Chucky Hepburn back in his comfort zone: distributing and defending for Wisconsin

MADISON – With Wisconsin in contention for a Big Ten regular-season title two seasons ago, Greg Gard and his assistants pushed then-freshman Chucky Hepburn to become more assertive offensively.

They believed Hepburn was a capable shooter and knew another scoring option would make the Badgers more difficult to defend.

Hepburn, a pass-first point guard who prefers to set up his teammates and attack on defense, obliged and helped UW secure a share of the regular-season title by averaging 15.0 points per game in victories over Rutgers and Purdue.

Then last season with Johnny Davis and Brad Davison gone, Hepburn had no choice but to carry an onerous portion of the scoring load.

He led UW in scoring at 12.2 points per game, up from his mark of 7.9 as a freshman. But injuries to Tyler Wahl and Max Klesmit stymied the team’s early-season momentum and a lack of scoring options eventually prevented the Badgers from securing an NCAA tournament berth.

Chucky Hepburn is running UW's offense like a distinguished maestro leads an orchestra

With more scoring options and a more efficient offense this season, Hepburn is back to facilitating and defending and the Badgers (13-3, 5-0 Big Ten) are alone in first place as they prepare to face host Penn State (8-9, 2-4) at 8 p.m. (Central) Tuesday night.

“I wouldn’t trade him for anybody,” Gard said.

Certainly not for any other Big Ten point guard.

Hepburn is sixth on UW in scoring at 8.5 points per game. He has scored in double figures just once in league play.

Yet his overall numbers are impressive.

Start with 63 assists and just 19 turnovers, a margin of plus-3.3. That includes a margin or plus-4.0 in Big Ten play (24 assists, six turnovers).

Hepburn has more steals than turnovers both in league play (11-6) and all games (31-19). That means he is giving the Badgers more extra possessions than he is giving away.

Starting with AJ Storr at 14.8 points per game, UW has eight legitimate scoring threats. And with UW averaging just 9.8 turnovers per game and leading the Big Ten in free-throw shooting at 76.3%, it is easy to see why the Badgers’ scoring average of 75.2 points per game is up by 9.9 points from last season.

“I think it is a tribute to the best point guard in the Big Ten,” Max Klesmit said of Hepburn’s influence. “We’ve got (Chucky) running the show for us.

“He does a really good job controlling the game, controlling the pace. He plays at the tempo we want to play at.

“The mentality he has and the confidence he is playing with and the confidence we have in him is at an all-time high right now.”

Can Chucky Hepburn hit big shots? Yes. But he has always preferred to set up his teammates.

Hepburn was a pass-first point guard in high school until his team needed more scoring and he has said repeatedly he is just as comfortable distributing as he is scoring. Despite leading the team in minutes played, Hepburn enters the Penn State game fourth on UW in field goal attempts (121) – behind Storr (196), Wahl (122) and Steven Crowl (122).

“It speaks volumes to his unselfishness,” Gard said. “And here is the other thing to keep in mind. They’re committing their best perimeter defender to him.

“So, he is saying: OK. Now I’ve got Klesmit and Storr and Wahl. Then here comes (John) Blackwell and (Connor) Essegian.

“So, his willingness to sacrifice for the team and distribute a little bit more…and at the same time he is making their best defender work.”

Hepburn battled Northwestern’s Boo Buie in UW’s 71-63 victory on Saturday. Buie led Northwestern in scoring with 22 points but Hepburn contributed four points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. He had just one turnover in 36 minutes 33 seconds. Buie had three turnovers including two in the final two minutes.

Hepburn likely will go head-to-head against Penn State’s Ace Baldwin Jr. on Tuesday. Baldwin had a college-best 13 assists in the Nittany Lions’ 95-78 loss to Purdue on Saturday. He has 83 assists and 39 turnovers this season and is second on the team in scoring at 12.8 points per game.

“Chucky still can score,” Gard said. “And there will be a point in time where he will need to and be more aggressive.

“But he reads the situation really well. I think he has a good feel for how to command a team.

"His suggestions on calls during timeouts have grown in terms of him understanding what he wants and what we need to attack.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Chucky Hepburn directing UW's formidable offense with aplomb