Wisconsin senior Tyler Wahl has shown tenacity and versatility on the court since his youth
MADISON – Roughly a decade has passed since Lakeville North High School boys basketball coach John Oxton watched a gangly grade-schooler outwork everyone else on the floor.
“Even when he was a little kid he just made winning plays,” Oxton said. “He was diving on the floor. He would take a charge. He would block a shot. Get a rebound. Just all of that stuff. Just all the little things.”
Relentless tenacity.
Remarkable versatility.
“As he has gotten physically stronger and more mature,” Oxton said, “he is still doing the things he did 10 years ago.”
Meet senior forward Tyler Wahl, arguably Wisconsin’s most versatile and indispensable player entering the 2022-23 season.
“I’ve always been that way,” Wahl said when asked about the tenacity he displays on the court. “That is just something my dad has always preached to me. Go out there and when you’re between the lines you go hard.”
Tim Wahl was a standout guard at Minneapolis Southwest High School and Mankato State University. He coached Tyler in grade school.
“There was one game I had a bad game and I was acting too cool and not diving on the ground and stuff,” Tyler Wahl said. “And we lost. I definitely got an earful that day.”
Wahl’s game has grown consistently since he was a freshman at UW in 2019-20.
His scoring numbers: 2.6 points per game as a freshman, 5.2 as a sophomore and 11.4 as a junior.
His rebound numbers: 2.5 per game to 4.3 to 5.9.
His total blocks: 5 to 21 to 25.
His total steals: 20 to 31 to 37.
UWM men's preview: With a new coach and (mostly) new roster, UWM seeks to turn the page
Wisconsin women's preview:'People don’t know how good she can be': Julie Pospisilova is poised for a big season for Wisconsin
Wahl was third on the team in scoring, second in rebounding, first in steals, second in blocks and No. 1 in field-goal percentage (.516) last season.
With Johnny Davis (19.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg) and Brad Davison (14.1 ppg, 4.0 rpb) no longer on the roster, Wahl, Steven Crowl and Chucky Hepburn should form the team’s pillars this season.
“He is everything you want in a player,” UW assistant Joe Krabbenhoft said of Wahl. “He has been so much fun to coach. There have been a lot of wins during Tyler Wahl’s time here.”
Krabbenhoft recalls evaluating Nate Reuvers, who was two years ahead of Wahl at Lakeville North in the city just outside Minneapolis, when he was approached by Wahl’s mother. She knew Krabbenhoft’s aunt and wanted to make sure the UW staff knew who her son was.
Wahl had already caught the attention of the UW staff.
“He stands out for how hard he plays and he makes plays,” Krabbenhoft said, recalling what he thought back then. “As he continued to develop and get better you thought: ‘Holy cow, he’s got a bright future.’”
Wahl, 6-foot-9 and 235 pounds, focused on one part of his game after last season:
Perimeter shooting.
Wahl hit just 6 of 37 three-point attempts last season, or 16.2%. That was down significantly from his first two seasons, when he shot a combined 22.2%.
Based on what Wahl has shown in practice, the team’s Red-White scrimmage and the exhibition game against UW-Eau Claire, his shot appears smoother and more consistent.
“I’m definitely looking to be more consistent taking more shots and making them,” Wahl said. “Because they’re there.
“I’ve just got to shoot ‘em, be confident and fill ‘em up.”
Head coach Greg Gard noticed the change in the spring and again during UW’s August trip to France.
“He has worked at it,” Gard said. “He has put in a lot of time. He is in the gym a lot, getting extra shots. He has paid the price that it takes to become a more consistent shooter.”
Nevertheless, Wahl’s ability to help UW win games never has been about his shooting.
“He is not going to tie the worth of his game to his shot,” Krabbenhoft said. “But he knew that was an area that he had to continue to get better at. He is not afraid of that, and he put in the work.
“He is going to stuff the stat sheet. He will always impact the game because he plays the game hard, does it the right way and has tremendous instincts.”
Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.
DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tyler Wahl helps Wisconsin men's basketball with versatility, tenacity
