The Wisconsin Badgers have entered the 2024 season with new role for a talented center, and it is not necessarily what every fan wanted.
Steven Crowl, a successful center for the Wisconsin Badgers, was recently subject to plenty of criticism on social media. Many Badgers fans see a giant 7-foot tall man and want to see rim-rocking dunks with the most ease against smaller opponents. However, Crowl is not the type of player that will dunk every chance he has and that is largely because the offense does not require Crowl to do so.
Earlier this season after a narrow win for the Badgers, Crowl spoke with Big Ten Network court-side reporter Krissy Birsdall. Crowl was asked about the offense utilizing multiple players depending on who happens to be scoring that game. The center stated, “we are comfortable with moving the ball and giving it to whoever is hot.”
While Crowl has had a big game of his own this season with 17-points against App State, the center has largely taken on a new role in the offense. Wisconsin has utilized the high pick-and-fade often this season where the shooter often passes back to the cutting guard. This has been something that the team has experimented with and many of the experiments have involved the big man passing out.
Wisconsin Badgers Offensive Changes Leading to Greater Scoring Success
Crowl and Winter are incredibly effective players for the Wisconsin Badgers in this style of offense because of the outside shot threat they both possess.
Crowl has had three games already this season with four or more assists while only recording five such games all last season. The center also had eight games with three assists last season, which should only increase this season with more capable scorers on the court.
Another key factor that has led to some of the changes in the play of Crowl this season has been the prevalence of John Blackwell, Kamari McGee, and Nolan Winter. Blackwell and McGee have shown plenty of improvements, in particular on offense which has led to a higher usage rate for the duo by nearly 3%. McGee is another great example of someone taking on a new role, with his overall usage percentage down nearly 1%, but a better offensive rating by nearly 40-points.
In the situation of Crowl, the center is actually being used a bit more early during the 2024 season than he had been during the 2023 season. The only real issue for the big man this season has been his shooting, as the shots are simply not dropping right now. However, that is likely something that will be ironed out over time as Crowl shoots out of it.
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