ESPN analyst praises Wisconsin men's basketball freshmen at No. 1 Arizona – BadgerExtra

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Wisconsin men’s basketball freshman John Blackwell continues to impress as he contributed 10 points in the Badgers’ road win over Michigan State.
Freshmen were again relied upon by Greg Gard as the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team found out why Arizona was ranked the No. 1 team in the country on Saturday.
ESPN analyst Jay Bilas was impressed with freshman John Blackwell. The combo guard led the Badgers in points (17) and rebounds (seven) in the 98-73 loss at the McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona. While it was the most points the Badgers have allowed since they gave up 97 to Michigan State on March 11, 1995, Wisconsin (7-3) has a bright spot moving forward
“His athletic character is showing in this game,” Bilas, who played and was an assistant coach for Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski at Duke, said. “There has been at least one guy who has shown absolutely no quit in this game, and it’s John Blackwell. He’s been terrific.”
Blackwell, a 6-foot-4 combo guard from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, hit a pair of early 3-pointers off defensive switches. The first was from the left wing and the second was from the right corner as Arizona tried to switch back, but Max Klesmit’s feed and Blackwell’s quick release sparked an 8-2 Badgers run that tied the game at 21 with 9 minutes, 46 seconds left in the half.
Then came the scoring drought as the Badgers went 2:56 between points and 6:30 between field goals during a 20-2 Arizona run. But it was Blackwell battling for a long rebound and feeding Klesmit for a 3 that led to praise from Bilas.
“Boy, is he a good player,” Bilas said. “You have to give credit to Blackwell, grabs the rebound and starts that break on his own.”
Blackwell was an elite 3-point shooter in his time at Brother Rice High School, where he played point guard alongside a pair of Division I classmates. He’s the son of Glynn Blackwell, who played for Illinois and gave John advice to keep getting stronger before stepping onto Wisconsin’s campus.
Not only is his strength an asset, so is his IQ. He played with a motor and energy consistent with an upperclassman, and would lead someone to believe the game notes which mistakenly listed him as a junior. Blackwell made a driving layup for his first points of the second half, which again drew praise from Bilas.
Wisconsin guard John Blackwell (25) drives against Arizona guard KJ Lewis during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in Tucson, Ariz. Arizona won 98-73. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
“Great cut, great drive by Blackwell,” he said. “He has so much pop on the floor. He’s always around the ball.”
And on the next possession it was Blackwell driving, rebounding his own blocked shot and again going up at 7-foot-2 freshman Motiejus Krivas, which led to Carter Gilmore finishing off a second-chance layup.
“There’s no quit in that young man. He gets after it,” Bilas said.
Blackwell scored eight of the Badgers’ final 11 points in the last 2:49 of the game. 
The 26 minutes were a career high for Blackwell. So were his six makes and 12 shots that leave his career field goal percentage at 50% (28-for-56). He was 4 for 5 on 3-pointers to bring his season mark up to 11-for-21 (52.4%). He’s averaging 9.9 points and 3.6 rebounds.
Wisconsin freshman Nolan Winter defends Arizona’s Pelle Larsson on Saturday at the McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona.
Fellow freshman Nolan Winter struggled with the physicality of Arizona’s bigs as the game wore on. But he provided key minutes by setting screens and crashing the glass.
His 3-pointer ended a 7-0 Arizona run with 15:35 left in the second half. It brings Winter to 3-for-11 from the perimeter this season. It was the fourth time Winter had two assists in a game. He also had a rebound in 14 minutes.
“Nolan Winter is a skilled post man,” Bilas said. “He can run the floor, set screens and he can either roll or pop off those screens.”
Arizona shot 58% from 3, were quicker & much more physical showing why they’re #1. The Badgers ended a 3 game stretch defeating a ranked Marquette and won at Michigan State. The players know they have to improve. Disappointed but proud of where they are on Dec. 9th.
Gilmore made a 3.
Tough loss, Blackwell is sooo good an only going to get better. Onto the next gotta learn from this
Defense was out of sync…couldn’t defend the puck and roll..flashbacks to Duke in ncaa championship game. Get AZ on neutral court…play tougher defense and we’ll be fine. If we can find more John blackwells…we’ll be ok.
👀Embarrassing. Maybe humiliating in 2nd half. Arizona clearly better but Badgers didn’t have any fight in 2nd half. Missing urgency. Looked lethargic. Needed some ‘Bad Boys Pistons’ mojo out there to push back. Would have been 40 pt loss w/o Blackwell. Sets program back. 😫
I was gonna ask you that Jim. Some very key adjustments at half by Gard. Very adaptive play calling on offense to spark our offense when they were getting stonewalled down low and not getting open looks on the perimeter. Defense looked engaged and locked in after allowing about…
That the great Bo Ryan had to watch that pathetic “defensive” performance in person a disgrace. Where is the effort on defense?
Glad I’m watching the Army Navy game.
Burn the tape, move on and get better. Just hope you aren’t in the Arizona bracket for March Msdness.
Was it my TV or were the Arizona players just that much bigger and stronger than the UW?
Arizona is a special team. Wisconsin lacks any capability of winning this game. That’s not a cut, just a fact. Arizona will do big things this year and the Badgers will be a pain in many coaches necks in the big ten.
Totally fine. They’re the best team we will play by far. Rough game but this is still a very good team
Why did Essegian go from a starter to less than 10 minutes a game? Down 20+ most of the second half and he barely plays.
Very disappointing. Wasn’t expecting a win, but thought they would at least compete. Blackwell is the only guy who seemed to care and played his heart out all game. Should be starting.
I’m mad at whomever thought scheduling so many top ranked teams in the non-conference season was a good idea. Didn’t need this beat down.
The Badgers are a good team but the difference between a team with three top-30 recruits and a team with zero top-100 guys was pretty evident today. The ceiling continues to be capped until that changes (zero top-50 recruits in nine years with Gard as HC).
Ran into a buzz saw. Lots of good experience for the team in a tough environment. Zona would beat anybody the way they played today.
If only we had 5 Blackwells

