Mr. Potrykus covers the Wisconsin Badgers for The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. You can find his work at:
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/badgers.html
Baltimore Sports and Life thanks Mr. Potrykus for answering a few Wisconsin questions.
Baltimore Sports and Life: “6’10 Junior Forward Jon Leuer is averaging 15.5 ppg, through the first two games. Is he the primary interior presence for Wisconsin?
Red-shirt PF Jared Berggren was a 4 star recruit. Is he showing signs of being able to help the regular rotation?”
Mr. Jeff Potrykus: “Leuer and Keaton Nankivil are the primary interior threats, though both are capable of stepping out to the three-point line.
Berggren a four-star recruit? Bo Ryan doesn’t award playing time based on the number of stars given to a player by a recruiting analyst. Berggren is a
skilled big man but the pace of the game at this point is a little quick for him. The young forward to watch is redshirt freshman Ryan Evans. Evans is
athletic, tenacious on defense and has displayed a habit for getting to loose balls. He isn’t a good shooter at all but can get to the basket and score.”
Baltimore Sports and Life: “Trevon Hughes had 14 games, with at-least 14 points scored last-year. Teaming with Hughes in the Badger back-court is Jason Bohannon who averaged 10.3 points per game. What are the strengths and weaknesses for these Senior guards?”
Mr. Jeff Potrykus: “Their best trait is they are seniors. They’ve seen everything you can see and generally don’t get rattled. Hughes is the better ball-handler, though he sometimes forces passes in traffic, and the better defender. He can get into the lane consistently to score or set up teammates.Bohannon is a good perimeter shooter, though his percentage has gone down as his minutes have gone up.“
Baltimore Sports and Life: “Wisconsin can make opponents uncomfortable by taking the air out of the ball, and slowing games into a ½ court affair. In Maui, if Arizona (and possibly Maryland later in the tournament) attempt to force Wisconsin into a run-and-gun up and down the court game; do the Badgers have the guard depth behind Hughes, and Bohannon to respond?”
Mr. Jeff Potrykus: “UW has a solid third guard in sophomore Jordan Taylor but it will be difficult for Arizona or Maryland to speed UW up,in part because UW generally does a good job getting back on defense. The best way, in my view, to speed UW up is to press their guards full-court and don’t let up.”
Baltimore Sports and Life: “The true Freshman Mike Bruesewitz, and Diamond Taylor were both 3 star, Top 130 National players. How have theyacquitted their selves since practice began?”
Mr. Jeff Potrykus: “Mike Brusewitz didn’t play in the opener and played sparingly in Game 2. He is the 10th man right now. Diamond Taylor? He was arrested on burglary chargesover the summer, dropped out of school and is now at Southern Illinois University. “
Baltimore Sports and Life: “In Coach Bo Ryan’s first 8 seasons with Wisconsin, the Badgers have finished in the Top 4 in the Big 10, and advanced to the NCAA Tournamenteach year. As the 2009-10 season starts, there are 6 Big 10 teams ranked in the Top 25, but not Wisconsin. When the 2009-10 season ends, doyou think Coach Ryan will have extended his existing streaks?”
Mr. Jeff Potrykus: “I think they’ll have an easier time making the NCAA tournament, in part because of the overall strength of the league, than finishing in the top four. I see them finishing no worse than fifth and no higher than third.”
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Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.