The Badgers have had some very notable players and coaches come through their program recently.
One of the hardest parts of all-time great lists is the task of comparing different eras with each other. For 2010 vs 2020, it’s pretty easy. 1941 vs 2020? Almost impossible.
So, I decided to do a new Wisconsin Badgers Mt. Rushmore covering just the period since 2010, which is a fairly apples-to-apples thing given that only two coaches have guided the Badgers during this time period, and one was the padawan to the other’s Jedi.
I’ve chosen to limit this one to first and second teams along with some special and honorable mentions and have dispensed with positional requirements. This is a hallowed mountain, not a four-man starting lineup. I’ve also excluded anyone currently on the Badgers’ roster (or transfers who would still be), because these are post-Wisconsin career honors.
First Team Mt. Rushmore
Frank Kaminsky: Frank The Tank has an argument to be the GOAT, so it’s obvious that he’s here. Carrying a quirky and likable persona to go along with a meteoric jump his junior season, Kaminsky became the face of Wisconsin Basketball if not the school’s sports in general, and swept the Wooden and Naismith awards his senior year, before being a Lottery pick for the Hornets in 2015.
Ethan Happ: It’s easy to forget just how dominant Happ was. Averaging over 15 points per game over a four-year college career where he was First Team All-Big Ten three times is almost unheard of in modern basketball, and doing it with being the team’s assist leader for two of those years is stunning. Free throws were a definite Achilles heel for him, but it’s easier to forgive this when you see his career FG percentage was almost 55 percent. He led the Badgers in an absurd FIVE categories during his all-Big Ten Senior campaign and was also twice named to the All-Big Ten Defensive First Team.
Jordan Taylor: A two-time All-Big Ten First Team guard, Taylor was a clutch player for Wisconsin for three of his four college seasons, averaging over 18 PPG in his Second Team All-American junior year. Known for his clutch scoring and timely assists (led the team for three straight years), Taylor was a talented and beloved Badger, who played his heart out every game. Was named to the Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022.
Sam Dekker: It speaks volumes about how good Wisconsin Basketball was during this period that Dekker is also on the first team. A smooth shooter with tantalizing length and contagious energy, Dekker started slowly for Bo Ryan, but by his junior season, he was playing as well as anyone in March. It’s still puzzling to me why his NBA career wasn’t more robust because talent never seemed to be in question for the 2015 first-rounder.
Second Team Mt. Rushmore
Johnny Davis: Although he had only one elite season in Madison, it was a Big Ten Player of the Year campaign in 2021-22, where Davis was as valuable and electric as any guy in college basketball on the way to averaging almost 20 points per game for the Big Ten Champion Badgers, who deserved so much better than the round of 32 fate it suffered after Chicky Hepburn went down with an injury in the round of 32.
Nigel Hayes: Almost as memorable for his unique persona, Hayes was a bedrock player for both Bo Ryan and Greg Gard, and was unquestionably the most successful Badger in history, with two Final Fours and two Sweet Sixteens, including a game-winning shot over No. 1 Villanova his senior year. Although Hayes has been unable to parlay his college days into NBA success, he has been a fantastic player for some of the top teams in Europe.
Bronson Koenig: Like Hayes, Koenig spanned two Wisconsin Basketball eras and had a clutch, game-winning NCAA Tournament moment. A three-year starter for the Badgers who played during crunch time in the Badgers’ 2014-15 NCAA Tournament run his freshman season, Koenig averaged around 40 percent from 3 range over his career and averaged almost 15 points per game during his senior year. Koenig was an absolute bucket for the Badgers.
Brad Davison: It was a difficult call between Jon Leuer and Davison, but I give the nod here to a five-year guy who was the absolute heartbeat of the team every season he was in Madison. His grittiness on both ends of the floor was contagious, and he averaged over 10 PPG in four of his seasons and 9.9 in the other one. A slump poof guy he led by example and was, without question, the player opponents most hated to see. He wasn’t free from controversy, but his reputation as a dirty player in some circles was unfair.
Special Mention: Jon Leuer, Josh Gasser, Trevon Hughes, Ben Brust.
Honorable Mention: Zak Showalter, Aleem Ford, Nate Reuvers, D’Mitrick Trice, Micah Potter, Tyler Wahl, Jared Berggren, Traevon Jackson.