Really disappointed with the effort level from players and coaches alike. Basically an even game through 12 minutes, then Gard’s under-8 timeout effectively conceded the game. Athleticism and slowness of Crowl/Gilmore/Essegian/etc exposed hard today.
we won 2/3 games against some pretty good teams…today was not pretty at all but if you told me before this stretch that we would win 1/3 games, I would take it. but the fact we won 2, I’m happy with it
Good instruction by a great team. Badgers won’t regret playing this game. Watch.
Come tournament time is when we love knocking out Arizona.
Top to bottom, Arizona is more talented than Badgers’ previous opponents. Wildcats are bigger and faster, able to harry Wisconsin into low-percentage contested shots. It looked as though Badgers started to get a bit demoralized on defense. Tough day, but it’s December.
Badgers will be fine but a few thoughts: Chucky needs to look for his off more in games like this. Need athletic guards. Our off doesn’t need beefy bigs but man muscle would be nice. Always need shooters..Connor?? Why did crowl pass on so many open 3’s? Def..pressure ball more.
We beat number 3 and lost to number 1 so I’d say that makes us a solid number 2. Which is exactly what we played like. 💩
Reality check. Love Storr and Blackwell. Crowl struggled and someone put an APB out on Essegian’s game. What happened to this guy? Badgers are a solid team, but obviously still work to do. Wildcats will embarrass a lot of teams this year.
Arizona is elite. We’re still a very good team and we’ll be fine. I do wonder how many points we would actually score if Wahl and Crowl actually hit most of their shots in the paint. Absolutely no reason for Wahl and Gilmore to be taking three pointers in the first half.
I’ve watched all the so-called top teams in college hoops this year. If Arizona plays to their potential they shouldn’t lose.
Arizona shoots 3’s like that they are Natty Champs! Best team I’ve seen all year easily. Butt whipping for Bucky but this will help tournament time.
Not worried about losing to the best team in the country. This game showed me how good Blackwell is though, START THE MAN!
First ten minutes was fantastic. Seemed like our adrenaline wore off and theirs didn’t.
pic.twitter.com/6Ygs4YsTWS
Arizona guard Caleb Love dunks over Wisconsin guard Max Klesmit on Saturday at the McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd, left, talks to an official after a foul call during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Wisconsin, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Arizona forward Keshad Johnson, right, drives against Wisconsin forward Tyler Wahl on Saturday at the McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona.
Arizona center Motiejus Krivas (14) shoots over Wisconsin forward Steven Crowl during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Arizona guard Pelle Larsson (3) drives past Wisconsin guard John Blackwell (25) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Arizona’s Keshad Johnson gets fouled by Wisconsin forward Tyler Wahl on Saturday at the McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona.
Arizona’s Caleb Love jumps for a dunk after a breakaway as Wisconsin’s Max Klesmit watches on Saturday at the McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona.
Wisconsin guard AJ Storr (2) drives on Arizona guard Pelle Larsson during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Wisconsin guard Chucky Hepburn (23) shields the ball from Arizona guard Kylan Boswell (4) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Wisconsin guard AJ Storr (2) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Arizona, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in Tucson, Ariz. Arizona won 98-73. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Wisconsin guard John Blackwell, right, drives into Arizona guard Kylan Boswell on Saturday at the McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz. Blackwell, a freshman, led the team in points with 17 and rebounding with seven.
Wisconsin guard John Blackwell (25) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Arizona, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in Tucson, Ariz. Arizona won 98-73. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Wisconsin forward Steven Crowl, right, shoots over Arizona center Oumar Ballo on Saturday at the McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona.
Wisconsin guard AJ Storr (2) drives past Arizona guard Pelle Larsson during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Wisconsin forward Steven Crowl (22) shoots over Arizona center Oumar Ballo (11) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Wisconsin guard John Blackwell (25) drives against Arizona guard KJ Lewis during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in Tucson, Ariz. Arizona won 98-73. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Wisconsin forward Tyler Wahl (5) shoots over Arizona forward Keshad Johnson during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Wisconsin freshman Nolan Winter defends Arizona’s Pelle Larsson on Saturday at the McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona.
Wisconsin’s John Blackwell shoots over Arizona’s Kesha Johnson on Saturday at the McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona.
Wisconsin freshman John Blackwell drives against Arizona’s Pelle Larsson on Saturday at the McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona.
Wisconsin freshman Nolan Winter closes out on Arizona’s Kylan Boswell on Saturday at the McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona.
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Wisconsin guard John Blackwell (25) drives against Arizona guard KJ Lewis during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in Tucson, Ariz. Arizona won 98-73. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Wisconsin freshman Nolan Winter defends Arizona’s Pelle Larsson on Saturday at the McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona.

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