June 4, 2015
The following is excerpted from Patrick Herb's book "Make 'Em Believe: The inside story of the Badgers' Road to the 2015 Final Four," released on June 15 from KCI Sports Publishing. This hard cover, 160-page keepsake features over 100 color photos and first-hand stories from Wisconsin players and head coach Bo Ryan.
Order your copy of "Make 'Em Believe"
PROLOGUE - STORY OF A SLOGAN
As the scoreboard at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis ticked toward 0:00, Frank Kaminsky pointed to his chest and mouthed the words "Make... 'Em... Believe. This is what Make 'Em Believe was about."
Serenaded by the iconic voice of Jim Nantz bellowing "On Wisconsin... to the National Championship," the Badgers were about to pull off a feat that few outside the Wisconsin locker room thought possible.
While his teammates embraced and jumped near midcourt, Kaminsky thrust his fists toward the cavernous rafters parading around the Final Four court holding a shirt emblazoned with the words:
"Make 'Em Believe."
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| "A rallying cry that, while rooted in the endearing goofiness of the team, underscored the team's singular focus of reaching college basketball's nirvana." |
A rallying cry that, while rooted in the endearing goofiness of the team, underscored the team's singular focus of reaching college basketball's nirvana.
That indelible image of Kaminsky, the unlikely consensus national player of the year, standing tall after the Badgers had just knocked off the unbeaten, 38-0, once-in-a-generation Kentucky Wildcats, captured perhaps the greatest moment in Wisconsin basketball history.
Exactly 364 days after suffering a crushing loss to the Wildcats in the 2014 Final Four, Wisconsin's entire motivation was built on returning to this moment and atoning for missed opportunities.
Wisconsin 71, Kentucky 64 was no David vs. Goliath.
Wisconsin 71, Kentucky 64 was no upset.
Wisconsin 71, Kentucky 64 was no fluke.
It was fate.
On July 13, 2014, nearly the entire Wisconsin team gathered at a gym in Lisle, Illinois, a 3-point shot from the childhood home of preseason All-American Frank Kaminsky, to work as counselors for a local youth basketball camp. Throughout the camp the Badgers players would engage in competition with the campers, aged third through 12th grade.
During a spirited game of knockout, the final two left standing were Kaminsky, the hometown headliner, and relatively unknown soon-to-be-sophomore Vitto Brown. Realizing the odds -- and crowd of children -- were stacked against Brown, his classmate Bronson Koenig yelled out, "They don't think you can beat him. Make 'em believe V."
Later, when the young campers asked to challenge the reigning 2014 Final Four Badgers, Kaminsky and his teammates were unsure how to approach the game. Instead of letting the kids win, the college boys followed the lead of Brown, "No prisoners. Doesn't matter how young or small they are, treat them like the enemy."
The Badgers played all out, installing a full-court press, rarely letting their miniature counterparts even cross half court. They would steal the ball and immediately lob it to the 7-foot Kaminsky standing under the basket, who would turn and dunk so hard it would send the 10-years olds tumbling over like bowling pins, giggling all the way to the floor.
"They were laughing like it was the greatest time of their lives," Kaminsky remembered. "We liked to think it was our way of giving back to the community."
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As best they could, the Wisconsin players tried to keep a straight face despite the one-sided beatdown.
"They think they can play with us, make 'em believe!" Brown blared with a straight face despite cracking up inside.
There it was again, "Make 'Em Believe."
A motto with a backstory as silly as the collection of characters who dreamed it up, those three simple words would follow Wisconsin all season. The last thing the team saw before taking the court at the Kohl Center? "Make 'Em Believe" posted on the locker room wall. The team was asked to wear warm-up shirts for the 2015 postseason, branded with adidas' latest marketing campaign. The team declined, empathically. They'd stick to their own message. You guessed it... Make 'Em Believe.
Surely the inspiration that took Wisconsin to a program-record 36 wins, an undisputed Big Ten championship and the 2015 national championship game had to mean something more than convincing their legitimacy to a gym full of preteens, right?
Patrick Herb, an alumnus of UW-Madison and seven-year veteran of the Kansas City Chiefs public relations staff, is the assistant director of athletic communications for the Badgers. He serves as the lead public relations contact for Wisconsin Basketball and is the sideline reporter for the Wisconsin Radio Network's broadcasts of Badger football. Herb and his wife, Lindsay, are both Appleton, Wis., natives and currently reside in Verona with their sons, Tyler and Austin.
