Wisconsin breakout freshman guard ready to return to lineup

Wisconsin freshman guard John Blackwell returned to practice today, signaling his return to the lineup for the first time since the Badgers’ road loss at Michigan on February 7.

That return should come Saturday afternoon when Wisconsin visits the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Blackwell initially suffered a hip injury during Wisconsin’s loss to Purdue on February 4. He then played sparingly in the team’s loss to Michigan before missing the last two contests entirely.

Blackwell’s return to practice is big news for Greg Gard’s team. He’s averaged 7.9 points and 3.2 rebounds on 45.8% shooting and 47.5% from three in only 17.5 average minutes of game action. The freshman has quickly carved out a significant role in Wisconsin’s rotation, and has won multiple Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards.

Blackwell is still young. But he’s a necessary piece of a Badger backcourt which is already without backup point guard Kamari McGee.

Wisconsin went through its worst stretch of the season over the last few weeks. Blackwell’s eventual return to action Saturday at Iowa should help the team return to its winning trajectory.

Story originally appeared on Badgers Wire