John Blackwell pours in 31-points in Wisconsin basketball opener
The Wisconsin basketball guard finished with a career-high six makes from three
Madison, WI — If Wisconsin basketball goes as far as John Blackwell takes it this season, the Wisconsin Badgers should have a chance at a deep run in March. A record-setting day by Blackwell turned a close contest into an eventual 96-64 blowout of the Campbell Fighting Camels.
In a single-digit game with under ten minutes to go, UW played far from a perfect game, one that head coach Greg Gard says made it obvious that “at times we have water in our gas tank, meaning we sputter. And then, we catch fire.”
Nobody caught more fire inside the Kohl Center than Blackwell, who, on night one, showed why he deserves to be on NBA Draft boards this spring.
John Blackwell impacts Wisconsin basketball on both ends
An ultra-efficient first half by Blackwell kept the Badgers comfortably in front through 20 minutes. The junior guard scored at every level. From the perimeter, to the mid-range, around the rim, and at the free-throw line, the Fighting Camels could not stop him.
A turnaround mid-range jumper, with a defender draped all over him, defined Blackwell’s first half. The unlikely bucket gave the Michigan native his 12th and 13th points of the half, with over four minutes left to play. After that, the CU defense could only resort to fouling Blackwell on his clean drives to the hoop. Nonetheless, he finished a perfect five for five on his first three-half trips to the line.
Through 20 minutes, Blackwell finished with 17 points on 5-9 shooting from the field, making two of his four attempts from beyond the arc.
Blackwell picked up right where he left off in the second half, making impact plays on both ends of the floor. He contributed the Badgers’ first made three after intermission, and drew an off-ball offensive foul on the ensuing Campbell possession.
That was not the only time Blackwell would make back-to-back impact plays on each end of the floor. Later, he would intercept a Camels’ pass on one end, and deliver a perfect pass to a streaking Nolan Winter for a transition dunk on the other.
Even when the Brother Rice High School product missed shots, he could do no wrong. On his one free throw miss of six attempts, Winter grabbed the offensive rebound, sending it to Andrew Rohde for an open three-pointer, and turning an initial and-one bucket by Blackwell into a five-point possession.
Blackwell finished the night with 31 points and ten made field goals, both one shy of his career-high. His six made threes set a new personal high-water mark.
Hitting that career-high is a testament to the work Blackwell put in this offseason and “being locked in on every single shot,” the 6-foot-4, 205-pound standout said. “And, you know, taking good ones, you know. Ten toes down getting those up, rather than step backs.”
Defensive miscues in Wisconsin Badgers season-opener
Blackwell provided some of the bright spots to an up-and-down Badgers defense. On multiple occasions, the Preseason All-Big Ten honoree and Jack Janicki suffered miscommunications on switches, leading to buckets, including a wide-open three.
“Our guys that have been here are usually in the right position more often than not,” Gard said. “I catch [Andrew] Rohde in the right position more often than not. And the rest, we’re still trying to get in the right position all the time.”
Wisconsin allowed Campbell to make 59.3% of its shots from the field in the first half, and did not start much better after halftime. The Fighting Camels made their first three shots in the second half.
“We got a little antsy, I thought, at time, and um, and then got burnt because of it, which is good,” Gard said. “It’s a good teaching moment for us.”
Eventually, Wisconsin turned it around in the final quarter of the game.
“We played a good 20 minutes of really high level offense,” CU head coach John Andrzejek said in a postgame interview. “Maybe thirty minutes of high level offense.”
It was after that, the midway point of the second half, that the Badgers shut the Camels down. UW had an extended offensive burst, scoring 30 points in the final nine minutes. On the other end, Wisconsin only allowed Campbell to add four more points the rest of the way. Turning a five-point game into a 32-point blowout.
“They put their foot on the gas and clamped down defensively,” said Andrzejek.
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