Former Wisconsin Badger guard D’Mitrik Trice is officially a professional basketball player. The five-year Badger is headed to southern France to begin his international journey, and will be playing for a newly promoted side in FOS Provence Basket. His new team was promoted to LNB Pro A, France’s top league and one of the top ten leagues in the world, during the 2020-2021 season.
The team officially announced the signing on social media earlier this morning.
Trice spent his NBA Summer League experience with the Milwaukee Bucks, where he played sparingly until a breakout final game in which the former Badger scored 24 points.
WATCH: Former Wisconsin F Micah Potter shines in NBA Summer League debut
NBA Summer League is up and running, as former Wisconsin stars look to make their mark and battle for a spot on a regular-season roster.
Last night, former Wisconsin forward Micah Potter made his Summer League debut with the Miami Heat. He finished the contest with 14 minutes played, 9 points, 1 rebound, 2 blocks, 4/6 shooting from the floor and 1/2 shooting from three-point range.
Here is a glimpse at some of his highlights from his first NBA action:
Highlights of former #Badgers forward Micah Potter from his NBA Summer League debut.
Had 9 points (4-6), 2 blocks, and 1 rebound in 14 minutes for the Miami Heat. pic.twitter.com/qpgSVve8iw
D’Mitrik Trice is reportedly trying out for a spot on the Milwaukee Bucks’ Summer League squad, so Potter may not be the only former Badger we see in action during this period.
Hopefully, more production is to come for Potter and Trice as they look to join Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker as the only Wisconsin products currently playing in the NBA.
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Trice averaged 10 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3 assists during his five-year Wisconsin career. His best statistical season came as a senior in 2020-21 when he posted averages of 13.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4 assists on 41% shooting from the field, 37% from three and 79% from the free-throw line.
After going undrafted, Trice now joins Milwaukee’s Summer League roster with the hope of making an NBA roster and joining Phoenix’s Frank Kaminsky as the only Wisconsin product currently in the NBA.
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Trice averaged 10 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3 assists during his five-year Wisconsin career. His best statistical season came as a senior in 2020-21 when he posted averages of 13.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4 assists on 41% shooting from the field, 37% from three and 79% from the free-throw line.
After going undrafted, Trice now joins Milwaukee’s Summer League roster with the hope of making an NBA roster and joining Phoenix’s Frank Kaminsky as the only Wisconsin product currently in the NBA.
Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion and analysis.
The NBA Draft is just 11 days away. D’Mitrik Trice and other former Badgers are getting in workouts with the hope of joining Frank Kaminsky at the highest level of professional basketball
11 days separate us from the 2021 NBA Draft. While it is unlikely we hear a former Badger’s name called early on, a few of last year’s seniors are out trying to make a name for themselves in the pre-draft process.
One of those Wisconsin products is D’Mitrik Trice, an NBA hopeful who attended a workout on Friday for one of the Western Conference’s perennial contenders—the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers’ July 16 draft workout participants, per the team:
D'Mitrik Trice – Wisconsin Jordan Schakel – San Diego State Isaiah Todd – G League Ignite Javonte Smart – LSU JaQuori McLaughlin – UCSB Matthew Hurt – Duke
Trice averaged 10 points, 3 assists and 2.9 rebounds during his five-year Wisconsin career. Those numbers came on the back of 39 percent shooting from the floor and 38 percent from three.
Frank Kaminsky is currently the only former Badger in the NBA. We’ll see in just under two weeks whether Trice, Micah Potter or Nate Reuvers is able to join him.
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Watch Wisconsin legend Frank Kaminsky talk about his journey from the Kohl Center to the NBA Finals
For Wisconsin fans, the story of the NBA Finals up to this point is probably two disappointing performances by the Milwaukee Bucks and the importance of Game 3 in Milwaukee.
But for Badger fans who don’t have a rooting interest in the series, the fun has come from watching Wisconsin legend Frank Kaminsky become the first former Badger to play in the NBA finals since Michael Finley in 2007.
Aside from his minutes situation, Kaminsky spoke before the Suns’ Game 2 victory about his journey from the Kohl Center to the NBA Finals.
From one Badger to another, I asked @FSKPart3 about the journey from @BadgerMBB to an opportunity to compete for an NBA Championship.
"To be able to play on the biggest stage in college and in the NBA now, it's pretty amazing. It's something I don't take for granted." pic.twitter.com/FTuNjVHD3e
We may soon see a Badger legend play significant minutes in this year’s NBA Finals
The Wisconsin basketball program hasn’t been known recently for producing NBA All-Stars and seeing their players play on an NBA Finals stage.
