Tag: justice winslow

Milwaukee Bucks sign player at center of officiating disaster in Wisconsin’s 2015 title loss to Duke

Milwaukee Bucks sign player at center of officiating disaster in Wisconsin’s 2015 national championship loss

The memories of the 2015 NCAA Tournament national title game never seem to disappear.

The Wisconsin lost to Duke, 68-63. The game was a crushing end to the most successful era of Badger basketball and likely the best individual team in program history.

Related: Big Ten basketball power rankings entering 2024-25 season: A first look at the expanded conference

We’ve relived the game enough over the last nine years. How Wisconsin lost after leading 48-39 with 13:20 remaining in the second half. How Grayson Allen came out of nowhere to steal the win. How Wisconsin, the lowest-foul-committing team in the country, went from being called for just two fouls in the first half to 13 in the second half — leading to 16 Duke free throws.

Now thanks to the Milwaukee Bucks, it’s time to relive one of those moments yet again.

The Bucks signed Justice Winslow to an exhibit 10 contract on Thursday. Winslow is a nine-year NBA veteran with time in Miami (2015-20), Memphis (2020-21), Los Angeles (Clippers, 2021-22), Portland (2022-23) and the G League (2023-24). He joins the Bucks organization before their season begins in Philadelphia on Wednesday.

https://twitter.com/JamalCollier/status/1846979550506635650

Winslow is most commonly known in the state of Wisconsin as the player who touched the ball as it went out of bounds late in Duke’s national title win over the Badgers.

The situation: 1:51 remaining in the game, Duke leading Wisconsin 63-58. The ball deflected out of bounds on a rebound and was called out on Wisconsin. After review, the referees stuck with the call. Badgers fans, however, forever have the screenshot of the ball apparently grazing Winslow’s finger.

https://twitter.com/KHoffenbecker/status/1762916601580380194

That call mostly ended Wisconsin’s hopes for a national title. Duke guard Tyus Jones hit a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to stretch the lead to 66-58 with 1:24 remaining in the game.

Winslow is a member of the Bucks organization, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a short drive from the Madison area. A straw poll of Madison residents would assuredly agree that Winslow touched the ball.

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In honor of MLB umpire Angel Hernandez’s retirement, what’s the worst call in Wisconsin history?

What’s the worst call in Wisconsin history?

Major League Baseball umpire Angel Hernandez announced his retirement on Sunday night.

The news came as a surprise, though it was much-anticipated by baseball fans. Hernandez had gained a reputation as one of the sport’s worst umpires and became one of the most disliked figures by nearly every fanbase.

Related: Which Big Ten football team has the toughest 2024 schedule?

Hernandez’s retirement had many on X re-posting the worst calls of his career. There is no Wisconsin angle to that discussion, so we’re turning to an age-old question: what are the worst officiating calls in Wisconsin sports history?

There are two obvious ones that will lead everybody’s list: Duke forward Justice Winslow touching the basketball in the 2015 national championship game, and Wisconsin wide receiver Danny Davis being called for a phantom offensive pass interference to decide the 2020 Rose Bowl vs. Oregon.

Both are hard to argue with.

Winslow’s clear touching of the basketball was missed by officials and sealed Duke’s win over Wisconsin in the sport’s biggest game. A reversed call would not have guaranteed a Badgers victory, but it would’ve gave them a chance.

The OPI call on Davis, meanwhile, ruined Wisconsin’s game-winning drive at the end of the Rose Bowl. It isn’t the national championship, but its the biggest game Wisconsin football has played in over the last 20 years.

I’m convinced that final drive results in game-winning points without that penalty.

There are likely countless others to consider, but none were worst calls on a bigger stage than these two mentioned.

 

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion.

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The 10 best remaining free agents the Boston Celtics can sign

Let’s take a look at some of the best remaining free agents who the Celtics could consider signing.

The Boston Celtics are coming off a disappointing campaign that ended in elimination by the Miami Heat in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals just when Boston hoped to get back to the NBA Finals. Since then, team president Brad Stevens has shaken up the roster by bringing on star big man Kristaps Porzingis while letting go of Marcus Smart and Grant Williams.

The team has made depth signings with Oshae Brissett and Dalano Banton, but the Celtics still need to address a few key areas. Chief among them is a point guard able to step into a bigger role if needed, but Boston now also needs depth at the guard, wing, forward, and big positions as well with between one and three roster spots pending team decisions on non-guaranteed players.

Let’s take a look at some of the best remaining free agents who the Celtics could consider signing on minimum deals to such an end.

In this exercise, we have omitted players who will likely earn more than a minimum deal given the Celtics’ proximity to the second apron.

Rival East exec thinks the Boston Celtics should consider trading for Mo Harkless, Justice Winslow

We, on the other hand, disagree.

Should the Boston Celtics consider kicking the tires on Mo Harkless or Justice Winslow? One anonymous NBA executive outside of the Celtics organization believes they ought to according to a recent article by Heavy’s Matt John. In a conversation with Heavy’s Sean Deveney, John related the unnamed exec thinks “both make sense if they’re not getting what they want off the bench for backup wings.”

In the case of Harkless, we would quickly pass given the steadily-declining game of the 29-year-old forward. But Winslow, still just 26, fits the age curve and could provide some position flexibility without disrupting the defensive foundation of the team’s recent success.

However, the former No. 10 pick of the 2015 NBA draft for the Miami Heat has had poor availability due to recurring injuries throughout his career. His games player per season has steadily declined since his rookie season.

The Heavy article suggests Boston might use one of its trade exceptions to bring in either of the duo.

But, we doubt there’d be interest in Harkless at this stage of his career and not much more for Winslow given his availability history — barring a late-season trade sending out similar salary so as not to increase Boston’s tax bill.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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