconsin's two exhibition games. The Badgers showed good rhythm and some flow offensively against Oklahoma but struggled with defensive rotations and getting to open shooters. That defense was significantly better against a smaller UW-Platteville team, but the Badgers were disjointed on the other end of the floor.

To help push the process along, Gard is reworking his practice schedule.

Typically, as Wisconsin goes through September and October, practices generally consist of drills less than 5-on-5 (1v1, 2v2, etc.) or drills with an extra offensive or defensive player on the court to stress fundamentals and ball movement to create a level of chaos for the disadvantaged team.

Now, the Badgers are doing more 5-on-5 work in practice, choosing team simulations over individual drill work without increasing practice time.

"We have to get that synergy better," Gard said. "It's not bad. It's not like they don't get along. They just haven't played a lot of live reps together. We have to simulate that more probably than ever."

The impact of the transfer portal and the how players can easily move between college (and how coaches can remake a roster in an offseason) necessitates the change. Boyd (Florida Atlantic/San Diego State) and fellow guards Braeden Carrington (Minnesota/Tulsa) and Andrew Rohde (St. Thomas/Virginia) are on their third school, none playing on a roster with as many new veteran pieces that this year's group has.

“Playing five-on-five is helpful,” Carrington said. “That’s just the best way to learn your team because obviously we have (eight) new guys. So just getting out there and being able to compete against each other and figure out everybody’s strengths and weaknesses — it’s definitely a big thing.

"At my past schools, we never competed too much (in practice). You're going into a roster where people are established and have been there, so they know the system. I think it's huge now more than ever with the portal that you need to get to know your team."

Unlike the past three seasons where the Badgers played either an AP top 10 opponent or a game away from home in the opening week of the season, Wisconsin will play four consecutive mid-major schools before a challenging neutral-site game against No.8 BYU in Salt Lake City. That game will be the first of seven straight games against teams in high-major conferences over a 29-day stretch, which includes Wisconsin's early Big Ten games against Northwestern and at Nebraska.

"The theory is as you play more, you should improve because you get more experience, more reps together," Gard said. "There's some technical things that won't matter how connected; how good our synergy clicks. Every team writes its own story and goes on its own journey. You obviously want it to click faster than it probably does or conceivably can happen. That's why I want to do more 5-on-5 and simulation in practice than what we ever done because we need those reps and that experience.

"We just need more time together."

More Wisconsin Badgers News:

Published
Benjamin Worgull
BENJAMIN WORGULL

Benjamin Worgull has covered Wisconsin men's basketball since 2004, having previously written for Rivals, USA Today, 247sports, Fox Sports, the Associated Press, the Janesville Gazette, and the Wisconsin State Journal.

Share on XFollow TheBadgerNation
Home/Basketball