With eight new players to fit into the mix, Wisconsin’s men’s basketball summer workouts are already showing signs that this group could look very different from last year’s team. The Badgers opened their first of two media-viewable practices on Tuesday, and the early takeaway was clear: there’s plenty to sort out, but also plenty of talent flashing through the noise.
Greg Gard said as much after the roughly 90-minute session.
"There's a lot of kinks we're working out," Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard said after the approximately 90 minute session. "Introductory things you saw today-some of the drills-it's the first time they've ever heard some of this maybe in their lives. But they're all eager to learn and try to get better."
The most eye-catching player on the floor was Victory Onuetu, whose game jumps off the page before he even touches the ball. At 6-foot-11 and 238 pounds, the Hofstra transfer brings a blend of size and athleticism that no one else in a Wisconsin uniform quite matches. He showed it in a halfcourt drill when Jack Janicki lofted a pass from beyond the arc toward the rim, and Onuetu rose up to catch it in the air before finishing with both hands.
A little later, he put the ball on the deck, used his size and handle to get past Will Garlock, and finished at the rim. That kind of physical presence is exactly what Nolan Winter says stands out about him.
"It's what everyone's gonna need, and it's obviously gonna be a ton of fun to play with," Winter said of his new teammate's substantial presence. "So it's obviously super physical.
Block shots, he can go get the ball for a lob, whatever it is. He's someone that I'm gonna like to have my back on the court.
He's a fun dude to be a round."
Onuetu’s rim protection was part of his appeal at Hofstra, where he blocked 36 shots in 35 games last season. Winter, meanwhile, was the first Badger since Nate Reuvers to average a block per game a year ago.
Garlock also made a strong impression as one of Gard’s projected reserve bigs. The 7-footer was active everywhere - rebounding, jumping passing lanes, even knocking down a straightaway three during the scrimmage work.
In one half-court drill, he grabbed four straight rebounds, including an offensive board. Later, he sealed a scrimmage win for his team by intercepting a pass from Zach Kinziger.
Gard said the freshman-to-year-two jump is already showing up.
"I think the experience he got last year, from a playing standpoint, set the platform or set the foundation for him to take this type of step," Gard said of Garlock.
Garlock appeared in 30 games as a true freshman, and he still has to earn whatever minutes come his way. He and Onuetu bring similar tools around the basket, which sets up a real battle for playing time. That competition showed up during the practice itself, including a late scrimmage sequence when Garlock scored an and-1 with Onuetu defending him.
"[Garlock] and Victory [Onuetu] have great battles, you know," said Gard. "It's competitive every single day, and that's what you want. You want some competition that'll help raise everybody."
Another newcomer who stood out was Eian Elmer, the senior transfer from Miami (OH). At 6-foot-6, he looks like a player built to handle the dirty work and still bring enough skill to matter on both ends. Gard pointed to "the maturity, the experience" that define Elmer, who averaged 1.2 steals and 0.7 blocks per game last season.
Elmer also brought production. As a junior, the Covington, Kentucky native averaged 5.9 rebounds per game while helping Miami (OH) go 32-2, and he shot 42.9% from three on nearly five attempts a night.
He backed that up in an offensive rebounding drill, where he chased his own miss off the perimeter and went back up for the board against a defensive group that included Wisconsin assistants and special guest Bronson Koenig. Elmer kept attacking in the scrimmage, too, and finished through contact for an and-1.
For a veteran guard whose season opener will be his 100th college game, Elmer already looks comfortable doing the hard stuff.
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