Wisconsin Badgers guard John Blackwell fights 'through the storm' to regain his offense

MADISON, Wis. - University of Wisconsin junior guard John Blackwell has been through plenty of storms in his life, but we're not talking about rain clouds.

For every good shot he's taken or every perfect pass he's delivered, Blackwell has thrown one off the side of the backboard, dribbled a ball off his foot, or not put himself in the right position to make the right defensive play.

It's why Blackwell came off so humble after his torrid stretch at the end of November through the beginning of December earned him his first Big Ten Player of the Week honor.

He knew he would eventually be tested, just not as soon as he actually was.

"Everything is not going to be perfect," Blackwell said Tuesday following Wisconsin's 80-72 win over UCLA. "It's not always going to be sunshine and rainbows. You pray about things, and you imagine things, and it's not always going to be the case."

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Wisconsin's junior guard hadn't looked like himself for nearly a month leading into the week, a rut that coincided with him missing a game with an undisclosed injury and the Badgers going 1-3 when he was on the court.

The scoring wasn't there. He has just 38 points in four games and was shooting 29.2 percent. A 43.2 percent three-point shooter became someone shooting 3-for-18. Arguably, most surprising of all, Blackwell's defensive intensity and situational awareness was lacking.

Against No.5 Purdue, Blackwell scored six quick points in the first three minutes and didn't score again until less than four minutes remained with the game long since decided, a performance that was defined by being saddled with fouls early and unable to regain a rhythm while the deficit grew to 25 points. After the game, Purdue head coach Matt Painter said Blackwell's shot looked "flat."

"I was just pretty down on myself because I wasn't giving the best for my team," Blackwell said. "I didn't care about my stats. I feel like I couldn't give it all to my team because I was in foul trouble and then just the last few games I was in my head about stuff that didn't matter."

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His work on the defensive end is what got him on the floor as a true freshman and why head coach Greg Gard has put ample amounts of trust in him over the last three seasons.

Blackwell admitted that he did a lot of praying and a lot of leaning on his teammates for help and support. Blackwell said Gard built confidence into him and kept feeding him encouragement through text message.

The ultimate sign of faith, however, comes through playing time.

Gard said that he expected Blackwell to play well against the Bruins because he had practice really well over the last week. Blackwell became a heavy part of the game plan with UCLA going to a smaller lineup and UW not having forward Austin Rapp available.

So, when the Bruins cut Wisconsin's 20-point lead down to seven with 8 minutes, 41 seconds left, and with point guard Nick Boyd on the bench with three fouls, Gard put the ball in Blackwell's hands.

UCLA was switching on defense and loaded on the UW's wings on the ball screen, except when the Badgers involved their five man. With UW in the bonus, Blackwell delivered a combination of jumpers, spin moves, drew contact, and found open shooters who knocked down shots.

His final shooting numbers don't look great (6-for-15, 1-for-9 from three), until it breaks down that he scored 10 of his points in the final 11:39 and either scored or assisted on 14 straight points to help Wisconsin pull away.

"You put the ball in a really good player's hands and knowing we're in the bonus, get him downhill and get him to the line and help him," Gard said. "He did a good job of finding others, too."

Seeing teammates shoot with confidence and make shots while being aggressive has a contagious effect. It did for the Badgers against UCLA, when UW went from making eight threes in the previous two games combined to having six different players combine for 10.

With a road game at No.2 Michigan on deck for Saturday, Blackwell feels like the last month "grew me up a little bit." Unwavered that his shot will return has prepared him for the season's next tempest.

"When things are going bad, just go through the storm," Blackwell said. "Don't run away from it, and I think I did a good job of that and not getting down on myself and just going through that storm. I'm going to come out a better player."

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