Tonight a lot of the speculation and conjuncture finally can come to an end as fans will get their first real glimpse of what the 2012-13 Badgers are going to take to the court for a real game! Granted it's an exhibition game against D3 in-state foe Wisconsin-Oshkosh, but at least it's not someone on your own roster you'll be playing against.
Having said that, we'll be doing a feature here each game with a few things and keys we'll be watching for in that day's contest. So, with a lot of questions still left to be answered let's dive into what we'll be watching for!
1) Point Guard Battle: After the annual Red/White scrimmage it's clear that George Marshall will get the first crack at the starting PG spot, but it's also becoming clear that Traeveon Jackson is also pushing hard for playing time and could possibly overtake Marshall if things go well against UW-O. Marshall needs to show he can be a good distributor of the ball and avoid turnovers to earn the trust of head coach Bo Ryan and the fanbase as well. It's Marshall's first time to showcase what he's got to the fans as well and as the saying goes – first impressions are everything.
2) Frontcourt Rotation: We all know that it'll be Evans, Bruesewitz, and Berggren up front (at least once Bruesewitz is back) to start the majority of games this season. We also know it's going to be Frank Kaminsky stepping up in place of Bruesewitz right now and that freshman Sam Dekker is in line for huge minutes. But, outside of those guys who is going to see minutes this year? There really isn't a lot of experience on the court behind the starters so watching to see how guys like Evan Anderson, Duje Dukan, and Zach Bohannon fit in tonight will help ease or increase those woes.
3) The New Frank Kaminsky: We've all heard a lot about the changing body of Frank Kaminsky, but tonight will be our first real shot at seeing how he has changed. Kaminsky was a great revelation in his freshman campaign and people are expecting big things from him and I'm in that group. Realistically we're going to need him to help stretch defenses and help pound the boards on the other end behind Jared Berggren.
4) Sam Dekker: Yes, it's just an exhibition game and yes Dekker is just a freshman but honestly I don't know of a single freshman that's generated more buzz around the Badgers program in my lifetime. It'll just be nice to see him back on the Kohl Center court and in a Badgers jersey. Now, add in a chance to play some good minutes and see what he can do at the collegiate level is going to be exciting during a game that could be very dull in the grand scheme of things.
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