Photo by: Jack McLaughlin
Maximizing the Badgers’ playing time
January 15, 2017 | Women's Basketball
Wisconsin’s coaches track minutes each player spends on the floor
MADISON, Wis. -- One of the unique things that the new Badger coaching staff does for its players is closely watch the number of minutes they play a game.
A key duty on the bench is for the assistant coaches to track the minutes played for each and every player. If you listen closely, you'll hear comments like "Kendra's at four-and-a-half" or "Cayla's at five."
What they're talking about is the amount of time each player has been on the court.
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"We track minutes to try to maximize our rotation so players are at their freshest the entire game," head coach Jonathan Tsipis explained. "We also try and squeeze breaks around media time outs or at the end of quarters to steal some extra time." Â
The Badgers will try to maximize their time when they travel to Penn State on Monday. Tip time is 6 p.m. CT from Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pennsylvania, live on the Big Ten Network.
The rotation system shows up on the UW statistics.
All five starters average 30 minutes or less per game with only five players over 20 minutes per game. Junior Cayla McMorris averages a team-high 29.8 minutes per game while Courtney Fredrickson (27.6), Avyanna Young (26.4), Kendra Van Leeuwen (26.9), and Ashley Kelsick (20.3) are all over 20 minutes per game.
"We started it my second year at George Washington as we worked on implementing a fast-paced offense based on posts who could really run the floor," said Tsipis. "Also, we talked with NBA, WNBA and international coaches when we switched to quarters on how they divided minutes with quarters."
The Badger system allows 11 players to average double figures in minutes per game. It also shows up in scoring as 10 players averaging 3.0 or more points per game. Â
The system also shows up on the box score as UW's bench has outscored its opponents by 7.7 points per game this season. Wisconsin has outperformed foes 402-271 (23.6 - 15.9) off the bench, outscoring all but two opponents. UW's bench has outscored one opponent by 20-plus points (North Carolina +24) and seven opponents by 10-or-more points, including a plus-15 (34-19) advantage over Minnesota on Jan. 7.
As Tsipis says, "We're not good enough to rely on any one, or two, or three players. It has to be a team effort."
Wisconsin practices its fast-paced offense on a daily basis. During team practices, drills are accelerated to mimic a game-like atmosphere. Only a few minutes are spent on each drill before quickly moving on to the next drill.
The players are also monitored closely during practice as Tsipis explains, "We include the heart-rate monitor data from practice to see how much a certain individual can sustain."
A key duty on the bench is for the assistant coaches to track the minutes played for each and every player. If you listen closely, you'll hear comments like "Kendra's at four-and-a-half" or "Cayla's at five."
What they're talking about is the amount of time each player has been on the court.
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"We track minutes to try to maximize our rotation so players are at their freshest the entire game," head coach Jonathan Tsipis explained. "We also try and squeeze breaks around media time outs or at the end of quarters to steal some extra time." Â
The Badgers will try to maximize their time when they travel to Penn State on Monday. Tip time is 6 p.m. CT from Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pennsylvania, live on the Big Ten Network.
The rotation system shows up on the UW statistics.
All five starters average 30 minutes or less per game with only five players over 20 minutes per game. Junior Cayla McMorris averages a team-high 29.8 minutes per game while Courtney Fredrickson (27.6), Avyanna Young (26.4), Kendra Van Leeuwen (26.9), and Ashley Kelsick (20.3) are all over 20 minutes per game.
"We started it my second year at George Washington as we worked on implementing a fast-paced offense based on posts who could really run the floor," said Tsipis. "Also, we talked with NBA, WNBA and international coaches when we switched to quarters on how they divided minutes with quarters."
The Badger system allows 11 players to average double figures in minutes per game. It also shows up in scoring as 10 players averaging 3.0 or more points per game. Â
The system also shows up on the box score as UW's bench has outscored its opponents by 7.7 points per game this season. Wisconsin has outperformed foes 402-271 (23.6 - 15.9) off the bench, outscoring all but two opponents. UW's bench has outscored one opponent by 20-plus points (North Carolina +24) and seven opponents by 10-or-more points, including a plus-15 (34-19) advantage over Minnesota on Jan. 7.
As Tsipis says, "We're not good enough to rely on any one, or two, or three players. It has to be a team effort."
Wisconsin practices its fast-paced offense on a daily basis. During team practices, drills are accelerated to mimic a game-like atmosphere. Only a few minutes are spent on each drill before quickly moving on to the next drill.
The players are also monitored closely during practice as Tsipis explains, "We include the heart-rate monitor data from practice to see how much a certain individual can sustain."
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