Badgers basketball rotation: Recap of UW-River Falls clash

Wisconsin basketball took the Kohl Center court on Wednesday for the first game of the 2024-25 season, albeit in an unofficial capacity.

The Badgers faced UW-River Falls in a preseason scrimmage. The non-counting score was 78-62 in favor of Wisconsin.

Transfer guard John Tonier led the Badgers with 15 points, while center Stephen Crowl and forward Carter Gilmore added 14 and nine, respectively.

The contest heated up in the second half as UW-River Falls cut the Badgers’ lead to just two points with 12:55 left. In the end, Wisconsin fell back, although its performance was far from dominant.

There aren’t many important takeaways from the performance of Greg Gard’s team in its first unofficial game. With new faces at almost every position, the group will take some time to gel and find a rhythm on the court.

One thing we can read from this contest is the Badgers starting lineup and early rotation.

Wisconsin entered the fray as follows:

G: John Blackwell

G: Max Klesmith

G: John Tonier (transfer)

F: Nolan Winter

C: Stephen Crowle

The Guard’s first two players off the bench were F. Marcus Ilver and G. Kamari McGee for Winter and Tonier, respectively. He continued the quick rotation after that pair, using as many as 10 players in the first 12 minutes of the performance.

Both the overall rotation and the starting lineup point to a major theme: The Badgers are deep throughout the lineup.

Blackwell, Klesmith and Crowl are easily included in the night’s starting five. Meanwhile, Tonier and Winter battle among a larger group that also includes veterans Carter Gilmore and Kamari McGee, freshman Daniel Freitag, transfer forward Xavier Amos and transfer guard Camren Hunter. That’s without even mentioning Ilver, who might deserve a role.

Where the 2024-25 Badgers lack top star power following the offseason departures of Chucky Hepburn and AJ Storr, they make up for it in depth. The intense battle for two spots alongside Blackwell, Clesmith and Crowle shows this reality.

Gard is now tasked with finding a rotation that maximizes depth, which could possibly reach 11 spots. That effort will begin Monday, Nov. 4, when the Badgers officially open their 2024-25 season against Holy Cross at the Kohl Center.

Contacts/Subscribe @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page Facebook follow current coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and thoughts.