It is pretty clear watching Wisconsin play over the last month that Hayes, the 6'7 freshman from Ohio, is going to be a star on this team. He won Freshman of the Week for the third time this season and is rapidly improving by the game. Hayes is a tough player to guard because while he is undersized to play the four, he is built like a defensive end meaning Hayes can out physical most people inside. He showed against Michigan State the ability to face up to the basket and make things happen as well as nearly every time he did some sort of post move, Hayes drew a foul on a Michigan State defender.In recent weeks, Hayes going to the free throw line 12 times could spell trouble for this team. For the season, Hayes shoots a mere 58 percent from the free throw line. He is not a good shooter by any means therefore if he goes to the line more than 10 times a game, there is a need to be better. Hayes did just that on Sunday afternoon missing only four of his 12 free throw attempts. Most of his points came from the line as Hayes once again finished with double-digit scoring with 14, but that is very important he may have found his stroke at the free throw line. Hayes' last three games see him averaging 15 points a game and shooting 72 percent from the field. It is evident Hayes is pushing hard to be considered for Freshman of the Year in the Big Ten.
Gary Harris is one of the best players in the country. Wisconsin's defense is not what it used to be in years past. Many people assumed Harris would have a big game against this Wisconsin team, but he had only six points on 3/20 shooting. Wisconsin finally held a star player in check for most of the game. Sure, Adreian Payne went off for 24 points, but they cut off Harris from scoring. Badgers' perimeter defense was as good as I have seen this season. They forced Harris into several bad shots, and he never found a rhythm in the game. We can wonder if things would have been different if Keith Appling played, but missing 17/20 shots is not completely point guard driven. Wisconsin caused Harris to have a bad game, and with the next couple games deal with facing good guards, it will be interesting to see if shutting down the top guards become a trend.
Another major criticism with this team has been the play of Traevon Jackson. On this blog, we refer to it as 'Good Traevon' or 'Bad Traevon.' This was the definition of a good Traevon game. He did not too much as Jackson only shot the ball five times. He had seven points, eight assists and five rebounds filling up the box score rather than just shooting the ball countless amounts of time. Jackson beat Harris off the dribble for the game-winning shot with two seconds. He might not be the player Wisconsin fans want taking the last shot of the game, but the thing about game-winners is once a player knows he can do it, he tends to repeat his success. I am not completely sold on Jackson turning the corner, but if he keeps stringing together good starts, I will be inclined to do so.
This could be the start of payback week for Wisconsin as they face rival Minnesota on Thursday who they fell to earlier this season, and head to Ann Arbor Sunday to see if they can do to Michigan, what the Wolverines did to Wisconsin... Beat them on the road. Revenge tour could be in full force, and it might be led by the young man from Ohio.
Charlie.
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