On Saturday, college basketball fans throughout Wisconsin were buzzing at the news of the double commitment of 3-star IMG Academy teammates D’Mitrik Trice and Aleem Ford. With the returning roster from this past year’s Sweet 16 team virtually in tact, we take a look at how these two new scholarship additions will fit into Greg Gard’s rotation next year.
D’Mitrik Trice
Player Profile
Trice, the younger brother of former Michigan State star Travis Trice, is the first true point guard the Badgers have lured to Madison on scholarship since Traevon Jackson, and could be viewed as a smaller version of the former-Badgers floor general. He has a smooth and reliable jump shot off both the catch and the dribble that he can extend well beyond the 3-point line, and provides a heady and stabilizing presence while running an offense. While his quickness and handles will not blow any B1G point guards out of the water, he is able to take care of the ball well and has the strength in spite of his 5’11” frame to take punishment and finish in the paint. He has all the physical tools to be a solid perimeter defender in Greg Gard’s system.
Trice’s Fit
Trice will likely come in and face a battle with Jordan Hill for minutes off the bench. With Bronson Koenig clearly set to be team’s starting point guard, Trice could earn a significant role in the rotation if he proves to be someone who can do a satisfactory job of running the offense for 4-8 minute stretches when Gard wants to let Koenig go to work off the ball or take a breather. That was an offensive approach that Gard seldom turned to this past year due to Hill’s shakiness in that role, but is surely an alternative weapon that the coach would love to have in his arsenal in his first full year at the helm if he has a secondary ball-handler that would allow him to do so.
Unfortunately, Trice’s lack of height makes it unlikely that he would find his niche as an off-ball shooter in his early years at the college level. In addition to Hill, Gard also has Brevin Pritzl coming off a medical redshirt that he could allocate some of those minutes toward next year. However, if the team struggles to find consistent guard production from deep, putting Trice in that role could be an experimental solution. Those are the two positions that Trice could potentially find himself in come 2016-17, as any scenario of Gard turning to Trice in a situation where he is in need of on-ball defense is unlikely, considering Hill’s length, experience, and success in that role down the stretch last year.
Overall, the need for a third on-ball guard on the roster casts heavy doubt onto the possibility of Trice being hit with a redshirt next season, and we should look for him to be contributing in some form or fashion for the title-contending squad that will take the Kohl Center floor next winter.
Aleem Ford
Player Profile
The 3-star Georgia native is another one of those classic stories of a relative unknown who underwent a massive late growth spurt in high school that thrust him into the national recruiting spotlight. His newfound 6’7” frame coupled with his shooting touch make him a very intriguing wing prospect. He is incredibly lanky in build and will need to add muscle over his years in Madison to cut it as a B1G 3-man, but his length, shooting range, and athleticism are all nice building blocks for his future.
Ford’s Fit
If the hope of Nigel Hayes returning for his senior season comes to fruition, then minutes on the wing could be hard to come by for Ford as a true freshman. With the stretch-4 role already locked down by Vitto Brown and Alex Illikainen, redshirting is his most likely scenario, but not guaranteed by any means. Redshirting is very tough to predict in April.
However, were Hayes to bolt for the NBA, Ford could find himself in the position of being an interesting option for inside-out scoring off the bench. He would likely not redshirt in that scenario.
Ultimately, Ford’s role next year relies entirely on what Greg Gard sees of him in the preseason and his assessment of whether Ford’s offensive game is sufficiently polished to warrant using up one of his years of eligibility in 2016-17.
Photo courtesy of Travis Trice’s Instagram (@coachtrav).