That is how you can refer to UW’s 7-foot center Chris Vogt after the Badgers recently clinched a share of the Big Ten regular season title.
Where is the ring going?
“I guess my point finger.” Vogt came to Madison after spending his freshman and sophomore seasons at Northern Kentucky and junior and senior seasons at Cincinnati.
The Badgers big man may not be the most flashy player or hold the most eye-popping stat lines, but one thing he knows how to do is win.
When he decided to use his fifth year of eligibility he wanted to make sure his next school would focus on togetherness.
“Culture was really important to me,” he said talking about why he chose UW over other institutions.
A year ago, he tore his labrum, which cut his court time from 28.5 minutes per game to 19.4 minutes per game while he was with the Bearcats, but he knew he wanted more.
He wanted to be a part of a team where he could be effective in his duty.
After a few conversations with fellow fifth-year senior Brad Davison and the Wisconsin coaching staff, he made the decision to play for the Badgers without visiting the school first.
“(Brad) played a key role,” Vogt said about his choice. “I wanted to compete for a championship.” That is exactly what the team did in his lone year with the program.
Vogt’s role with the team is different. He plays behind starting center Steven Crowl despite being a two-year starter at Cincinnati, while Crowl only played 39 minutes in 12 appearances last season.
Instead of complaining, the senior has embraced this opportunity to mentor someone who used to be in his shoes.
“He’s taught me how to play down low against guys at this level,” Crowl said. “He’s been in those winning locker rooms so he knows how they feel and what to bring into those locker rooms.” The sophomore has been one of the most improved players on the team this year as he is averaging 9.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, while contributing 25.5 minutes per contest.
One could only imagine the impact Vogt played on Crowl’s growth. The learning isn’t a one way connection though.
“I think it’s been a two-way street,” Crowl said.
The experience is what Vogt is able to bring to the relationship.
“He brings all the small things to our team,” Crowl said. “From the mindset going into each game, the locker room, weight room, and all the stuff behind the scenes.
Vogt knows winning four championships is not just a solo effort. He never credits himself, rather he focuses on the team and the next game.
“It’s a humbling experience,” Vogt said after the Badgers beat Purdue to clinch a share of the regular season league title. “I think it’s a testament to the great teammates I’ve had and the great guys I’ve played with.”
With the final games approaching over the upcoming weeks, he is thankful for the experiences he has had at all three schools.
Vogt’s thumb is missing a ring. Perhaps the upcoming NCAA tournament can give him the opportunity to put one on each finger.
MADISON, Wis. – Johnny Davis is not the National Player of the Year (NPOY). The end of the year award will be announced at this week’s Final Four in New Orleans, but the consensus All-American is not deserving of NPOY honors.
The sophomore guard is one of four finalists (Oscar Tshiebwe – Kentucky, Keegan Murray – Iowa, Ochai Agbaji – Kansas) for the Naismith NPOY.
The Big Ten Player of the Year had a remarkable season leading the Badgers to a share of the regular season conference title and a second round appearance in the NCAA Tournament, but there are three candidates much more worthy of the postseason accolade.
Davis averaged 19.7 points per game, the most by a Wisconsin player since Alando Tucker put up 19.9 points per game in the 2006-07 season.
Who deserves the highly acclaimed honor? Statistically, Keegan Murray or Oscar Tshiebwe look to be the best candidates, but Ochai Agbaji also holds an impressive resume that could vault him to win the award.
So, why would a fellow Big Ten player pass Davis without earning the conference’s POY award?
It is because of his performance since UW’s guard received the original award and how Murray was overlooked for the league’s honor.
The Iowa sophomore averaged 23.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game this year and finished with 68 blocks and 56 steals.
He also helped the (5) Hawkeyes win the Big Ten tournament with wins over (12) Northwestern, (4) Rutgers, (9) Indiana, and (3) Purdue.
In those four postseason games, he averaged 25.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists along with garnering Most Valuable Player honors for the tournament.
Without Murray, the Hawkeyes would not have gotten past a feisty Indiana team sitting on the bubble inching their way to a March Madness berth.
In the semifinal against the Hoosiers, the forward went 8-for-10 from behind the arc propelling Iowa to overcome a first-half 12 point deficit.
Not only did he put the team on his back in that situation, he was the program’s leader when they needed him the most.
He scored 25 or more points in 16 games and grabbed double-digit rebounds 10 times.
The sophomore also shot 55.4% from the field and 39.8% from three-point range.
Despite not earning Big Ten Player of the Year honors, Murray put up numbers well deserving of the end of the season recognition.
The league’s auto bid team went into the NCAA Tournament with a five seed, but fell to (12) Richmond in the opening round regardless of their top player finishing with 21 points and 9 rebounds.
