Tag: Jon Leuer

Former Badger Jon Leuer announces his retirement from basketball

The former Wisconsin Badger star retires from the game at age 31

[lawrence-newsletter]Former Wisconsin Badger star and NBA player Jon Leuer has announced his retirement from basketball at the age of 31 per his instagram.

View this post on Instagram

I love the game of basketball. I still want to play, but I know deep down it’s not the right decision for my health anymore. The past 3 years I’ve dealt with a number of injuries, including 2 that kept me out this whole season. It’s taken me a while to come to grips with this, but I’m truly at peace with my decision to officially retire. As disappointing as these injuries have been, I’m still thankful for every moment I spent playing the game. Basketball has been the most amazing journey of my life. It’s taken me places I only could’ve dreamed about as a kid. The relationships it brought me mean more than anything. I’ve been able to connect with people from all walks of life and forged lifelong bonds with many of them. What this game has brought me stretches way beyond basketball. I’m grateful for this incredible ride and everyone who helped me along the way. 🙏🏼🙌🏼✌🏼

A post shared by Jon Leuer (@jonleuer30) on

Leuer battled numerous injuries over the past few years that kept him consistently sidelined. The former Badger sharpshooter was a second-round pick of the Milwaukee Bucks in 2011 and spent his nine-year NBA career with Milwaukee, Cleveland, Memphis, Phoenix, and Detroit.

According to spotrac.com, Leuer made over $38 million in his nine-years in the league and is under contract with Milwaukee through the 2021-22 season. The Minnesota native finished his NBA career with averages of 6.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.

Where are they now: Jon Leuer

Catching up with the former Badger baller to see where his pro career has taken him

In the next installment of our BadgersWire Wisconsin basketball “where are they now” series, we take a look at where former UW sharpshooter Jon Leuer ended up in his pro career.

After an outstanding high school career at Orno High School in his hometown of Long Lake, Minnesota, Leuer came to Wisconsin in 2007 and played sparingly as a freshman. Each year at UW throughout his four year career as a Badger, Leuer improved in nearly every statistical category. The improvements culminated in a senior year where as the primary scoring option, the Minnesota native averaged 18.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, and nearly two assists per game. Leuer and the Badgers made a Sweet 16 run in 2011 that ended with a loss to eventual national runner-up Butler.

Following his four-year Badger career, Leuer was selected as the 40th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the hometown Milwaukee Bucks. In a rookie season shortened by the NBA lockout, the 6-foot-10 forward played in 46 games for the Bucks before being traded to Cleveland for a short stint in 2013. Ultimately, Leuer found a home in Memphis where he played on three consecutive playoff teams from 2012-13 through the 2014-15 season. The former Badger did not find a massive role with the Grizzlies, but proved to be a rotational piece off the bench while never averaging more than 6.2 points per game in Memphis.

Following a solid 2015-16 year with the Phoenix Suns, Leuer enjoyed the best year of his career in 2016-17 after landing with the Detroit Pistons. That season, the former Badger sharpshooter averaged career-highs in points with 10.2 per game, minutes played with nearly 26 per game, and started a career-best 34 games out of the 75 he appeared in.

Then, the injury bug hit hard. In 2017-18 off the back of a career-best season, Leuer suffered an ankle injury that kept him out for the season after just eight game due to the need for surgery. Following the injury, Leuer was ultimately traded back to Milwaukee where he was subsequently dropped in the summer of 2019.

Recently, Leuer spoke with Wisconsin State Journal writer Jim Polzin and said he remained in limbo about whether or not he would fight for an NBA return given his past health issues. NBA: Preseason-Detroit Pistons at Toronto Raptors

Jon Leuer, Frank Kaminsky, Jordan Taylor praise Greg Gard

Wisconsin alumni praise Greg Gard

The significance of Wisconsin’s win over Michigan State went far beyond the many obvious components of the feat engineered by the Badgers on Saturday.

Yes, the win shored up Wisconsin’s resume and dramatically reduced the chances this team will miss the NCAA Tournament. The Badgers aren’t a lock, but they moved several notches above bubble territory. It would take a plague of locusts (think of a week 100 times as bad as the week Wisconsin had from last Friday versus Purdue through last Thursday, with the departure of Kobe King and the suspension of Brad Davison, PLUS the two losses on the road in West Lafayette and Iowa City) to deny UW a trip to the Big Dance at this point.

The win was bigger than snapping a two-game losing streak. The win was bigger than beating Tom Izzo and the most prominent Big Ten basketball school of the past 20 years. The win was bigger than an undermanned team pulling together and rallying around head coach Greg Gard.

Wait a minute, how can a win be bigger than that?

It can be bigger than that because this was a win which led prominent and beloved Wisconsin basketball alumni to publicly express how important this moment was and how happy they were for the team and the head coach.

See for yourself: After the win on Saturday, Jordan Taylor spoke up about the importance of the win and how much Greg Gard means to Wisconsin basketball:

Jon Leuer made it a point to note how every Badger — players and coaches — united in a moment of adversity instead of falling apart and dissolving into dissension or hopelessness (if not both).

One of the two iconic Wisconsin basketball players this century, Frank Kaminsky, made sure to say how impressive it was that this team and coaching staff responded to a brutal week with a winning effort against Michigan State:

Gard has this to say about Saturday’s win:

“I’m proud of the guys in the locker room and what they represent. They understand they represent a lot more than themselves. There’s a lot of former players that take pride in having worn that jersey.”

This was no ordinary win. This win was so much bigger than a better place in the Big Ten standings and severe reduction of bubble-related worries.

Wisconsin basketball alumni pounded home that point.