How Wisconsin basketball supercharged its offense and became a Big Ten contender

MADISON, Wis. — Sharif Chambliss fidgeted in his seat on the tarmac and scrolled through Twitter on his cell phone while waiting for a delayed flight that would take Wisconsin’s basketball team home. It was March 28, and Wisconsin had just suffered an excruciating 56-54 defeat to North Texas during an NIT semifinal in Las Vegas that highlighted the scoring deficiencies that plagued the team for much of the season.

Over the final 9:07 of the game, Wisconsin missed 10 consecutive field-goal attempts and didn’t score to surrender an eight-point lead. Chambliss, a Badgers assistant coach, was among many people who understood that if the program wanted to take a meaningful step forward, something needed to change.

As Chambliss refreshed his timeline, he came across a most interesting and serendipitous development. St. John’s guard AJ Storr, a Big East all-freshman team performer, was entering the transfer portal. Chambliss, who watched Storr play in high school, knew that Storr’s explosiveness from the wing at 6-foot-7 presented the potential elixir to help cure those scoring woes, assuming coaches could convince him to consider Wisconsin.

Before the airplane took off for Madison, Chambliss spoke to his contacts at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, where Storr briefly attended, talked to Storr’s dad and set up a call with Storr and his mom. Chambliss soon learned from Storr that he was one of the first coaches to reach out. And the interest was mutual.

“He was what we needed,” Chambliss said. “We didn’t have anybody like him. It’s not every day you recruit somebody with that type of athleticism. Not at least here in the past.”

In the end, Wisconsin landed its man. Storr visited campus and committed to the Badgers in April, eschewing planned future visits to UConn and Xavier, as well as interest from more than 30 schools. Chambliss and head coach Greg Gard sold Storr on playing in a more structured system that could help him thrive and reach his NBA dreams two years after Badgers guard Johnny Davis became a lottery pick. Storr, in turn, saw a great opportunity to be a better playmaker while playing games close to his hometown of Rockford, Ill., which meant his mom could attend every game at the Kohl Center.

“I was like, ‘It’s the perfect spot to go,’” Storr said.

The result of that decision has been transformational for both Storr and the Badgers. Storr leads the team in scoring at 14.7 points per game and has quickly developed into a more complete player whose energy has been infectious. Wisconsin, meanwhile, has merged new talent from Storr and true freshmen John Blackwell and Nolan Winter with its returning personnel — including all five starters from last season — to form the deepest and most efficient team Gard has had in his nine seasons in charge.

After Wisconsin’s 88-72 demolition of Nebraska on Saturday, the Badgers are averaging 75.8 points per game. That might not seem like a big deal to some because it ranks 10th in the Big Ten and, as of the start of this week, tied for 162nd in the country. But for those who have seen Wisconsin in previous years, it is a marked and jaw-dropping change.

Wisconsin not only is averaging more than 10 points better than last season but has its highest per-game scoring output for the program in 30 years — since guys named Michael Finley, Rashard Griffith and Tracy Webster helped break a 47-year NCAA Tournament drought under coach Stu Jackson. Wisconsin has scored at least 70 points in eight consecutive games and, according to KenPom.com, ranks seventh in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency rating (119.6). Only three Badgers teams have been more efficient since 2000, and two of them went to the Final Four. They have done so without sacrificing the defensive principles that have long been a staple of the program.

Big Ten play has only just begun, which means a two-month grind is on the horizon. But this Wisconsin team is winning with a uniquely entertaining brand of basketball that those within the program believe has the potential for sustained success.

“We know what they want,” Chambliss said. “And we know what they’re capable of.”

One year ago, Wisconsin rose to No. 14 in the AP Top 25 and improved to 11-2 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten with a 63-60 victory against Minnesota. That’s a near-identical situation to the one the Badgers find themselves now: 11-3, ranked 15th and, at 3-0 in the Big Ten, the only league team without a conference loss.

A difference this time around comes in an enviable amount of depth. Forward Tyler Wahl missed three games last season with a sprained right ankle suffered against Minnesota that never returned to full strength, and guard Max Klesmit missed a pair of games after taking an elbow to his mouth that required 16 stitches. The Badgers went 0-5 without both of them in the lineup and never won consecutive games the rest of the season. Gard’s rotations rarely went past eight players, and when a key player struggled, the impact often was too great to overcome.

