Mailbag: Wisconsin basketball rotation questions, Zach Kinziger’s redshirt, and the big picture
What did burning Zach Kinziger’s redshirt signal? Has Hayden Jones earned a permanent role? How sustainable is the Big 3's scoring output, and where does Wisconsin sit in the NCAA Tournament picture?
Another round of mailbag questions rolled in this week, focused on Wisconsin men’s basketball, and they reflect a fanbase trying to make sense of a team that feels close to something, but isn’t quite there yet.
This mailbag digs into what it meant for Wisconsin to burn Zach Kinziger’s redshirt, and whether that decision signals a sense of urgency or long-term planning. We also look at Hayden Jones and whether his recent play is earning him a permanent spot in the rotation once everyone is healthy.
From there, the conversation shifts to the offense, specifically how sustainable it is to lean so heavily on the scoring of Nick Boyd, John Blackwell, and Nolan Winter, and what Wisconsin still needs from the rest of the roster to make that approach work in Big Ten play.
Finally, the mailbag zoomed out and brought us back to the bigger picture: what this team looks like right now in the context of the NCAA Tournament, and how much that realistically changes the conversation around Greg Gard.
Let’s get into it.
Q: Did burning Zach Kinziger’s redshirt signal urgency, or was this always part of the plan?
- WhiskeySour608
The honest answer is probably somewhere in the middle, but it leans more toward urgency and in-season development than coincidence.
Burning a redshirt 11 games into the season is not standard operating procedure, especially in this program. Wisconsin typically knows pretty early whether a freshman is going to be part of the rotation or parked on the bench for the year. When that decision comes this late, it usually means the staff is still searching for something it hasn’t found yet.
It just means that the staff is being honest about where things stand.
Coach Gard has been clear that this was about what Kinziger earned, not what someone else failed to do. His practice habits, comfort with the speed of the game, and defensive competitiveness reached a point where the staff felt he could help right away. And when a team is still trying to sort out its backcourt, adding another sharp-shooter doesn’t hurt.
The early returns on Kinziger have been good. In his first two games, the De Pere High School product has played 31 minutes total and produced 11 points, three assists, two rebounds, and a steal without looking overwhelmed. In his debut against Central Michigan, he scored six points, had two assists, and grabbed a rebound. Then, against UW-Milwaukee, Kinziger chipped in five points, a rebound, an assist, and a steal in 18 minutes, reinforcing that he can survive an extended look. That matters.
“It starts with his approach every single day; he comes in ready to work consistently,” Gard said. “If you come here ready to work every single day, you’ll be ready when your name is called. He just stayed ready every single day. You can’t go wrong, you know, adding a guy like Zach in the mix. Sometimes in the game, it gets flat, so you throw somebody like Zach out there, you know, he’s going to do good things and give us that spark.”
This also fits into a bigger issue with this roster. Wisconsin doesn’t have answers off the bench they can consistently go to like they did a year ago, particularly in the backcourt. Hayden Jones is earning more trust. Braeden Carrington’s role has fluctuated. Jack Janicki remains part of the mix but is still finding consistency. Because of that, Gard has leaned fully into a by-committee approach, and Kinziger now belongs to that group.
So no, this does not feel like something that was mapped out months in advance, but it was not impulsive either. The Badgers staff needed to get the rotation figured out and felt Kinziger could help. When that became clear, there was no real reason to pull punches if he could help the team.
Q: Is Hayden Jones playing his way into a permanent spot in the rotation, even when everyone is healthy?
- James from Adams Friendship
Given the flux Wisconsin is dealing with in the backcourt, especially off the bench, I do think Hayden Jones has played his way into a more permanent role. He’s clearly someone that Gard trusts, and right now, that carries quite a bit of weight. Jones gives them size, positional versatility, and just enough ball-handling to steady things when the offense needs it.
You can see the trend in his minutes. Over the last three games, he played eight minutes against Villanova, followed by 24 minutes in his first career start against Central Michigan, where Jones recorded six points and four rebounds. He then logged 11 minutes against UW-Milwaukee, scoring a career-high eight points with one rebound and one assist. For context, he had just 11 combined minutes across the Badgers’ previous five games.
“Hayden traveled the world, so he’s seen more than the average freshman walking this campus,” Gard said. “Hayden shows what he can do in flashes.”
The season-long numbers are modest: 2.0 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.4 assists per game, in just under eight minutes a contest, but that doesn’t paint an accurate depiction of his value. It’s less about production and more about the fact that he’s a reliable defender and can attack the rim.
Wisconsin still has plenty to sort through in the backcourt when it comes to roles and minute distribution, but Jones has steadily proven that he can be reliable. He executes what is asked of him, competes hard defensively, and stays within himself. With Big Ten play here, if I had to guess, Jones looks like someone who is going to remain in the rotation moving forward.
Q: Can Wisconsin continue to rely on the “big 3” of John Blackwell, Nick Boyd, and Nolan Winter for scoring long-term?
- Jessica G.
