UW’s Blackwell earns Big Ten all-freshman team honors
MADISON – John Blackwell wasn’t the most heralded member of the freshman class that joined the Wisconsin men’s basketball program last summer.
Nevertheless, Blackwell quickly earned a spot in Greg Gard’s rotation and proved to be better prepared to contribute immediately than his young peers.
The Big Ten’s allconference teams were announced Tuesday and Blackwell was named to the all-freshman team.
He joined Iowa’s Owen Freeman, Indiana’s Mackenzie Mgbako, Maryland’s DeShawn Harris-Smith and Minnesota’s Cam Christie.
A 6-foot-4 guard from Michigan, Blackwell was named Big Ten freshman of the week four times this season. That tied UW’s record set by Nigel Hayes in the 2013-2014 season.
Blackwell, who missed two games because a hip injury suffered in UW’s first meeting with Purdue, averaged 8.5 points and 3.2 rebounds per game during the regular season. He hit 48.1% of his three-pointers (25 of 52) and 82.8% of his free-throw attempts (72 of 87).
UW has had a member of the league’s all-freshman team in each of the last three seasons. Connor Essegian was honored last season and Chucky Hepburn in 2022.
After seeing Blackwell contribute 18 points and four rebounds in UW’s loss at Purdue in the regular-season finale, Gard took time to again compliment the freshman’s overall game.
“For a freshman, his IQ on the court is really, really good,” Gard said. “He makes us better. He does a tremendous amount of good things.
“For a freshman, he is trending in an incredibly good direction.”
Sophomore guard AJ Storr, who led UW in scoring in Big Ten play at 17.2 points per game, was a second-team pick by the coaches and media. Storr has scored in double figures in 26 consecutive games and in 29 of 31 this season.
Hepburn, who has 46 steals in league play and 66 overall, was named to the league’s all-defensive team and also received honorable mention. Hepburn is the ninth UW player named to the league’s all-defensive team but the first since Ethan Happ and Zak Showalterin 2017.
Tyler Wahl, averaging 11.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game was also honorable mention.