Now, Gard has options. Plenty of them. Storr’s ascension into the starting lineup pushed shooting guard Connor Essegian, who averaged double figures in scoring last season, to the bench. Essegian struggled early this season with a back injury and saw his production and minutes decline, but he buried a season-high four 3-pointers against Nebraska. Blackwell has been a revelation, providing athleticism and scoring (9.2 points) at guard off the bench. The 6-11 Winter gives needed frontcourt help. Ten players have been a part of Gard’s regular rotation, and during a practice Friday, 11 players worked with the top group when including forward Markus Ilver.

“It’s honestly amazing,” Blackwell said. “How can a team scout you sometimes when you’ve got 11 guys that can go hoop?”

That depth has created more competitive practices. It also has meant fewer minutes for the team’s starters, which include returners Wahl, Klesmit, forward Steven Crowl and point guard Chucky Hepburn, to help them save their legs throughout a long season. Gard said he is consistently trying to address the quandary of how to keep his main guys in a rhythm, as well as helping reserves such as Essegian, Winter, forward Carter Gilmore and point guard Kamari McGee earn enough minutes to gain confidence.

“It’s a good problem to have,” Gard said. “We’ve just got to keep those guys pushing.”

Storr has been a catalyst offensively by becoming a smarter player under Gard. He has learned to play off two feet in the paint so he can be more efficient at the rim rather than settling for lower-percentage fadeaway shots. He understands the value of retreat dribbles to reset rather than crashing into the lane and hoping daylight appears. Storr also has made big strides defensively, though he continues to work on having fewer breakdowns and being a better rebounder.

Tyler Wahl and the Badgers are 3-0 in the Big Ten. (Mark Hoffman / USA Today)

Storr’s ability to score at all three levels has been impressive. Last week against Iowa, he buried a 3-pointer, threw down a ferocious dunk off the glass from Hepburn that came in at No. 2 on “SportsCenter’s” top 10 plays of the day, drove from the perimeter for a dunk and made a strong move in traffic to score on a short jumper from the left baseline after he picked up his dribble. Chambliss said Storr’s aggressiveness and knack for scoring has allowed others to fill in roles that are more comfortable for them. Hepburn can be more of a distributor. Wahl doesn’t have to press to be the primary scorer and can better pick and choose his spots.

“He just brings a swagger, a mojo, a confidence about himself that he knows the guy in front of him has no chance of guarding him,” Klesmit said of Storr. “Whoever the other four guys are on the floor feed off that and play off him as well.”

Even with Storr, Gard recognized that Wisconsin could only reach another level if the team’s returning players showed drastic improvement, and that’s exactly what has happened. A healthy Wahl is shooting 56 percent on 2-point attempts after making 43.8 percent last season. Crowl has increased his scoring and rebounding numbers, is playing more physically and has made 12 of 18 3-pointers. Hepburn lost 10 pounds during the offseason and is quicker with the ball. Gard said Klesmit’s confidence grew after proving to himself that he could play in the Big Ten following two seasons at Wofford.

Wisconsin has been one of the hottest teams in the country, with its lone loss since Nov. 15 a blowout defeat at then-No. 1 Arizona. The last seven victories have been by double digits. Gard says that when he charts games on film, he’ll highlight any stretch in which Wisconsin goes three consecutive possessions without scoring to better understand why and correct it. It’s a combination of personnel and scheme that has raised the bar on what is possible.

“I just feel like the connectivity of our team and the togetherness we have, like sharing the ball, not guys trying to go get their own, I think that impacts scoring,” Blackwell said. “That’s one of the main reasons we’ve been scoring like we have, because of the connectivity we have. We all share and we all trust each other.”

One of the more under-the-radar but significant differences in Wisconsin’s approach this season comes from the schematic adjustments Gard made to the offense. He needed to find a way to alleviate scoring droughts while tailoring play to the skills of his team. That’s how he settled on regularly operating out of a ball-screen continuity offense, which is a motion-based system that creates advantages through continuous wing and middle ball screens between a guard and the four or five-man.

