'That's good guard play': Kamari McGee impresses in Badgers' exhibition win

McGee might be Wisconsin's answer at point guard.

Jan 19, 2024; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard Kamari McGee (4) celebrates a Wisconsin Badgers basket against the Indiana Hoosiers during the second half at the Kohl Center. Mandatory Credit: Kayla Wolf-Imagn Images / Kayla Wolf-Imagn Images

Wisconsin had its first game of the 2024-25 season on Wednesday night, defeating Wis.-River Falls 78-62. Greg Gard and his coaching staff took a unique approach and started the game without a point guard.

Gard has previously said that John Blackwell can run the offense at times, but he had only one assist against the Falcons. Veteran Kamari McGee came off the bench and led the team with six assists and zero turnovers.

"That's what he's been doing. He's been the most consistent and that's what he's done day in and day out," Gard told the media after the game when asked about McGee. "He makes the teams that he's on better. I told him as I decided who I was going to start tonight, I wanted to make sure you had that same energy and bounce."

McGee was the true sixth man for Wisconsin. His 24 minutes trailed only Steven Crowl for the most on the team and he was even with three of the other starters. He also added five points on perfect shooting, along with four rebounds for a very efficient all-around performance.

"Between (McGee) and (Max) Klesmit — really do a good job vocally of leading the team," Gard said. "Those guys are the heartbeat of it, so for him to come in — just simple things — drive it, two feet, find an open shooter... six assists, no turnovers, that's good guard play."

Deploying the approach of starting three shooting guards; Klesmit, Blackwell and John Tonje could make the Badgers really difficult to guard. They could then bring McGee off the bench and he could finish the game in closing lineups.

It would be naive to believe that Gard's season-long strategy will be to start without a point guard based on an exhibition game, but it's clear that there are seven guys that he really wants to be in the rotation right now. No matter if he starts or comes off the bench, McGee looks like he could be the short-term answer at point guard.