Schultz: Evans shows promise in Red-White scrimmage

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buy this photo UW's Ian Markolf, Jared Berggren, and Brett Valentyn defend Ryan Evans during the annual Red-White scrimmage Sunday at the Kohl Center. Steve Apps-State Journal. Steve Apps

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Behind a solid showing from redshirt freshman Ryan Evans, the White team beats the Red in the Badgers' scrimmage.

Ryan Evans knows he has to give more than just a solid effort during every practice if he hopes to earn some serious playing time with the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team this season.

He needs more performances such as the one he gave during the Badgers' annual scrimmage Sunday afternoon at the Kohl Center when he helped lead the White team to a 45-36 win over the Red team.

Evans, a 6-foot-6 redshirt freshman swingman, showed off his athleticism while scoring seven points, grabbing eight rebounds and adding two assists and two blocks. Evans was at his best midway through the second half when the White team opened up a close game with 6-0 run that included two dunks by Evans and his nifty assist on a layup by 6-6 freshman forward Mike Bruesewitz.

"Just being able to play with my team and get out there and run and see the floor again, it felt real good," Evans said.

UW coach Bo Ryan called Evans a raw player with a tremendous upside.

"I don't know how he's going to be this year, but down the road Ryan Evans has a great chance of contributing to the team," Ryan said. "He already has in practice. Let's see what happens over the next month, week."

A crowd estimated to be around 4,200 watched a scrimmage that Ryan said offered the team's fans "a sneak preview of our younger players."

Besides Evans, 6-3 sophomore guard Rob Wilson stood out as he led the Red team with 10 points. Also, 6-10 redshirt freshman center Jared Berggren had six points and three rebounds for the Red team while Bruesewitz had four points and four rebounds for the White team.

"Just to get our guys out here with the clock running and in some game situations is always beneficial," Ryan said. "There are a lot of teaching points we'll be able to get out of this scrimmage here."

The Badgers have been practicing since Oct. 16 and much of their time has been spent on defensive drills. They looked rusty on offense as the White team shot 43.9 percent overall (18 of 41) while the Red team shot 32.6 percent (15 of 46).

The White team featured returning starters Trevon Hughes, Jason Bohannon and Keaton Nankivil but they struggled to put away a Red team that included returning starter Jon Leuer as well as key reserves in sophomore guard Jordan Taylor and junior swingman Tim Jarmusz.

Nankivil, a former Madison Memorial athlete, had a game-high 13 points and seven rebounds, Bohannon added 10 points and four rebounds and Hughes had five points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Leuer and Taylor struggled as they combined to make just 4 of 21 shots overall and 1 of 9 shots from 3-point range.

Madison native Andy North, the two-time U.S. Open champion, was the honorary coach of the White team. PGA Tour pro Steve Stricker, a Madison resident and Edgerton native, was the honorary coach of the Red team.

"It's always tough to lose to Andy. We didn't get any calls. I'm going to blame it on the officiating," joked Stricker, who added that North changed the wager from a dollar amount to a dinner.

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