Jon Leuer is the obvious play-maker for the Wisconsin Badgers Men’s Basketball team, but don’t discount the senior Keaton Nankivil as an important cog in Bo Ryan’s well-oiled machine known as the swing offense.
We all know Nankivil can shoot. This is evident from his career shooting percentage of .483 (157-for-325) in three seasons with the Badgers. Where he looks to improve his game is in the rebounding department. Nankivil averaged only 4.7 rebounds per game as the primary big man on a team which lives or dies on the boards.
By: Nick Grays
For the third year in a row, Nankivil led all scorers with 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting in the Wisconsin Men’s Basketball annual Red-White Scrimmage on Sunday. He also snagged eight rebounds to power his White team past the Red team by the score of 65-51.
“Overall I think we did a pretty good job. It’s only a week into the season and, I think, sometimes we forget that. As far as the four scrimmages I’ve been a part of, I thought it was very clean, the intensity was very high and I thought it went very well,” said Nankivil.
At 6-8 and 245, Nankivil is a big boy who often gets the assignment of stopping opposing team’s big men. This could be one of the reasons his rebounding numbers have been lacking in the past. With only one double-digit rebound performance in 2009-10, Nankivil thinks this season could be the year his numbers turn around.
“I think, from experience, every year gets easier,” said Nankivil. “I don’t know if the Red-White Scrimmage is necessarily a barometer of anything that will come in the season, but every year it gets a little easier and, with six seniors, that’s a big chunk of people it’s getting easier for.”
Double-doubles from the Madison native would make Badger fans very happy as the team looks to improve on their 24-9 record and second-round exit from the NCAA tournament just a year ago.
College basketball fans should be getting excited because the season is right around the corner. The Badgers take on UW-La Crosse and Minnesota State Mankato in exhibition games followed by their season opener at the Kohl Center against Prairie View A&M on November 14th.
Will Nankivil improve his rebound numbers in 2010-11? Where do you see the Badgers finishing in the Big Ten? Let me know by commenting below!
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