At the beginning of the 2021-22 season, I viewed Wisconsin’s ability to go 10+ players deep into their rotation as a positive. To me, that meant coach Gard had a plethora of options all of whom had earned a chance to see meaningful minutes.
As the season wore on, my opinion on the team’s perceived depth changed drastically. The Badgers had an exceptional season, but they weren’t without their fair share of warts – perhaps none bigger than their overall lack of bench production.
UW played 33 games this past season, and the Badgers bench contributed 10 or less points in 22 of them. Additionally, the Badgers starting five accounted for more than 88% of the teams overall scoring output, while the bench chipped in just eight points per game.
Of the 11 players that appeared in 22 games or more, only one reserve (Vogt) averaged double digit minutes per game (13.1) in Big Ten play.
For reference, all three rotation fixtures the previous season averaged more than 14 minutes per game. This years Badgers team had the fewest minutes per game contributed from the bench during the entirety of the Greg Gard era.
The drop-off in on court production this year when the bench entered the game was noticeable, and in some ways unacceptable.
The expectation of the reserves was to play defense, rebound, and take care of the basketball. And while that’s obviously helpful, simply treading water shouldn’t be the standard.
I’d like to see a tighter rotation next season, but one that features roughly eight players that log double-digit minutes.
Simply put, Wisconsin needs to get more out of their reserves on both ends of the floor to keep the starters fresh in 2022.
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