NFL
By: Melo Williams
Of the last eight teams that entered the Kohl Center with a record of 8-0 or better, seven have gone down. You can now add No. 13 Maryland (8-1, 1-1) to the list after the Wisconsin Badgers (7-2, 1-0) opened up Big Ten Conference play with a 64-59 victory Tuesday.
Wisconsin freshman Connor Essegian a 6’4” Guard/Wing from Fort Wayne, Indiana had a lot to do with the Badgers protecting homecourt against undefeated teams upsetting the Terrapins at the Kohl Center.
Connor Essegian was an underrecruited player in high school despite being a top 10 all-time scorer in Indiana basketball history.
Per the 247Sports composite, Essegian was the No. 230 overall prospect in the 2022 class, the No. 35 shooting guard in the country, and the No. 10 player in the state of Indiana.
The Indiana HS star SG committed to Wisconsin over offers from Wake Forest, Butler, Creighton, George Mason, and several other basketball programs.
He possesses many different skills applicable to the NBA game. For example, his offensive awareness and ability to move to open spaces on the court in the form of back door cuts and moving to the right spaces for open threes.
Connor has shown a great overall feel for the game and is proving to everyone that he can be an excellent passer giving Greg Gard another solid ball handler that can create shots for himself and others.
Are The Wisconsin Badgers Ready To Explode?
Essegian made a name for himself in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament where the Badgers took third place. His ability to shoot the ball was on full display at the Battle 4 Atlantis where his shooting almost helped the Badgers upset the reigning National Champions Kansas Jayhawks.
Against the Terrapins, Connor hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 7:24 left to give the Badgers the lead for the rest of the game which was the biggest shot of the night for the Badgers. Connor connected on back-to-back triples to widen the UW lead to 53-45 lead with 6:31 remaining in the game.
Connor told reporters “Whatever we needed at the time,” Essegian said. “It just fell in place like that and that sparks a run. It’s huge, but guys were getting me open. Chuck on that one, he drove in and kicked it out. It’s a team thing.”
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard had this say to about his freshman guard “He is not one that is bothered by pressure,” Gard said. “I’ve learned that about him. He is a really confident kid.”
Essegian ability to hit big shots at the end of these types of games makes him valuable. Team’s most often need a confident shooter who isn’t afraid of the moment. Connor Essegian seems to be that player for the Badgers.
Essegian’s streak of five straight games scoring 10 or more points ended. Connor finished the game with 8 points, 1 rebound, and 3 assists in 22 minutes for the Badgers.
Connor Essegian is averaging 10.0 points per game, 2.6 rebounds per game, 1.1 assists, and shooting 44.4% from the field while shooting an astonishing 19 for 39 on 3-pointers (48.7%) and shooting perfect from the free-throw line playing 21 minutes a night.
As the season goes on I expect Connor Essegian game to continue improving while his confidence increases. We can see that he’s not afraid to take the big shot. He shoots it so comfortably. Connor is from Indiana, one of the best scorers in the history of Indiana high school basketball, and one of the best states in the country with high-quality high-school basketball players and competition. So it’s no surprise to me why Connor is confident, knows how to play team basketball, and why he’s willing to take the big shot.
If Connor continues this level of play he will be a finalist for B1G Conference Sixth Man of the Year and will make B1G All-Freshman Team.
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