Wisconsin Men's Basketball Red-White Scrimmage Watch Guide and Open Practice Notebook

Howdy folks! College basketball season is barely two weeks away! Can you believe it!?

This afternoon may as well be the unofficial start to the season for Wisconsin Badgers basketball fans as Wisconsin hosts its annual Red-White intra-squad scrimmage starting at 4:00 PM CT inside the Kohl Center.

If you’re making the trip to Madison or just want to know the latest big storylines for the Badgers, below is today’s watch guide for the scrimmage. Included is a look into two players making surprising pushes into head coach Greg Gard’s starting lineup.

Finally, for our premium subscribers, scroll to the bottom half of this post for my notebook from this week’s Wisconsin basketball practice open to the media. I had an up-close look at the Badgers bigs working on some footwork, and it provided an enlightening look at a position that is, in my opinion, a potential pitfall for the Badgers this season.

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Madison, WI - Fans have their first chance to see the new-look Wisconsin basketball team on Sunday. The Badgers host their annual Red-White scrimmage at 4:00 PM CT inside the Kohl Center. Tickets are free and can be reserved at this link. 

Head coach Greg Gard added seven new players to his roster this season. With the help of three incoming transfers and four freshmen, Gard's challenge is replacing the scoring and playmaking of three outgoing starters. 

Between Sunday's scrimmage and Wisconsin's exhibition against UW-River Falls on October 30th, fans should have a clearer picture of this Badgers team before the season officially tips off on Monday, November 4th. 

Position Change and a Starting Role for Forward Nolan Winter

Nolan Winter has played most of his basketball in the backcourt. When he arrived at UW, however, he was tasked with backing up Steven Crowl at center. Now, Winter appears slated to slot into a role that better suits his skill set. 

According to a report from CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein, "if the season started today, Nolan Winter would be Wisconsin's starting power forward alongside Steven Crowl."

Rothstein's report matches what Athlon Sports/All Badgers insider Kedrick Stumbris has seen at Wisconsin basketball practices this pre-season. Winter has appeared dominant on the glass, and, according to Gard, "Winter has far and away led is in rebounding" during pre-season practices and "second isn't close."

Combine that rebounding ability with the Lakeville North product's ability to shoot the ball, and Crowl will have found himself a frontcourt partner truly built to complement him. Winter shot only 30.8% from beyond the arc on 39 attempts last season. Still, his ability to produce any outside shooting from the frontcourt will significantly change the dynamic at power forward from what outgoing graduate Tyler Wahl brought to the position.

The 6'11" forward added 15 pounds of muscle this offseason. Despite the added weight, he still feels confident in his conditioning, the sophomore told Athlon Sports/All Badgers. Which, faced with potential starting minutes, is a good sign for the Lakeville, Minnesota native.

Kamari McGee Emerging as Greg Gard's Starting Point Guard

Former Wisconsin basketball standout Chucky Hepburn's decision to transfer to Lousiville shook up Gard's offseason plans. Gard dipped into the transfer portal and brought Central Arkansas transfer point guard Camren Hunter to Madison, but it appears a different transfer guard is slated to grab a starting role at the point. 

"McGee has consistently separated himself," Gard said Tuesday about the competition for the starting point guard spot. "I think he's been the most consistent and, quite frankly, I think he's played the best over the two and a half weeks [of practice]."

Beyond his ability to control the offense, McGee is an outspoken leader on defense. During practice, the senior consistently directs traffic on defense, which is not lost on Gard either.

"It hasn't been always numbers dependent, but the leadership, the vocalization that I hear from him, a lot of that is because of his experience. Hunter's played two years of college but he hasn't been here. Kam McGee has a little leg up in that - he knows and he's comfortable with who he's playing with and what we want."