Tag: wisconsin badgers basketball

Wisconsin’s star guard is called up to his country’s national team

Wisconsin’s star guard is called up to his country’s national team

A Wisconsin basketball star will play for his country this summer. Connor Essegian will play for the Armenian national team during the Armenian Basketball Classic against France.

The matchup will take place June 16 at Cal State Northridge in California.

NBA assistant coach Rex Kalamian, who is currently with the Detroit Pistons, will serve as the national team head coach.

Essegian had a pair of 20-point games during his freshman season. He was third on the Badgers in scoring at 11.7 points per game, behind Chucky Hepburn (12.2) and Steven Crowl (12.1). He also broke the Wisconsin record for 3-pointers in a season with 69.

The news was announced by the national team on Instagram.

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Four-star guard set to announce college decision Friday

Daniel Freitag, a four-star guard from California has got his potential teams down to five, including Wisconsin, choosing his school Friday.

Daniel Freitag, a four-star point guard from Castaic, California has narrowed down his potential teams to five, including Wisconsin, and will announce his commitment Friday.

Freitag is a member of the class of 2024 and still has one more season of high school basketball at Southern California Academy. The 6-foot-2 athlete is originally from Jefferson, Minnesota, which may explain his potential attraction to Greg Gard and his program at Wisconsin.

In the end, multiple players including Tyler Wahl (Lakeville, MN) and Steven Crowl (Eagan, MN) are from Freitag’s home state. Friday’s announcement could be a massive one for Gard and his staff if they can reel in a talent as highly touted as Freitag.

Additionally, as a multi-sport athlete, he also holds an offer from the Badger football team as a four-star wide receiver.

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An updated look at the Wisconsin basketball roster entering 2023-24

An updated look at the Wisconsin basketball roster entering 2023-24

Wisconsin basketball has had a number of changes this offseason, and more could be on the way. The Badgers have brought in arguably the biggest get of the Greg Gard era, had players transfer out, had a commit come and then decide to go elsewhere and are still in the hunt for a backup big.

As the dust settles in this late stage of the transfer portal, Wisconsin is being linked to a number of potential backup bigs, who have not yet decided on their destination.

Here is a look at where Wisconsin’s roster stands after a number of offseason moves:

Two former Badger centers ranked in top 25 since 2000 by ChatGPT

College Basketball Report asked AI software ChatGPT who the best centers have been since 2000, which listed two Badgers in the top 25.

It’s wild the world has come to this point, but College Basketball Report asked AI software ChatGPT who the best centers have been since 2000, and it listed two Badgers in the top 25.

According to the software, two big men from the 2010’s made a big enough impact for Wisconsin. Frank Kaminsky came in at No. 9 while Ethan Happ sneaked in at 21.

Starting with Kaminsky, this ranking comes as no surprise. The seven-footer led the Badger to back-to-back Final Four appearances in 2014 and 2015, including a trip to the championship in 2015.

Kaminsky holds the Wisconsin record for the most points in a single season, producing 732 points in 2014-2015. His 43 points against North Dakota on Nov. 19, 2013 is a school record. He also finished with 153 career blocks, which was the program record until Happ passed him in 2019.

The 2014-2015 campaign earned him National College Player of the Year and Big Ten Player of the Year. After four seasons with Wisconsin, Kaminsky capitalized on his great senior, being selected ninth overall by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2015 NBA draft.

Happ’s career didn’t include as many legendary moments as Kaminsky’s did, but the 6-foot-10 center from Milan, Illinois, left his mark in Madison.

Starting all 139 games over his four-year career with the Badgers, Happ finished with 2,130 points (third all-time), 1,217 rebounds (program record), 154 blocks (second all-time) and 217 steals (second all-time).

Happ’s highest scoring campaign came in 2017-2018, when he compiled 590 points, which is the 10th highest scoring season in Badger history. The following season, he snatched 10.1 rebounds per game, coming down with 342 boards (second most in program history).

His 52 double-doubles and two triple-doubles are the most in Badger men’s basketball history.

Happ did not get selected in the 2019 NBA draft and now plays overseas for Rio Breogán of the Spanish Liga ACB.

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Badgers MBB highlights former athletes with great seasons in the BBL

Former Wisconsin men’s basketball players Sam Dekker and Jordan Taylor just completed a championship winning season with London in the BBL.

