MADISON – Greg Gard’s team is inching closer to getting its full rotation back.
Reserve guard John Blackwell, who suffered a hip injury Feb. 4 in Wisconsin’s loss to Purdue and has missed the last two games, went through an extended practice Thursday at the Kohl Center.
That was his first practice since before UW hosted Purdue.
“It feels good,” Blackwell said after practice. “I was on scout team the whole day and got a lot of reps in. And then I did my thing in a 20-point game.”
Blackwell’s return is significant for UW (17-8, 9-5 Big Ten), which is set to face Iowa (14-11, 6-8) on Saturday in Iowa City.
Blackwell was limited to 11-plus minutes in UW’s loss at Michigan and was held out against Rutgers and Ohio State.
“I played on it at Michigan and did OK for the minutes I got,” Blackwell said, “but that made it a little worse so I just took a break.”
The freshman guard had been in the first group of subs for most of the season. He averages 7.9 points and 3.2 rebounds per game and is shooting 47.5% from three-point range in 23 games.
Blackwell moves well without the ball and gets to the free-throw line (56 of 65 attempts). He is also a dependable defender on or off the ball.
UW remains without reserve guard Kamari McGee (toe), who has missed the last seven games. According to Gard, McGee could return in time for UW’s Feb. 27 game at Indiana.
Blackwell said he had no idea of the severity of his injury until several hours after the Purdue game.
“I was OK in the game,” he said. “Coach asked: ‘Are you hurt? Are you good?’
“I had to finish the game. I was just limping a little bit after the game but then later that night the bruise flared up and I couldn’t walk on it.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin guard John Blackwell returns to practice