That still isn’t the case this season, with Wisconsin legend Frank Kaminsky still sitting as the only former Badger in the league. Well, even so, his Phoenix Suns have put quite the run together this season and now sit up 1-0 in the NBA Finals.
Kaminsky saw action in his team’s 118-105 Game 1 victory last night, playing 4 total minutes and not recording any stats.
His playing time was largely due to an injury sustained by backup big man Dario Saric. It was announced today Saric suffered a torn ACL and would miss the remainder of the series.
Suns forward Dario Saric has sustained a torn ACL in his right knee, the team announced.
What does this mean for Kaminsky? Well, the Suns are thinned at the big man position and there are significant bench minutes now up for grabs.
We could see SF Abdel Nader, SF Torrey Craig and others take much of those minutes if the Suns decide to go small and counter the Bucks’ Brook Lopez-less lineup. But if the team wants to stay big and find a Deandre Ayton backup, Kaminsky may end up being that guy.
The image will become clear tomorrow night when the two teams take the court for Game 2.
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With the NBA return format, the only former Badger and his team have a new shot at the playoffs
[lawrence-newsletter]NBA fans woke up to exciting news this morning when ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski dropped the the three words every fan has been waiting for: “The NBA’s back.”
So the NBA's inviting 22 teams to Orlando: 13 Western Conference, 9 Eastern Conference. Eight-regular season games per team. Play-in for the 8th seeds. July 31-October 12. Vote tomorrow to ratify. The NBA's back.
Phoenix Suns big man Frank Kaminsky, the lone Badger currently in the NBA, has a new chance to play this season after he had been held out since the end of December with a right patella stress fracture. The former Badger last played an NBA game on December 28, and was having a bounce back season in the valley of the sun before the injury issues.
So, do the Suns and Kaminsky have any chance of making a playoff run in the new format? The answer is still a slim one, but considerably more of a chance than they did before the NBA suspended his season. The Suns sit 2.5 games outside of the 9 spot with eight regular season games to be played in Orlando. If Phoenix were to land the 9 spot and be within four games of the Western Conference 8 seed, then the Suns would be involved in a play-in tournament for the final playoff spot.
The NBA is all but back, and the only former Badger in the league will be able to play his first games since December. Kaminsky’s Suns will still need a ton of help to get into the NBA playoffs.
The 2020 Wisconsin basketball recruiting class is not only a top 20-class nationally and top-3 Big Ten class according to 247sports, but it also creates a really exciting problem for Greg Gard and Wisconsin’s staff. The only Badger leaving the …
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The 2020 Wisconsin basketball recruiting class is not only a top 20-class nationally and top-3 Big Ten class according to 247sports, but it also creates a really exciting problem for Greg Gard and Wisconsin’s staff.
The only Badger leaving the 2019-20 team that played meaningful minutes was Brevin Pritzl at 27.1 minutes per game. In other words, the Badgers are returning approximately 88% of their minutes played from last season. Last year, the one man recruiting class of Tyler Wahl did not create any issues in terms of playing time. The freshman forward played just over 15 minutes in Gard’s rotation. A six-man 2020 recruiting class with multiple pieces that are ready to contribute right now creates a totally different issue.
Mar 1, 2020; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers forward Trevor Wahl (5) grabs a loose ball from Minnesota Gophers forward Alihan Demir (left) during the first half at Kohl Center. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports
This is an issue of having too much wealth, instead of not enough. It’s a perfect problem for Wisconsin to have, and there is still a lot of practice time, scrimmage time etc. to figure things out. When looking at the six-person class, you have to think that the top two prospects, Johnny Davis and Ben Carlson, will be rotation pieces next season. Micah Potter sliding into Pritzl’s starting role seems to be the most logical choice assuming the Badgers want to play big. If Walt Mcgrory continues to develop in his senior season, it would not be out of the question for him to get consistent time off the bench. The 6-3 guard saw action in 14 games last season, including a few games where he played meaningful minutes.
Lorne Bowman is one of the most interesting questions. Does the Detroit point guard take a redshirt in his freshman season, or will he work his way into the rotation as a primary ball handler? Even preferred walk-on Carter Gilmore looks like he can make an impact during his Badger career. The Hartland, Wisconsin native has the size and offensive game to play meaningful Badger minutes.
While the questions of who will fill Wisconsin’s rotation are up in the air, it’s fair to say that an eight-man rotation, as we saw this past season, is not likely for the 2020-21 Badger squad. This team should go ten or eleven deep, and there could even be players who see minutes only depending on matchup and feel. Expect there to be some experimenting with allocating minutes early in the season. No matter how Coach Gard decides to use the talent he has, the fact is that Wisconsin could have one of the deepest, most experienced rosters in the country next year. How the minutes will be divided is an exciting question to ponder.
