Sports are on pause and, although it’s only April 3, it feels like the dog days of summer are in full swing. So, what better to do while we go back and re-watch every notable Badger sport game from the last 20 years? How about a Mount Rushmore. …
Sports are on pause and, although it’s only April 3, it feels like the dog days of summer are in full swing.
So, what better to do while we go back and re-watch every notable Badger sport game from the last 20 years? How about a Mount Rushmore.
Here, in no particular order, are the four greatest Badger basketball players since 2000.
Frank Kaminsky (2011-2015)
This one was an easy one. Although Kaminsky began his career playing sparingly, only starting two games in his first two seasons, his junior and senior seasons vaulted him into Badger basketball lure as he helped lead the team to two consecutive Final Four appearances including a National Championship defeat in 2015 at the hands of the Duke Blue Devils. What Kaminsky brought to the floor was a unique blend of size, inside skill and outside shooting, a combination which led him to be drafted ninth overall by the Charlotte Hornets in 2015. Kaminsky finished his career with the greatest single-season scoring performance in school history with 732 points as a senior in 2014-2015, No. 12 on the Badgers all-time scoring list, 1458 total points, the only Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award, Oscar Robertson Trophy AND AP Player of the Year award winner in a single season and, again, helped lead the Badgers on their best two-year run in school history. Was he a much better player than guys like Jon Leuer and Sam Dekker? No. But his final two seasons vaulted him to one of the greatest Badgers since 2000 and into Badger lure.
Ethan Happ (2015-2019)
Ethan Happ finished his career in 2019 as Wisconsin’s all-time leader in rebounds, blocks and triple doubles and No. 3 on the school’s all-time scoring list. Happ was the model of consistency throughout his four years, averaging 12.4 points and 7.9 rebounds as a freshman, 14 and 9 as a sophomore, 17.9 and 8 as a junior and 17.3 and 10.1 as a senior, and finished his career with a final tally of 2130 points, 1217 rebounds and 154 blocks. While he was unable to lead the Badgers back to the Final Four after their consecutive appearances in 2013-14 and 2014-15, he was a pivotal cog in the team’s two Sweet Sixteen runs his freshman and sophomore year and he would’ve had the team in the Elite Eight in 2016-17 were it not for a miraculous three pointer by Florida’s Chris Chiozza at the overtime buzzer.
Nigel Hayes (2013-2017)
Like Kaminsky, Nigel Hayes gets a boost due to the team’s run of success during his time in Madison. Unlike Kaminsky, though, Hayes finished his Badger career near the top of seemingly every leaderboard. He is the only player in school history to finish inside the top-10 in all-time points, assists and rebounds, finished with the fourth-most points in school history (third but has since been passed by Happ), played in the most games in school history (150), was the second player in Big Ten History to top 1800 points, 700 rebounds and 300 assists and, again, was one of the main catalysts for the best four-year run of success in school history. He may have been overshadowed a bit by Sam Dekker and Kaminsky on the two Final Four teams, but his consistent production for four years, versatility and team success make it necessary to put him on this list.
Alando Tucker (2002-2007)
Finally, and no I did not forget about him, the school’s all-time leading scorer Alando Tucker. Tucker finished his Badger career with 2217 points, 769 rebounds and an impressive 134 games played. He was also the school’s first consensus 1st-team All-American since 1942, the Big Ten Player of the Year as a senior, helped lead Wisconsin to the Elite Eight in 2004-2005 and really ushered in the Bo Ryan era of Badger basketball, arguably the best run of success the school has had in its history. He came years before current students like myself even followed college sports but his greatness and impact on the program is undeniable.
Stats and accolades via UWBadgers.com.
