MADISON - As Jason Bohannon was scrolling down his mental list of potential breakthrough players for the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team last week, the senior shooting guard stuck mainly to the usual suspects.

He mentioned Keaton Nankivil, Jordan Taylor, Rob Wilson and Jared Berggren as players who could grow into significantly larger roles this season. Then he came to a jump stop as another name popped into his head.

"Heck," Bohannon said, "even Trevon could be a surprise player this year and break out for more than what people expect of him."

Indeed, Trevon Hughes, a three-year contributor and the most familiar face among the Badgers, is the player who holds the key to the season that gets rolling with today's exhibition game against Bemidji State. If Hughes can become the complete, consistent floor leader that coach Bo Ryan craves at point guard, the Badgers likely will change the surprisingly low opinion analysts have of them nationally.

Hughes has been Wisconsin's starter at the point for two seasons and during that time has shown signs of becoming a lock-down defender and dynamic penetrator. However, the graduation of forwards Marcus Landry and Joe Krabbenhoft means he'll be asked to become Ryan's coach on the floor and No.1 go-to guy.

"There's no question in my mind that he knows that's expected of him now more so than ever," Ryan said. "I think his role will be such that he's willing to take more on to himself. Marcus would bail us out at times, Krabbenhoft would be a guy defensively that you put on somebody, and Trevon could see the value of that. I think he's learned over the years how important every phase of the game is, and he's a little bit better at every phase."

Actually, Hughes has learned many things in his four years at Wisconsin. One is that it's not easy playing point guard for Ryan. A former point guard himself, Ryan is especially demanding of his floor leaders and must develop a trust in them before he turns them loose.

Hughes also has learned that he must become a more consistent decision-maker and a more aggressive playmaker if Wisconsin's offense is going to avoid the scoring droughts that nearly kept the team from reaching 20 wins last season.

"It's really not easy (playing point guard for Ryan), but this is where I want to be," Hughes said. "I like it because he brings the best out of me. He's hard on his guards because that's the position he played. He knows what he wants and I know what he demands, so I try to go out there and do the little things that help the team, getting the ball in position for my shooters, getting the ball to the bigs when they need it and, when it comes down to crunch time, delivering for the team. That's what I'm going to have to do."

Hughes has delivered in spurts throughout his Wisconsin career. Last season, he averaged 12.1 points per game, second on the team to Landry, and led Wisconsin in assists and steals. He also hit game-winning shots against Virginia Tech and Florida State.

But Hughes felt he didn't do all he could to help an offensively challenged team that averaged 63.8 points per game, the worst mark in Ryan's eight seasons. As a senior on his last go-around, he doesn't intend to stand idly by and watch if the offense goes into a funk again.

"Last year, that had everything to do with me," Hughes said. "I'm the guard. I'm supposed to create and make something happen and I wasn't at times. I put that all on my shoulders. I've got to be more productive in those situations. When we go a possession or two without a point, I've got to get in the lane and make something happen for my teammates."

Actually, film study told Hughes that he was too passive in general, that too often he was "just sitting around the perimeter passing" instead of getting into the lane and creating opportunities for others.

The truth is Hughes reached that conclusion with about five games left in the regular season. Over his last eight games, including tournament games, he upped his scoring average to 14.1.

"I wasn't being aggressive," Hughes said. "I told my teammates, 'I start out aggressive, and during the course of the game I kind of mellow out. If you see that, just tell me to stay aggressive.' That's got to be my motto this year, to stay aggressive."

If he does, the season's biggest surprise could be Wisconsin itself.