Wisconsin Badgers basketball fans must be thinking ‘Here we go again’ as the team announced that Aleem Ford, the talented sophomore forward, will miss significant time with a knee injury. Wisconsin did not set a time table for Ford, which is always a bad sign when dealing with an injury like a knee. Ford figured to be a key contributor up front for Wisconsin, an area where they lacked depth, and now, they’ll have to soldier on without him. That’s a big loss to begin the year for Wisconsin as they’re trying to return to prominence.

Ford didn’t figure to be a starter for this year’s Badgers team, but he would have been one of the first guys off the bench. A wing player that could contribute both as a small and power forward with his length at 6’8. Ford had a great freshman season behind the arc going 40% from three. There were moments last year where Ford drove the scoring for Wisconsin when they needed it the most. With several players returning full healthy like Brad Davison, Kobe King, maybe the impact will not be as significant, but the Badgers would have like to start the season with everyone fully healthy.

This means that there’s added pressure on Nate Reuvers, who did bulk up in the offseason and will be starting at power forward. As well as Alex Illikainen, who Wisconsin hopes and prays they can get some production out of in what has been a disappointing player for Wisconsin’s program. Wisconsin isn’t deep at all up front. Ethan Happ and Reuvers are both solid players yet after that especially with Ford out, it gets dicey.

Wisconsin’s head coach Greg Gard thinks Ford could be back this season, and with a redshirt unavailable, Wisconsin will likely try to bring him back if possible. Badgers hope this isn’t the start of another injured-plagued season.

Charlie.