ROSEMONT, Ill. — John Blackwell turned the tables at Big Ten basketball media days, placing his phone on the table like a reporter’s recorder and firing off questions at his coach, Greg Gard, as the press conference began.
“Mr. Blackwell, you get the first question,” Gard joked.
Blackwell didn’t hesitate. He asked Gard who the funniest player on the team was. Gard agreed with his assessment that it’s probably Blackwell himself. When teammate Nolan Winter chimed in to ask who the ugliest player was, Gard dodged the question altogether—a decision that likely avoided some locker-room debates.
Later, Blackwell posed another playful question: “Who on the team would you not let babysit your child?” Gard answered with Riccardo Greppi, drawing laughs.
But when he’s not peppering his coach with mock interview questions, the 6-foot-4 guard has spent the offseason honing a far more serious focus: elevating his defensive game following a breakout 2024–25 campaign and a stretch last summer spent evaluating his NBA draft possibilities.
“I want to be a defensive menace,” Blackwell told the Journal Sentinel during a one-on-one conversation amid a steady stream of media appearances. “I want to try to make all-defense this year. I think that would help my team.”
Though Blackwell’s sophomore season was most notable for his offensive surge—improving his scoring average from 8.0 to 15.5 points per game and shooting a slightly better 45.1% from the field—he also made strides in rebounding and in maintaining a stronger assist-to-turnover ratio.
“I know I can score the ball,” he said, “but defense is what’s going to push me to that next level. And I’ve got to do it consistently.”
A 2025 All-Big Ten honorable mention selection, Blackwell believes he was a “solid” defender last year. He was, after all, a key contributor to a Wisconsin team that ranked 24th nationally in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency. Still, he’s hyperaware of the gaps he needs to close.
“Obviously, I’ll make mistakes,” he said. “But cutting down on the mistakes—cutting down on getting back-doored or foul trouble. I was in foul trouble last year, so I’m cutting down on those, playing smart, and playing how my team needs me out there.”
Blackwell has already logged 71 games in two seasons under Gard, including 37 starts last year. That experience, his coach said, is invaluable on the defensive end.
“Anytime you can keep adding rings to your tree, so to speak, as he gets older, those things all help,” Gard said. “He played a lot as a freshman, played even more as a sophomore, and now it’s his time. As I always tell the guys, ‘You’re out of halftime of your career—it’s time to take a big jump.’ And I think he’s ready to do that.”
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