Jarmusz Shows He Belongs

Playing in only 11 games entering Wednesday night, freshman Tim Jarmusz saw his most extensive minutes of his college career in the Badgers' 14-point Illinois win (audio included).

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Watching his teammates win 25 games from the bench was never too bothersome to freshman Tim Jarmusz.

Not redshirting at the beginning of the season despite having a log jam of post players competing for playing time in front of him, Jarmusz ran the scout team with precision and aggressiveness, knowing that, at some point, his work in practice would be rewarded with time on the court.

Wednesday in Illinois, it was Jarmusz time.

Playing in only 11 overall games, averaging only 2.1 minutes in those contests, Jarmusz played 13 minutes, nine in the middle part of the second half, giving the Badgers a needed boost in their 14-point win over host Illinois.

After junior Joe Krabbenhoft picked up his second foul, Jarmusz made his first first-half appearance of his young career, playing the final four minutes and grabbing a defensive rebound.

“When coach calls my name for the first time, I was more than excited to get out there and contribute in anyway that I can,” Jarmusz said.

But Jarmusz work was far from done against Illinois. With senior Brian Butch picked up his third foul at the 15-minute mark, Jarmusz was again summoned to the court, where he played nine more minutes in the second half.

The reason, according to UW coach Bo Ryan, that Jarmusz saw minutes tonight instead of freshman Jon Leuer, who had been the first freshman off the bench for his squad, was because of Jarmusz’s maturation over the past several weeks and his defensive productivity.

“Tim has developed probably more than anybody else in the past two, three weeks as far as defensively what he’s doing (and) the decisions with the ball,” Ryan said. “When they went small and we got some fouls on some of our smalls, I just thought that he could do a job and that he was the guy to guard the quicker three-point guards.”

Although not scoring a point, Jarmusz registered two rebounds, one personal foul and his first collegiate steal, making a big impact off the bench for Wisconsin.

“All I do in practice is try and help the team anyway that I can,” Jarmusz said. “If I get minutes for it, that’s even better. I am just trying to help the team."

Wisconsin freshman Tim Jarmusz - Listen to Audio