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hitting open shots and trying to be aggressive at
times or hitting open guys on drives and kicks that
I need to do more of."
Koenig admitted to anticipating one question
that he always hears in light of his ball skills and
creativity as a distributor. "Would you rather make
a big pass or a good shot? I get this question all the
time," he said. "I really don't care to be honest."
In the next breath, though, he said, "Making a
crowd-pleasing pass and having your guy dunk it,
now that's a really good feeling." But he's equally
adept at getting his own shot at the rim or otherwise. To this end, Koenig has already shown a
deadly pull-up jumper.
"I really feel like I can get that almost whenever I want," he said without sounding the least bit
cocky. "I try to get a guy off-balance or act like I'm
going to drive to the rim and I just hit the quick
pull-up. I just try to do everything to the best of
my abilities."
At Wisconsin, it starts with ball security and
decision-making. "In high school, I tried to limit
turnovers as much as I could," Koenig said. "I knew
coming in that Coach Ryan doesn't like turnovers
so I've tried to play somewhat conservatively at
times."
Practices have not only been classroom sessions but the equivalent of game-like exams, particularly among the guards, the deepest position
group on the team. "It's very competitive," Koenig
said. "Every practice is like a game, maybe harder
than some games."
Koenig can still remember some of those preseason practices when he was less than 100 percent physically and when "I was mad after every
practice because I really didn't do too much and I
didn't show my true game."
Now that he's beginning to emerge, he's grateful for the patience and support of his freshman
teammates. "They're kind of like family to me," he
said. "We've been living together for a few months
now and it's nice to have someone to talk to about
basketball."
Having the support of the upperclassmen
has also been critical to Koenig's development.
"They've all kind of taken me under their wing,"
he said. And what they're seeing now is a player
who's starting to branch out and fly on his own.
"I think he can help us in a huge way," Gard said.
//
VARSITY November 28, 2013
"He was able to carry over what he
had done in practice over the past
three weeks in terms of court presence, moxie, poise, whatever label
you want to put on him," Gard said of
Koenig. "He played like he practiced."
