The Wisconsin Badgers have been one of the biggest revelations during the 2023-24 season, bouncing back from a disappointing campaign to be arguably the most improved team in the country. One of the team’s biggest standouts has been Steven Crowl, who has improved in nearly every category in 2023-24.

Crowl, criticized last season for his inconsistencies at the rim, has been a key contributor for the Badgers this year, averaging 11.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game on 58.3 percent shooting from the field. But, much of Crowl’s impact goes beyond the stat sheet, as the big man has become a better decision-maker and, frankly, looks much more comfortable in his role.

As a premier part of the Badgers’ interior attack in 2023, Crowl was subject to consistent double-teams, which had limited his value as he was occasionally hesitant with his decisions, stalling the offense at times. This season, however, Crowl has improved on his already strong passing, and seems unfazed when teams look to double him, consistently making the right decisions, which has led to open shots for an efficient Wisconsin team.

Moreover, with the added talent on this season’s team, Crowl hasn’t seen as many double-teams, given that Wisconsin has scoring threats all across the court, leading to more 1-on-1 opportunities this season. Crowl expressed, “I think the biggest thing is the team we have makes it so much easier having new guys like AJ [Storr] or John [Blackwell] that can get a bucket whenever and Connor [Essegian] coming off the bench and it obviously all the starters, they can really score it. So there’s not really one guy you can focus on, whereas last year, there’s kind of three.”