It was part of Gard’s offense previously but is now being utilized much more frequently because of how it helps players easily keep the ball moving even when there isn’t a specific play called. What makes the system challenging for opponents to defend is the variety of actions and wrinkles Gard has installed out of it. For example, on Wisconsin’s second offensive possession against Nebraska, Wahl set a screen on the left wing for Storr and then rolled to the basket on the empty side of the court. Storr found Wahl at the rim for an open layup attempt that resulted in one of Wahl’s rare misses.

During the second half, Crowl set a pick for Hepbrun, who drew a double team that left Crowl open for 3 at the top of the key after he made a short roll to the perimeter off the screen. Hepburn passed to Crowl, who buried the shot to give Wisconsin a 72-57 lead. Other wrinkles include duck-ins, when the second big slips to the basket during the pick, or snap-backs where other guards run through.

Hepburn has benefitted as much as any player because of his ballhandling skills and decision-making ability out of pick-and-roll situations. He can maneuver around Crowl’s big body to bury step-back 3s, split double teams to attack the rim for layups or find the open man off the continuous screen action. Hepburn is averaging a career-best four assists per game and has the best assist-to-turnover ratio of his career (56 to 17).

“Chucky and Steve are two of our best players,” Gard said. “So you have them in a lot of middle ball screens, and you’ve got a good point guard that can really see the floor, that’s why his assist numbers are so high. They’ve got to buy into their roles, and they have.”

Gard has leaned on former all-Big Ten Wisconsin standout Kirk Penney, who was hired before the season as a special assistant. Penney played professionally overseas for 15 seasons and ran many of the concepts Wisconsin is now using. Klesmit said the offense has provided players with a greater comfort level reacting to ball screens and has led to fewer stagnant 1-on-1 situations late in the shot clock.

“It’s within the flow of what you’re doing so it’s not something like, ‘Oh, wow, we’ve got to go set this flat ball screen now,’” Klesmit said. “Our patience and poise this year in terms of late shot clock and the entirety of the shot clock is a lot better.”

Wisconsin doesn’t rely heavily on the 3-pointer, having attempted the second-fewest 3s in the Big Ten. It shoots a league-leading 75.7 percent from the free-throw line. It has rebounded 34.7 percent of its missed shots this season compared to 23.6 percent last season. And it is still in the top 35 nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency. Those are qualities that can make the Badgers built to last.

“It makes it look like it’s all sweet music when the ball is going in at a high rate,” Gard said. “I think it’s a combination of all those things. I can’t discredit some of the schematic things that we’ve changed and adjusted.”

Gard has been at Wisconsin, either as a head coach or an assistant under Bo Ryan, since 2001. He has been around long enough to know that teams like this don’t come along every year.

He and his coaching staff recognized this could be a special group during the summer and tried to tell players how good they could be if they executed the plan and believed in themselves. Wisconsin’s best teams have been its most experienced, and the Badgers didn’t have a senior expire his eligibility from last season because Wahl chose to return for a fifth year.

GO DEEPER

Deep and experienced, this Wisconsin team is ready to play hardball

“We told them at the end of last year,” Chambliss said. “You look at those teams that have usually made those NIT runs and get to the Final Fours of the NIT that bring everybody back. Usually that next year they’re able to make big jumps and make a lot of noise, get to that second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. We reminded them of that.”

Reaching that second weekend is not something Wisconsin has done under Gard since his second season in 2016-17. Gard has twice been named the Big Ten coach of the year since then. But his 2019-2020 team couldn’t play in the NCAA Tournament because it was canceled amid the pandemic, and his 2021-2022 team lost in the second round as a No. 2 seed when it missed 15 straight 3-pointers against Iowa State and had no healthy point guards remaining halfway through the game.

Gard isn’t one to look beyond his team’s next game, which comes at Ohio State on Wednesday night. As Gard says, if you stare too far out in front, you’ll trip on what’s right in front of you.

But this season at Wisconsin at least feels different. And, if nothing else, the road ahead with experience, depth, talent and plenty of scoring power is paved with a golden opportunity.

(Top photo of AJ Storr: John Fisher / Getty Images)