Former Wisconsin men’s basketball players Sam Dekker and Jordan Taylor just completed a championship winning season with the London Lions in the British Basketball League.

Dekker (2012-2015) was a member of the Badgers’ teams that made back-to-back appearances in the Final Four in 2014 and 2015, operating as five-star recruit from Sheboygan, Wisconsin.

Taylor (2008-2012) recorded 464 assists during his career with the Badgers, finishing second in school history with that figure while his 13.0 offensive win shares is the most by a Badger.

In a great season with the Lions, Dekker averaged 17.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists while playing in 21 games during the BBL regular season, earning the league’s Player of the Year award.

When it came to the playoffs, Jordan Taylor was the former Badger who took a step up, putting up 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds in the BBL Championship. The performance earned him Finals MVP.

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WATCH: Highlights from Max Klesmit’s first season at Wisconsin

WATCH: Highlights from Max Klesmit’s first season at Wisconsin

Max Klesmit made a name for himself with the Badgers in 2022-23, specifically down the stretch of the campaign.

The Wofford transfer averaged 8.4 points and 2.7 rebounds per contest while shooting a career-best 38% from beyond the arc. He had at least 16 points in four of Wisconsin’s final seven games of the year as he finished with his best basketball.

It wasn’t only the offense, but the defense that made Klesmit so effective in 2022-23. He was often tasked with guarding the best perimeter scorer, and he was usually up to that task.

Check out the best of Klesmit in his first year as a Badger:

Wisconsin basketball offers 2025 forward EJ Walker

Wisconsin basketball offers 2025 forward EJ Walker

Wisconsin basketball made another move in the 2025 class as they offered forward EJ Walker. Walker is a 6-foot-8 forward from the state of Kentucky.

He currently holds offers from Minnesota, Dayton, Xavier, and others.

Wisconsin has been active in the 2025 class at this early stage. The Badgers have offered 2025 in-state four-star talent Davion Hannah, in-state big man Kai Rogers, and are monitoring a number of other Badger State players in 2025.

In 2024, Wisconsin is in hot pursuit of the top player in Minnesota in Daniel Freitag, and the top player in Wisconsin in Kon Knueppel.

Walker posted about his offer on Twitter earlier Tuesday afternoon:

Watch: Johnny Davis with highlight dunk on career night

Johnny Davis continued his hot stretch Tuesday, scoring a career-high 20 points in the Wizards’ 140-128 loss to the Bucks.

Johnny Davis continued his hot stretch Tuesday, scoring a career-high 20 points in the Wizards’ 140-128 loss to the Bucks. Davis remained in the starting lineup for a second game in a row, increasing his production once again, also adding five rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks over 37 minutes.

The former Badger has been seeing his playing time increase recently as the Wizards continue to deal with injuries in their backcourt and he hasn’t disappointed. The rookie has compiled 36 points over his two starts and could possibly remain in the lineup for Washington’s last three games.

Part of his massive performance was a spectacular dunk over Jrue Holiday, which can be seen below:

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WATCH: Highlights from Johnny Davis’ first NBA start

WATCH: Highlights from Johnny Davis’ first NBA start

Johnny Davis made his first NBA start on Sunday, and finished with 16 points and six rebounds.

Davis may have had a slow start to his NBA career with the Washington Wizards, but he has taken advantage of opportunities late in the season.

Davis had standout creation reps, solid defensive plays, and scored in multiple ways for the Wizards. He has had a few viral highlights over the last few weeks as he has gotten more and more NBA time. Over the Wizards’ last few games, except the former Wisconsin star to be in the fold and gaining experience.

Check out the playmaking from the Wizards guard:

 

Sam Dekker and Jordan Taylor win British Basketball League title

Sam Dekker and Jordan Taylor win British Basketball League title

A pair of former Badgers became league champions this weekend when the London Lions took home the British Basketball League title.

Sam Dekker and Jordan Taylor are members of the Lions team that clinched the title with six games remaining in the regular season. Dekker is the leading scorer, averaging 17.6 points per game. Taylor leads the team in assists per game, averaging 5.3.

Wisconsin basketball showed love to the two former Badgers as they clinched the championship on Saturday. Through 30 games, the Lions are 27-3. No other team in the league has more than 21 wins.

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