BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — Al McGuire, the flamboyant basketball coach and philosopher, used to encourage young people to get a college degree. But he would also implore them to spend six months as a bartender and six months as a cab driver for a real education. He always contended "the world is run by C students."
If winning weren't important, nobody would score, he reasoned. It was obviously important to the late McGuire who coached Marquette to a national championship in 1977 and gave us, among his many lines, this memorable one, "The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores."
So it is with Wisconsin's Alex Illikainen, Khalil Iverson and Charles Thomas, IV. As true freshmen, they each went through some normal growing pains while getting a taste of competition at the Big Ten level. And now they're ready to apply what they learned to their next step of development.
"We're all a lot more confident in our game," said Illikainen, a 6-foot-9, 232-pound forward from Grand Rapids, Minnesota. "We're more comfortable on the court and can communicate with the other guys and not be scared out there. It's a big change from last year. We're all looking forward to this season."
Illikainen appeared in 33 games and averaged 9.8 minutes, 2.2 points and 1.5 rebounds.
"I feel like the same rules apply from my first year as far as coming out and competing as hard as I can to help my team win," said Iverson, a 6-foot-5, 212-pound wing from Delaware, Ohio. "But I'm 10 times more calm, because I know what to expect already, so I don't have nerves coming into the games."
Iverson appeared in 34 games and averaged 13 minutes, 2.6 points and 1.9 rebounds.
"With the experience, I feel like I'm a lot more into the flow of things and the offense," said Thomas, a 6-foot-8, 252-pound forward from Highland, Maryland. "I learned the speed of the game and have a better IQ reading things. You have to read a pass and know where a guy is cutting. Just be smarter."
Thomas appeared in 31 games and averaged 9.1 minutes, 2.3 points and 2.0 rebounds.
"They're all being more aggressive for one thing and they're more comfortable in how they believe they can contribute to the team," Wisconsin associate head coach Lamont Paris said of the trio. "That's one of the biggest things. Their confidence level is just so much higher."
Illikainen, Iverson and Thomas were members of the 2015 recruiting class that also included Brevin Pritzl, a guard from De Pere, Wis.; and Andy Van Vliet, a forward/center from Belgium. Pritzl missed most of last season with a broken foot. Van Vliet was sidelined by an NCAA eligibility ruling.
"As a group, I think the trio of sophomores has really grown and they're going to continue to grow throughout the year," UW assistant coach Howard Moore said of Illikainen, Iverson and Thomas. "But there are aspects to their game that each guy has to work on and get better at."
They each used the offseason to develop their skills. Iverson worked on his outside shooting.
"I wouldn't necessarily count them," he said of the exact number of shots that he took each day. "But I'd just be in the gym for certain amounts of time, sometimes two times a day with my brother (Kevin Jr.) back home and along with Charlie (Thomas) when I came back to school."
Iverson had some special moments above the rim last season. At Illinois, he had a career-high 10 points, five rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal in 30 minutes off the bench. At Iowa, he had three impressive dunks to go along with a career-high three assists. Can Iverson become more of a perimeter threat?
"Guys like Nigel (Hayes) still dare me in practice," said Iverson, grinning. "But I've been knocking some down (from 18 feet and in) and trying to get them to respect me some more. I'm not really worried about threes. I have an advantage down low scoring and I like distributing the ball."
In Sunday's Red-White scrimmage, Iverson had four assists and zero turnovers. But that's not what got the attention of Paris, who excitedly pointed out, "Khalil had some really good plays — two rebounds, where he went above the crowd with two hands like a grown man would."
Added Moore, "Khalil understands the speed of the game now and how he has to adjust. With his athleticism and strength that he has added, he understands how hard that he has to play and what he has to bring to the table mentally, as opposed to just the physical aspect of it."
Iverson isn't the only sophomore seeking to expand his shooting range.
"I'm not afraid to take a three at all, I've been working on that a lot," said Thomas, who made the only three-pointer that he took in the scrimmage. Last season, he was 4-of-15 from beyond the arc. "I've also been working on my post game and just my all-around game in trying to be more versatile."
Thomas had a clutch triple to go along with three rebounds at Iowa last season.
"Slowing down and reading situations a little better will help him and he's trying to do that a little bit more," Moore said. "He's continuing to work on getting better defensively — limiting the ways that a guy can attack him. He's really committed to doing that."
Illikainen didn't miss a shot in the scrimmage. He was 4-of 4 from the field with one hit from three-point range. To go along with his nine points, he had seven rebounds. In last season's Big Ten opener, he knocked down a couple of triples and finished with 10 points in 11 minutes against Purdue.
"One thing I worked on this summer was a lot of down-low work in the post, but what showed from this game (Sunday's scrimmage) was my outside play," said Illikainen. "I'm just trying to move without the ball, come off screens and get open shots. A big thing, too, is going hard to the boards."
One of Illikainen's baskets came from a tip in the paint and he said that validated the importance of crashing the glass and attacking.
"Alex has been much improved offensively in a lot of different ways," Moore noted. "He's quicker. I think he's in better condition."
As a team, the Badgers are in better shape with the sophs growing into clearer roles.
"For the most part, they understand that they have glaring things they can get better at," Moore said. "But they also bring some things to the table that give us an added boost when they get into the game. They can bring some things that other guys might be able to bring."
In sum, they're no longer freshmen.
