FOX Sports Wisconsin Midweek Stock Report for Jan. 6
Every Wednesday, FOX Sports Wisconsin takes a look at which athletes' stock is trending up and whose is trending down.
In other words, who is making a meteoric rise, and who is quickly plummeting.
With that in mind, let's "take stock" of the current sports scene in Wisconsin, shall we?
Khris Middleton, Bucks forward: Milwaukee has been looking for some scoring punch and last week Middleton more than provided it. In four games, he averaged 22.8 points (which included efforts of 33 and 29 points) while shooting 50.8 percent from the field including 12 of 25 (48 percent) from 3. In addition, Middleton averaged 5.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game, solidifying why he got a big contract in the offseason.
Mason Crosby, Packers kicker: Sure, Crosby hit both of his field-goal attempts against Minnesota this past Sunday, but he makes this list not for what he did with his foot, but with his hand. Crosby never gave up as the Vikings' Cordarelle Patterson raced down the field on a long kick return, instead catching up to the returner and punching the ball out of his hands for a key forced fumble at that point in the game. How rare was that? According to pro-football-reference.com, Crosby is the only Packers kicker or punter to have ever forced a fumble. (OK, as far as we can tell the stat only goes back to around 1990, but we'll take it.)
Jack Cichy, Badgers linebacker: Cichy's stock was certainly down after getting a targeting penalty against Minnesota in the regular-season finale, forcing him to sit out the first half of the Holiday Bowl. But that arrow is definitely trending up after he recorded nine tackles and three sacks -- the latter coming on three straight plays -- in Wisconsin's win over USC. Despite playing only one half, his performance earned him a nod on the Associated Press' all-bowl game team.
Packers' run game: Green Bay rushed for just 76 yards in a loss to the Minnesota Vikings and running backs Eddie Lacy and James Starks combined for just 58 yards on 21 carries (2.76 average). It was the sixth time this season the Packers have rushed for under 100 yards in a game, and in the previous two contest Green Bay had just 103 and 101 yards. A ground game like that won't help the Packers' playoff chances.
Jerryd Bayless, Bucks guard: After missing nearly a month with an ankle injury, Bayless was reinjured in Monday's game against San Antonio and missed Tuesday's loss in Chicago. Even before the injury, Bayless was struggling. In three games he shot just 40 percent and had seven assists and six turnovers.
Nigel Hayes, Badgers forward: Perhaps too much was expected of Hayes this season and/or he is putting too much on his shoulders after the departures of Sam Dekker, Frank Kaminsky and Josh Gasser. But Hayes is shooting only 37.3 percent from the field this season and in two games this past week was just 5 of 20, including 1 of 7 on his 3s. If Wisconsin is to make any impact in the Big Ten, however, Hayes will be a big part of it.
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