GSPN Q&A with Herd sharpshooter Joe Wieskamp
The number 2 pick in the 2022 G League draft shared NBA players he learns from, sizing up to play power forward, and more.
The Wisconsin Herd dropped their fifth straight game on Friday night, losing 128-114 to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants ahead of their trip to Las Vegas for the G League Winter Showcase, but one positive for the Herd over the weekend was seeing Joe Wieskamp show off the dynamic shooting that made him the second overall pick in the 2022 NBA G League Draft.
Friday’s game was only Wieskamp’s second back after missing the previous seven games due to a hamstring injury. His first game back, also against Fort Wayne, was a solid 12 point outing, but Wieskamp dropped 25 points on just 14 shots on Friday, including hitting 5 of his 9 attempted threes. Wieskamp also added 6 rebounds (3 offensive) and a steal in his 33 minutes of action.
For the season, Wieskamp is posting a career-best 17.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game per game despite dealing with the injury, and shooting a scorching 41.8% from deep and 65.4% from 2.
Given he worked out with the Los Angeles Lakers before the G League season began and offers shooting, one of the most coveted skills in the NBA, Wieskamp could certainly garner attention from interested NBA teams while in Vegas. The entirety of the G League will be there, and while the Herd did not qualify for the Showcase Cup tournament as only the best 8 teams in the G League were accepted, all teams get at least two games to give players an opportunity to show out on a central stage.
As a quick refresher, despite playing with the Herd, the G League affiliate of the Milwaukee Bucks, Wieskamp is technically an NBA free agent and could be signed by any team. The only players “safe” from being signed are two-way players, and players on the Bucks roster who are assigned to play or practice with the Herd. Ibou Badji, a 7-foot center from Senegal, was the first and to this point only Herd call-up this season when the Portland Trail Blazers signed him to a two-way contract.
GSPN spoke with Wieskamp after Friday’s game about the Herd’s recent run, shooting off movement and NBA players he learns from, sizing up to play the 4 with the Herd, and how offensive rebounding can feed his shooting. Questions and answers were lightly edited for clarity.
GSPN: Obviously not the result you guys were hoping for out there tonight, been a bit of a tough stretch, what do you feel like needs to change or improve to turn around the next game?
Joe Wieskamp (JW): I mean, it comes down to getting stops and finishing the possessions with rebounds. I think the amount of times they were able to get second and third opportunities, just so many offensive rebounds, it’s obviously something we’ve got to work on. We’re at a disadvantage being an undersized team, with me not typically playing the 4, and Elijah [Hughes] having to play a little out of position, but we’ve just got to do a good job of putting bodies on bodies and securing rebounds.
GSPN: Your game out there, you made a bunch of threes off movement, which typically is the harder shot vs a set shot. Is that always an emphasis for you, or were you just really feeling it tonight, because it seemed striking how many you were making around screens or off movement.
JW: That’s something I obviously work on. Being known as one of the best shooters here, you’re not going to get many catch-and-shoot threes. You really got to hunt your shot. Especially with our team, we’ve got so many guards that can score, so I’ve just got to do the best I can moving around, trying to free myself, and if I get even a little bit of space I’m going to take it.
GSPN: Is there anyone in the G League or NBA that you base that off of or try to learn from? Duncan Robinson seems like one of the best [at that] — or is that something you just try to develop on your own?
JW: For sure. Last year being in San Antonio, watching a lot of Doug McDermott, being under him, working out with Max Struss this summer, Klay Thompson, you know, all the top shooters in the league just because that’s the role I want to have in the league, so just becoming the best version of me [means] taking those tough shots and knowing that they’re going to fall.
GSPN: A guy like Klay is obviously known on the defensive end as well — you had some tough covers out there between Justin Anderson and of course Chris Duarte tonight. Is it exciting to match up with some NBA and top G League level players like that?
JW: For sure, I mean that’s why we play the game that we love is to play against the best of the best, so it was fun to match up against those guys. They have a really good team, a lot of good shooters around them not just those two. It’s a tough guard for sure. I thought we had a pretty good gameplan going into it but like I said all those second chance opportunities killed us.
GSPN: Before the season you talked about rebounding as something you bring to the table that people might not be aware of. Certainly had some good ones offensively tonight — do you feel like having to play up at the 4 is helping you refine that part of your game even further?
JW: For sure, yeah, because obviously you’re around the hoop a little more, coach is encouraging you to crash the offensive glass, that’s something I always pride myself in. If you can get an offensive rebound and put-back it, just seeing the ball go through something like that opens up some of those tougher threes and makes them go down a little easier, so I always try to attack the glass.
GSPN: I wanted to ask about that because it seemed like some good looks for you guys just not falling tonight — do you think there should’ve been more focus on getting to the basket or is it just one of those nights?
JW: It’s hard to say right now, I think we can look at the film, but for the most part I feel like we were getting some good opportunities, guys were just a little off but we have confidence to knock them down.
GSPN: Last one, how’re you feeling physically? I know you missed some games with the hamstring injury.
JW: I’m feeling great, just excited to be back out there and playing again. It was a long stretch off for me but yeah, I feel good.