The next player that should be above Davis in final voting is Tshiebwe.
The Kentucky big man dominated the court all season long.
He finished with 17.4 points and 15.2 rebounds per game. Yes you read that right – 15.2!
He grabbed double digit rebounds in 32 of 34 games this season and had five games with 20+ boards.
The junior led the Wildcats to a 26-8 record and earned Southeastern Conference (SEC) Player of the Year recognition.
He was a force defensively as he swatted 55 shots attempts and marked 60 steals.
Six different organizations (Naismith, Associated Press, John Wooden, Oscar Robertson, NABC, and Sporting News) name a NPOY award and Tshiebwe was named the Sporting News POY on March 9.
In the 45 years since all of these awards have been given, 25 players have won consensus honors.
What does that mean? Even though Tshiebwe already has one national honor, he is not guaranteed to sweep the slate.
Agbaji is another player who is up for the Naismith award. The Big 12 Player of the Year pushed Kansas to its first Final Four appearance since 2018 and a pair of conference titles (regular season and tournament).
The senior averaged 18.9 points and 5.2 rebounds this season along with 56 assists and 31 steals.
When KU needed a three-pointer, the team went to him because he made 40.3% of his attempts from deep this season.
He was only held to single digit scoring two times. The first came when he scored eight points in a late season matchup against Texas and the final one came in the Sweet Sixteen contest against Providence where he was held to five points.
Out of the four finalists for the Naismith Award, the KU guard is the only player who will be competing in the Final Four. The other three were eliminated during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
That marker shows how valuable Agbaji’s play on the court pushes his team and represents a selling mark for voters to choose him as the POY.
Davis is a fun case to dig deeper into. The sophomore scored 19.7 points and grabbed 8.2 boards per game while leading the Badgers to their second Big Ten regular season title in three seasons.
He also was not just efficient with the aforementioned stats, he also dished out 66 assists.
In games where the Badgers lost, Davis was held to 17.2 points per game. This is the lowest average in losses out of all four players. This is a different way to look at player impact, but it represents that out of the four finalists, Davis meant more for his team from an offensive standpoint.
Like Murray, Davis was also held to single digit scoring efforts one time this season when he finished with four points in a win over Penn State.
One thing the UW sophomore did not do is finish the season on a hot note as Wisconsin lost three of its last four games. In that stretch, he was held to 15.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game.
In postseason play his shooting numbers dropped significantly. In three games, he went 15-for-55 (27.3%).
For comparison, in the three contests in the Maui Invitational, he shot 25-for-53 (47.2%) from the field. This is the same tournament that Davis put his name on the watchlist for NPOY as he earned MVP honors for the tournament.
The most recent NPOY from Wisconsin was Frank Kaminsky in 2014-15 when he led the Badgers with 18.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game.
That year, UW went to the national title game and finished with a 36-4 record.
The 2021-22 Wisconsin team posted an impressive 25-8 record, but only advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Although postseason performance is only a small indicator in the end of the year voting, Davis’ inability to get the Badgers further in the tourney does not help his chances to be named NPOY.
When looking at the season as a whole, Davis does not stand out as a true NPOY candidate. His resume looks noteworthy from a first glance, but after digging into the other finalists, it is clear that there are three other players who should be named NPOY above Wisconsin’s star guard.
Despite the fact that Wisconsin basketball is losing its top scorer to the NBA Draft, Johnny Davis’ departure might be the best thing to ever happen to Wisconsin basketball.
Consistently being plagued as a “system school” that does not offer naturally talented players a place to develop into successful professional players, Davis provides a story that runs counter to this narrative.
After averaging 7.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.1 assist per game in his freshman season, Davis made the jump to 19.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game as a sophomore. This kind of improvement in one’s game does not happen overnight and despite assertions that coach Greg Gard cannot coach, these numbers seem to be proving the opposite point.
Wisconsin has not produced an NBA Draft pick since Frank Kaminksy and Sam Dekker in 2015 were selected in the first round by the Charlotte Hornets and Houston Rockets, respectively. Dekker is now playing abroad after injuries dominated his early career with a variety of NBA teams, and Kaminksy was just released from the Phoenix Suns after three years. Other Badgers have had successful professional careers in the NBA and abroad, but Wisconsin has never been considered a school that is a pipeline to the NBA.
In today’s era of recruiting, many high school basketball recruits want to choose an institution that can get them to the NBA the quickest. With the one and done rule in college basketball, some players just want to develop and perform as much as they can in their only year before they head to the NBA.
Despite not having any coaches who worked in the NBA, like many other prolific college programs, or any recent majorly successful professional players, Davis grew a great amount after his first season. This type of jump could happen again and Davis could grow immensely before his first season in the NBA after being drafted.
