MICHAEL MCCLEARY
WISCONSIN MEN'S BASKETBALL
John Tonje smiled when he heard a certain phrase.
The graduate guard is in his first year with the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team, but he's already heard coach Greg Gard's plea of playing "off two feet" a lot. But it's not just Gard, Tonje said.
"I mean, I'm pretty sure a lot of coaches around the nation say it," Tonje said. "It's not the first time I've heard it."
Applying it, though, is still something Tonje said he's working to improve at. Gard used the phrase repeatedly to describe the growth of last season's hyper-athletic leading scorer AJ Storr, who transferred to Kansas this offseason. Tonje replaced him in the lineup. And the talking point likely won't evaporate once there's someone in place next season to replace Tonje, Wisconsin's current leading scorer at 19.2 points per game.
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Gard is really trying to stress balance, Tonje said. And over the last several weeks, Tonje was looks at times unbalanced. The sixth-year wing hasn't shot above 50% in each of his last six games, going 22 for 64 from the field since a 33-point outburst against Pittsburgh on Nov. 24. In a blowout win for the Badgers over Detroit Mercy, Tonje had his first game this season where he failed to reach double-digit points, scoring just nine on 2-of-6 shooting from the field. All the while, he's continued to lead Wisconsin in turnovers, averaging 2.5 per game.
The urgency is high, as the Badgers (10-3, 0-2 Big Ten) are set to reopen conference play against Iowa on Jan. 3 at the Kohl Center, and Tonje has already proven how he has the ability to raise Wisconsin's ceiling 13 games into his one-and-done season at the school. He and Gard know their time together is limited, too.
"Coach is doing everything he can to make us better, and that's his obligation to us," Tonje said. "And then also our obligation is to try to do our best to listen and pick up on (it)."
Gard's plea isn't a strict rule, either. The Badgers' loss at Illinois on Dec. 10 was perhaps Tonje's least-efficient game of the season, taking a team-high 15 shots but connecting on just five. Yet in the second half, Tonje saw an opening from the right corner, drove in and rose off one foot for a dunk attempt at the rim. He missed, but was fouled. Amid a game where he was caught out of control at the rim on several occasions, Tonje nearly swung the game's momentum in a single leap.
Gard said players know when they have a clear path to do that, but he maintained that the film is out on Tonje. In part due to his propensity for drawing fouls, Tonje has sometimes found himself trapped with his feet off the ground and in ill-position to make a play without a whistle. Tonje said keeping balance in the paint would help make decisions, giving more options as he reads the game. Opponents and officials (as he ranks second in the nation with 94 free throws made) are learning his game, and that requires Tonje to add more layers to what he can do. And that requires control.
Because shooting slumps happen. Tonje said his outside shooting isn't an issue, despite him shooting just 21% from 3 over his last four games. Among Badgers who have taken at least 20 3s, his 37.1% rate from deep still ranks second, behind only senior guard Kamari McGee's blistering 50% clip. But when his shot isn't there, Tonje still wants reasons for the Badgers to keep him on the court.
"Just trying to rebound and try to be someone that can make the right play, limit turnovers, and just trying to be efficient in everything else," Tonje said. "Just trying to help my team win. I mean, honestly, that's really all I'm out there trying to do."
And in some ways, Tonje said some struggles can help. Tonje referred to that idea in a team-wide context: The Badgers were able to learn with wins in their first eight games. Then three consecutive "heightens the experience" of the lessons Wisconsin can learn in film sessions.
As individual struggles have struck Tonje, he is taking a similar position. Gard wants him to play off two feet, so he said he's been working every day to improve on that. Everything has to be done in a "short order," Gard said. But fortunately, Wisconsin has plenty of positive to point out to Tonje. And Gard said following Wisconsin's win over Detroit Mercy on Dec. 22 that the process of Tonje regaining his team-shifting form is about pointing out the things he does right, and why they happen.
"You just have to stay consistent and just keep working, keep doing the things that you've had success (with)," Tonje said. Failure is good because you can learn from it."
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