Zach Kinziger Makes His Debut for Wisconsin-and Makes It Count
After spending the first 10 games of the season watching from the sidelines, Wisconsin freshman guard Zach Kinziger finally got his shot-and he didn’t waste it. Logging 13 minutes in his debut, the in-state product dropped six points and showed flashes of why he was such a coveted four-star recruit coming out of De Pere, Wisconsin.
Kinziger’s path to the floor wasn’t exactly wide open. The Badgers' backcourt is deep with experience and talent.
Veterans like Nick Boyd, John Blackwell, and Andrew Rohde have been anchoring the starting unit, while Jack Janicki and Braeden Carrington bring reliable minutes off the bench. Even fellow freshman Hayden Jones came in with international experience.
So it’s no surprise Kinziger was initially on the outside looking in, even considering a redshirt year.
But that changed on Monday night.
With John Blackwell sidelined due to injury and Carrington also banged up, head coach Greg Gard turned to Kinziger. The freshman checked in with 13:37 left in the first half and became part of the rotation from that point forward.
Gard didn’t mince words when explaining the decision. “He had the opportunity because I didn’t know what I was going to do this game,” Gard said, referencing Blackwell’s absence. “But in practice, he’s competing hard.”
And that practice grind clearly made an impression.
Kinziger had spent most of the season running scout team reps, but according to Gard, he wasn’t just filling space-he was dominating. “He’s put 20 points on the scout team.
He’s really doing his thing in there,” Gard said. “If you see what he’s doing, you’re like, ‘Dang, he should be a starter.’”
That kind of production behind the scenes is what earned Kinziger his moment. Not because someone else fell off, but because he forced the coaching staff to take notice.
Gard emphasized that the redshirt conversation was always fluid. “I don’t look at it as burning a redshirt,” he said. “That was an open conversation consistently from the time of the very first game.”
What changed? Kinziger started to catch up to the pace and physicality of the college game.
“From the time we got back from San Diego early in the year, he wasn’t quite ready,” Gard said. “But as practices have unfolded, just how competitive he is-he’s gotten better at the speed of the game, how to play off two feet, how to read angles.”
That growth, combined with his defensive tenacity, pushed him into the mix. “He’s a little bulldog defensively,” Gard added. “There were just a lot of positive things he earned his way into getting, regardless of where anybody else was.”
In other words, this wasn’t just a case of next man up-it was a case of the right man stepping up.
Gard also spoke about Kinziger’s intangibles, the kind of traits coaches love to see in young players. “He believes Badger Red through and through, and you can tell it when he plays, when he practices,” Gard said. “He competes every single day and he really doesn’t have bad days.”
That relentless effort hasn’t gone unnoticed in the weight room either. Strength coach Jim Snider has reportedly been raving about Kinziger’s work ethic, and in competitive drills like 3-on-3, he’s consistently been the best player on the floor.
It’s still early, and Kinziger’s long-term role this season remains to be seen. But if Monday night was any indication, the Badgers may have just added another weapon to their already-deep backcourt. And more importantly, they’ve got a young guard who’s not just wearing the jersey-he’s earning it.