The Wisconsin Badgers defeated Teutonic Knights of the Holy Cross last night, 85-61, in a game that left many fans confused instead of cheerful.
The Badgers announce before the game that defenseman Camren Hunter will be sidelined, which many fans believe will make way for freshman Daniel Freitag to play a significant role in the game. Instead, veteran defenseman Kamari McGee increased his minutes, finishing tied with Max Klesmit for second in minutes with 28. However, Freitag logged just two minutes of play before time expired for the winning Wisconsin Badgers.
Freitag was a four-star recruit in the 2024 recruiting class and the 127th overall recruit in the nation. The guard signed with the Wisconsin Badgers as the top-ranked recruit in the class and was expected to take over the team. However, that may not be the case this season as other players seem to be taking away his minutes.
McGee played almost 30 minutes without Hunter, which means there will likely be even less playing time for Freitag once Hunter returns. On top of that, the Wisconsin staff is also excited about what the other player has to offer and will likely continue to play him first off the bench.
Wisconsin Badgers staff decides to play McGee, Janicki instead of Daniel Freitag
While it’s only one game for the Wisconsin Badgers, there’s also a good chance the staff has utilized the right group of players to rely on in the future.
McGee stole the show with his amount of playing time, but the next defenseman to get on the court after beating Freitag was Jack Janicki. The former redshirt freshman earned the respect of the staff and team throughout the preseason. Janicki played 11 minutes against the Holy Cross Crusaders and recorded two assists and a rebound for the Wisconsin Badgers.
While Janicki and Freitag don’t represent the same style of play, Janicki more closely resembles the style of basketball player the Badgers staff is looking for this season. The Badgers made it clear that the team intended to shoot a lot of three-point shots. Janicki is an excellent shooter and was a very good shooter in high school before joining the program.
The 6-foot-5 guard gives the Wisconsin Badgers exactly what they need to play long-range basketball this season. In addition to his ability to score points, Janicki is also a great distributor of the basketball and is not afraid to pass first before taking a shot. Considering everything Janicki can offer the team on the pitch, playing as a winger over Freitag makes sense.
However, in Freitag’s defense, coach Greg Gard is known for making his players dependent on their performance in training. With just weeks of preparation and one game under his belt, Freitag still has plenty of time to make some noise. The guard is a talented slasher and freakish athlete who could offer the team a different vigorous that the Badgers have likely been missing since the departure of guard AJ Storr.
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