Obviously, the story of Tyler Herro rings a bell for many Wisconsin fans. Herro, a 2018 graduate from Whitnall High School in Greenfield, Wisconsin, committed to the Badgers during his junior year of high school. However, at the start of his senior year, he famously chose to decommit from Wisconsin. Around a month later, Herro signed his letter of intent to play for the University of Kentucky. Herro spent one year at Kentucky and then was drafted by the Miami Heat with the 13th pick in the draft.
Since then, Herro has talked about how the top players in the state would love to play for Wisconsin, but not Wisconsin’s system. These types of comments continue to cloud Wisconsin basketball and how recruits view the program.
This success story, courtesy of Johnny Davis, should prove that elite Wisconsin talent can make it to the NBA if you go to Wisconsin.
UW proved that they can tailor its style to faster tempo players. With dynamic and quick-paced playmakers like Davis and point guard Chucky Hepburn, WIsconsin staff can feel more comfortable letting their stars take the reins.
Davis was competitive, developed his skills and worked hard and his success is a result of the time he put in. The NBA found him at Wisconsin, despite critics telling him he would not accomplish his dream in Wisconsin’s system.
How Davis will perform in the NBA is still uncertain, but his performance at Wisconsin has shown all that he is capable of accomplishing. Prospective players looking to choose a program that gives them the opportunity to develop into the best player and to give them the opportunity to play professionally should now consider Wisconsin as a program that can give them those tools.
Davis, a kid from LaCrosse, is making the step to the NBA and he can thank Wisconsin basketball for some of that. It’s time to forget the past assumptions of Badger basketball and look at the program as one capable of developing NBA prospects for future years to come.
When the Wisconsin men’s basketball managers heard the news that they were one of eight teams selected to play in the Manager Games Championship in New Orleans, the site of the 2022 Final Four for men’s college basketball, a lot of dreams fell into place.
“This is the opportunity of a lifetime. I have wanted to be a part of the Final Four in any capacity my whole life, and let alone playing at an event associated with the games is an experience that words can’t begin to describe,” said Danny Tabaska, one of the lead managers for the team.
Throughout the regular season, managers across the country would play each other in empty arenas nights before the scheduled games you see on ESPN or CBS. For example, before Wisconsin battled Marquette this year, the managers from both schools played in an empty Kohl Center.
At the end of the season, similarly to how teams are seeded in the NCAA tournament, manager teams are seeded based on their performance and then have to ride Twitter polls to make it to the site of the Final Four.
After three rounds of voting, the Wisconsin manager squad was one of the final eight teams selected to play for the Manager Games Championship.
Now, the final task was to raise enough money that could help support the managers in their travels down to New Orleans.
“We would not have been in the position that we were in without the support of Badger nation. As broke college kids, we would not have been able to even think about playing for the championship. I have never been a part of something like this, so being able to spend time with the managers while trying to win a championship was super cool,” said Owen Jennings, another lead manager for the team.
The group created a GoFundMe account for fans to help sponsor the team’s trip to the Final Four. The team raised just over $4,000 to make the trip, using a lot of this money to cover gas, lodging and food.
Eight of the 16 managers made the 15 hour drive down to the Big Easy and spent three days exploring the city during the big event, as well as, of course, playing other manager squads in order to crown a champion.
The Badgers beat Alabama in the quarterfinals to begin the tourney and followed that up with a win over conference foe Michigan to advance to the Manager Games championship.
Wisconsin’s run in the event came up short as they fell to Notre Dame 38-30 in a hard fought game. The UW managers came close to the taste of victory that they had wanted so badly the entire year.
“We would’ve loved to win it all, but the journey is the reward. No trophy can replace the memories we made together in New Orleans. That loss doesn’t define us as a team or what we accomplished this season,” said Brady Wittig, a first-year manager.
Much of the work that college basketball managers do is behind the scenes work and often are the “call guys” for whatever needs to be done. It takes a special kind of person to be able to move silently and do the work without necessarily being recognized as an important part of the program.
Events like the Manager Games championship at the Final Four allow those working behind the action to share some of the spotlight.
On college basketball’s biggest stage, this tournament allows the managers of these teams to not only play basketball, but make connections and talk with coaches that can help them with their future careers and aspirations.
“This trip was a lot of fun and getting to play three games of basketball in the heart of college basketball is an experience I will never forget,” Tabaska said.“However, the relationships, the people and the connections that I made were the best part by far. We would not have been able to do this without the support of Badger Nation and I hope we made them proud.”
For Wisconsin basketball fans who wanted to see their team in the Final Four, just know that the team behind the scenes made it and wanted to make Badger fans proud.
