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Lucas: Confident Krabbenhoft provides UW a welcome boost offensively

Mike Lucas  —  3/21/2008 5:13 am

OMAHA, Neb. -- Joe Krabbenhoft admitted that he felt a little sheepish accompanying University of Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan to midcourt following Thursday night's 71-56 win over Cal State Fullerton. Krabbenhoft, the industrious UW junior, had been singled out to conduct a postgame interview with CBS play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan and color analyst Dan Bonner.

"I was surprised they wanted me -- coach was, too," Krabbenhoft conceded with a smirk. "Coach looks at me with his eyes wide open and it's like he's saying, 'Why do they want you?' He had just sat me out for a couple of turnovers. I was surprised because any one of the guys who played could have been out there (interviewing), even the guys on the scout team. It's all part of the team effort. Every game is. Look at the stat sheet. The wealth is spread throughout."

Krabbenhoft, the quintessential team player, was on point with his assessment, particularly after scoring 13 points, the third time in the last four games that he has scored in double-figures. During last weekend's Big Ten tournament, he averaged 10 points, reversing a trend in which he had scored more than nine points just once over the last 13 games of the regular season. It was also a reversal from the way he finished last season's NCAA tournament. Krabbenhoft was held scoreless in a second-round loss to UNLV. He only took three shots, a sharp departure from the confidence that he has been showing in his offense this season. Not that scoring has ever mattered.

But confidence does. What has been the biggest difference in his offensive game from one season to the next? "Just confidence," Krabbenhoft confirmed. "Learning the game. Being in the system now for my third year. Learning from probably the best player that ever put on a Wisconsin jersey, in Alando Tucker. It has been an accumulation of so many things. My teammates are doing a great job of finding me for easy buckets. Trevon (Hughes) is about as a good of a penetrator as I've ever played with. He has allowed me to get open shots. And I don't know where to begin to tell you what Tucker taught me. But, first of all, you've got to be tough. You can't shy away or fade away from contact. You've got to get to the free-throw line."

Krabbenhoft was a combined 15-of-16 from the stripe against Michigan and Michigan State at Indianapolis. And the transition from the Big Ten tourney -- where every shot was contested and every player had to play through contact to even get off a shot -- may have been one of the reasons why the Badgers got off to a slow start against Fullerton. "You could tell that they came from a different league," he said of the Titans, a member of the Big West Conference. "But that's what is fun about the NCAA tournament. It gives us a chance to play against different styles of play. We're used to banging inside with seven-footers (within the conference). But we enjoy the challenge of playing new teams and different faces and stuff like that. Especially, for me, guarding an On-Gone-yeah (that would be Josh Akognon, pronounced ah-KOY-uhn). I still don't know how to say his name. I should learn that because he's a great player. He gets his shot off as quick as Drew Neitzel or A.J. Abrams from Texas. Quickest shots I've ever played against."

While Akognon has a reputation of being an elite 3-point shooter, Krabbenhoft does not. Nonetheless, he knocked down a triple in the first half Thursday, his first since Feb. 28, his second in the last 17 games and his fifth of the season. "If I'm open, I've got to put it up," Krabbenhoft said. "I've shot 3s in high school and when I came here, coach never told me not to shoot them. He just said, 'Don't force them.' Obviously, there are guys on our team who have a greener light than I do. Like J-Bo (Jason Bohannon). That's for a reason. But if I have an open shot, my teammates expect me to put it up. And I just have to continue to be confident and knock them down. I've been doing the same things that I've been doing all year, trying to contribute in every phase of the game. And help our team win. We all have our roles that we try to play."

So what will be Krabbenhoft's role Saturday against Kansas State? Will he guard 6-foot-10 phenom Michael Beasley? Or will Marcus Landry get Beasley? And who will check 6-6 Bill Walker? Is it possible that Krabbenhoft and Landry will trade off on the assignments against Beasley and Walker? "Beasley has the biggest hands I've ever seen in my life," Krabbenhoft observed in awe. "Oh, my gosh. I can't believe his hands are that big. No wonder he leads the nation in rebounding. Not only does he have the highest motor in the country -- he never stops working -- but his hands are just huge. Walker is a great talent. He can put it on the floor with the best of them. He's very athletic, too. But they're a complete team. Not just those two guys. They've got some guards who run the show really well. But obviously it's focused around Beasley and Walker."

Pausing to consider the challenge, Krabbenhoft continued, "In about T-minus-16 to 18 hours, we will be studying them (the K-State Wildcats) like I would be studying for my history class. I'm just looking forward to playing the eventual No. 1 (NBA) draft pick. That would be two years in a row with Greg Oden and Michael Beasley."

After Kansas State dominated Southern Cal on the glass (44 rebounds to 27), USC coach Tim Floyd said, "I think they're a team that has a chance to advance and go to the regional final. They've got great, great talent. And when they rebound it like they did tonight, they can play with anybody in the country." So what makes a great rebounder? "First and foremost, there's heart and desire," said the 6-7 Krabbenhoft. "I would say that's about 99 percent of it. That's why Wisconsin usually does pretty well because there are a lot of guys with big hearts and a lot of desire to go after the ball." And nobody epitomizes that job description better than Krabbenhoft, which in concert with his teammates should give the Badgers a fighting chance.

mlucas@madison.com

Mike Lucas  —  3/21/2008 5:13 am