Tyler Wahl on Performance vs. Ohio State, Experience in Big Ten Play
Wisconsin resumed Big Ten play on Jan. 3 with a significant upset win on the road against Ohio State. Though he may have only scored four points against the Buckeyes inside Value Center Arena, true freshman Tyler Wahl pulled down seven rebounds -- including five on the offensive end.
From Micah Potter's perspective when asked if any of those offensive boards popped out to him, he stated he was not "super surprised, to be honest."
“I mean, that's how Tyler Wahl plays," Potter said. "That's how he's played since he got here in the summer. The thing with him is, he's a freshman so he's got to learn speed and physicality of the game and finding his spots and finding certain reads and all that kind of stuff. But it's not surprising. That's what 'Badger Nation' can expect, and I think that's why everyone's going to love Tyler Wahl for the time that he's here because he does everything right. He's got a big smile all the time, plays super hard, runs the floor real well. As he gets more comfortable, and as he gets more developed in his game, he'll be a great player for the Badgers.”
As seen in the video above, Wahl spoke with reporters on Monday. Here are a few snippets from the conversation with the true freshman, along with a couple of quotes from junior forward Nate Reuvers on the first-year Badger:
*On the offensive rebound with 30 seconds left:
“I was ready for either ‘Meech’ (D’Mitrik Trice) to put up the shot or if he was ready to dump it down for me. His confidence on the offensive end is going high so I was fully okay with him taking that floater and just doing what I was doing all game and trying to get my team extra possessions.”
*On if he's felt himself slowing down in the last couple of games:
“It's still something I need to work on. Like beginning of the game when I came out, the first time I touched the ball, I traveled and then got a quick foul. So it's still there, just gotta keep working on it.”
*How experiences from Rutgers helped him work through with playing in a bigger atmosphere:
“Those two first two Big Ten games during non-conference schedule really helped me kind of give you a feel for Big Ten basketball, and you can kind of put work on your game a little bit with the non-conference games in-between those two little series. So it's nice just to have things to work on, and be able to work on them.”
*Outside of the last offensive board with 30 seconds left, any rebound that really stood out that changed the complexion of the game from a player‘s perspective:
“I wouldn't say it was a rebound. I'd say when I kind of boxed out Caleb Wesson and got him his second foul. That was kind of a turning point. We went on a little run after that so that was big.”
Nate Reuvers on Tyler Wahl
*On what do you see out of him in terms of emerging and how he's asserting himself?
“Good, good hustle. He's also a good post player. He takes his time in there, gets good looks. Sometimes he tries to do a little too much, but he's young, learning and that's expected. But he’s doing more than you would expect a normal freshman would do.
“We were looking to get him the ball in the post, too, especially in that game. I mean, they couldn’t really guard him, some of those guys.”
*Through Reuvers' eyes, how is Wahl looking offensively:
"It's good. He's taking steps. He’s definitely not close to where he's gonna be. He's like, continuing to grow, but this year will actually be great for him experience-wise, building it for the rest of his career. If he keeps building off of what he's doing now, he should be having a great career here at Wisconsin.
"But he's shooting the ball pretty well. He's comfortable shooting the open three, and then he’s comfortable driving or making a play for somebody else.”
Wisconsin forward Micah Potter about Tyler Wahl from Jan. 6 player availability.
