BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — D'Mitrik Trice will take final exams this week with an eye on another testing period: the offseason. The latter will loom large in shaping his basketball and leadership skills going into his sophomore year, along with readying Trice to take over as Wisconsin's point guard.
"This is the most important summer that I've probably ever had — just by the fact that this team is going to need me to step up next year in a lot of ways," said Trice, who came of age in one respect on Tuesday. He turned 21. "I have a lot of things to work on, but I'm excited for it."
Trice is hoping to get bigger and stronger — "I'd like to gain 12 pounds if possible" — while accenting some fundamental improvements within his game. "One thing I'm going to focus on is finishing a lot better," he said. "I definitely want to get my rhythm down off the dribble a little more."
As a true freshman last season, the 6-foot, 178-pound Trice appeared in all 37 games, including starts against Michigan and Penn State. He averaged 18.3 minutes, 5.6 points and scored in double-figures six times with a high of 16 against Oklahoma. He had 63 assists, 37 turnovers and 20 steals.
"A lot of players make a big jump from that first year to their second year," said Wisconsin's new assistant coach Dean Oliver, a four-year starter at Iowa. "They have that experience under their belt, they start learning the little tricks of the trade and they gain their confidence."
That was seconded by Mike Kelley, a four-year starter at Wisconsin.
"I think he (Trice) will grow by leaps and bounds," said Kelley, who returned to the Kohl Center last Wednesday for a public reception and celebration of the 2016-2017 season. Kelley, a former ESPN and Big Ten Network analyst, conducted on-stage interviews with players and coach Greg Gard.
Trice was among Kelley's one-on-ones. After the event, he spoke expansively about Trice and point guard play, a topic that Kelley is well-versed on. Along with the third-most starts (116) and fifth-most assists (344), he's still the school's all-time leader in steals (275), a mark that may not be broken.
Kelley, like Trice, went through some freshman growing pains. When the projected starter at point guard Ty Calderwood developed tendinitis from off-season knee surgery, prompting Calderwood to opt for an injury redshirt, Kelley was thrust into the starting line-up during the 1997-98 season.
Although the situation was much different for Trice, the first guard off the bench, Kelley noted, "I don't know that anybody expected as much as he gave them. All of a sudden, he gets some minutes and he does well and he got more and more (minutes) and it became a really nice freshman season.
"But even so, you're still kind of like a duck," he said, suggesting a metaphor for the transition to a higher competitive level, especially as a first-year college player. "Above the surface, you're trying to be calm. Under the surface, you're going crazy ..."
Paddling furiously, unbeknownst to others, to keep your head above water, as the case may be.
"From that freshman to sophomore year, you settle down," Kelley went on. "You've been through it before. You know what to expect. Your body gets stronger. You're more mentally prepared. Having the advantage of that experience is going to be huge for him and he will just continue to grow."
Kelley saw signs of that potential last season.
"The number one thing to me was the way he shot with confidence," he said. "When you're thrown in (as a freshman), at least for a lot of guys, the first thing you do is eliminate failures. You think, 'All right, I'm not going to make a mistake just so I can stay on the court.'
"But he didn't have that (attitude). He was willing to make some tough passes and he had some turnovers — that was part of the process of learning what he could get away with. I don't think he changed his game because he was afraid (to make a mistake) and that bodes well for the future.
"I thought he shot the ball really well, especially early in the season."
In 13 non-conference games, Trice shot 50 percent; 18-of-30 (.600) from the 3-point line. He finished the season shooting 41.8 percent from long range, good enough for ninth in the Big Ten and the second-highest freshman mark in Wisconsin program history.
From what Kelley has seen, he's confident that Trice will develop into a reliable scorer.
"We'll see that growth," said Kelley, the 1999 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. "Where I think he can take it to the next level is defensively. He's not the biggest guy, not the tallest or longest. But a smart player realizes, 'OK, with the right matchup, this is how I can impact the game.'
"I don't think he'll be a defensive stopper, that's not what I'm saying. But he will find a way to make that a strength, whereas this year, you didn't think of him and think defense. I believe he will find a way to contribute more (at that end of the floor)."
Kelley is aware of Wisconsin's graduation losses in the backcourt. He knows that it won't be easy to replace the contributions of starters Bronson Koenig and Zak Showalter. Trice and redshirt sophomore Brevin Pritzl are the only returning guards with significant playing experience.
Incoming freshmen Kobe King and Brad Davison will be thrown in that mix.
"There's not a lot of experience," said Kelley, knowing patience will be the key. "It's funny to say to him (Trice), 'You're going to be a leader and a true sophomore.' Those two things don't usually co-exist. But I see him being that. He has the demeanor that will allow guys to respect his position.
"He seems like a really good kid with a great head on his shoulders. He showed this year that he was willing to take it game by game. You can tell that he has a pedigree — a brother who played and a dad who coaches — because the moment wasn't too big for him."
Travis Trice Sr. is the coach at Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne High School. Travis Trice Jr., a Michigan State grad, is pursuing his dream in the NBA's Developmental League. Both were present for last Wednesday night's team/fan appreciation tribute at the Kohl Center.
After exams, D'Mitrik Trice will go home to train. He's looking into attending some leadership seminars, most notably an Athletes in Action "Captain's Academy" from May 18 through the 22 in Xenia, Ohio. One of the featured speakers is CBS analyst Clark Kellogg, the former Ohio State All-American.
"A lot of guys who played in the Big Ten will be back mentoring," Trice said.
That may include former Michigan point guard and captain Derrick Walton.
Once Trice returns to campus in mid-June, he plans on tapping into Oliver's knowledge.
"It's definitely going to be fun to pick his brain," Trice said.
In this context, there's no doubt in Kelley's mind that Oliver was a sound hire.
"He's going to be really good for the guards," said Kelley, who had numerous battles on the court with Oliver, a stylish left-handed shooter. "He was extremely crafty. I don't have any recollection of him playing outside of himself or trying to do too much. He let the game come to him."
Earlier, he also referred to Trice as "crafty." Kelley, at that, was creative in his own way, accounting for how someone who averaged only 4.7 points during his career could have such a sizeable impact on the game, so much so that he was a no-brainer selection to the school's Athletics Hall of Fame.
Kelley possessed an undeniable physical and mental toughness.
Not surprisingly, so did someone else as a Big Ten player.
"He was so tough," Kelley said of Oliver. "But it was kind of a quiet toughness."
As opposed to a "look at me" outgoing bravado.
"Wisconsin has a lot of guys like that," Kelley said. "He will be fantastic."
Kelley then paid Oliver the ultimate compliment.
"You could have seen him in a Wisconsin jersey," he said. "That was the type of player he was."
And, now, Kelley can't wait to see what kind of player Trice can become.
"He will see opportunities to expand on his game," he predicted, "and continue to get better."
