What I'll remember from 2010-11
April 20, 2011 | Men's Basketball
April 20, 2011
• Watch the 2011 Sweet 16 Reception 
MADISON, Wis. -- My family took a trip to Kansas City a few weeks ago and we ran into a few friends who live down there. A buddy of mine said to me, “Wow, Wisconsin basketball had a great year huh?” I looked at him and knee-jerked, “Yeah, it was pretty decent.”
Later that night another friend brought it up again and said, “What a fun season for you guys. I saw that Ohio State game. Wow.” This time I think I paused for a split-second and said, “Yeah, it was a lot fun.”
The next day we had dinner some friends, and an old friend – a Kansas State I should add – said “Boy the Badgers were good this year… what a season, huh?”
By the third time someone had mentioned this, I stepped back for a moment and the thought that ran though my head was, “You’re darn right.”
Now that we’re a few weeks removed from the end of the season and a time has passed to heal the wound of the final game, we have a chance to step back and see the forest from the trees. With that in mind, I wrote down a few of the things that I will always remember from this wildly successful year.
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• I will remember the most sure-handed team in NCAA history. The Badgers set an NCAA record by averaging just 7.6 turnovers per game, breaking Temple’s record of 7.7 set in 2006.
• I will remember that points at the free throw line felt as automatic as a conversation with Bo Ryan leading back to Chester, Pa. Wisconsin led the NCAA by shooting nearly 82% at the free throw line, shattering the previous school record of 76% which had stood since 1983-84. UW came up just 3 made free throws short of breaking the NCAA record that Harvard set in 1983-84.
• I will remember the two senior walk-ons who played their way into UW’s regular rotation. Brett Valentyn and Wquinton Smith entered this season with five combined field goals to their names yet one emerged to start the season opener and the other made critical 3s vs. Michigan and at Iowa.
• Admittedly, even more I will remember Wquinton Smith’s face on the Rock and Roll Rollercoaster at Hollywood Studios during the Old Spice Classic at Disney World. (Just picture extreme fright)
• I will remember how escaping the Kohl Center with a win was harder than getting out of a Chilean mine in 2010-11. The Badgers posted just the third undefeated home schedule in the last 80 years… or in other words since Otto Puls retired from officiating.
UW went 16-0 at home, winning by an average of 18.4 points per game. Games at the Kohl Center weren’t even close in 2010-11.
• I will fondly remember Tucson, Arizona. That was the site of the Badgers’ wins over Belmont and Kansas State to advance to their fourth Sweet 16 since 2003. Only five schools have been to more Sweet 16s than UW over that span.
• I will remember Evan Anderson’s pregame dancing. It was like watching a violent giraffe on an ice rink. Supremely awkward, yet mesmerizing.
• I will remember that Wisconsin won 25 games in 2010-11, tying as the third-highest win total in school history. Each of UW’s top seven single-season win totals have come in the Bo Ryan era. The Badgers won 13 Big Ten games, which ties as the second-most in school history. Each of UW’s six highest conference win totals have come under Bo Ryan.
• I will remember Feb. 12, 2011… Wisconsin 71, Ohio State 67. Just the school’s second-ever win over the AP No. 1 team.
• I will remember our All-American duo of Jon Leuer and Jordan Taylor. For the first time in Wisconsin history, two players earned All-American mention and were voted first-team All-Big Ten.
• I will remember two of the most prolific scoring seasons in UW history. Jon Leuer and Jordan Taylor finished with 621 and 617 points, respectively, good for the 3rd and 5th highest totals by a Badger player. Leuer scored 1,376 points in his career, finishing 12th in UW history. Taylor, by the way, sits at 1,001 career points. I’m excited that we get to watch him play for another season.
• I will remember how UW also set a school record and led the nation in team assist-to-turnover ratio with a mark of over 1.7 assists per turnover. Led by Jordan Taylor and his NCAA-best 3.8 assist-to-turnover ratio, UW’s team total ranked as the third-highest mark in NCAA history… ever.
• I will remember the form on Keaton Nankivil’s jump shot and I will ask him to teach it to my son, Tyler, someday. Keaton ranked 2nd in the Big Ten by making 46% of his 3-pointers, the eighth-best mark in UW history… and it was the best percentage in NCAA history among balloon artists.
• I will remember the first triple-double in school history. It took 113 seasons of Wisconsin basketball and a freshman from Port Washington to accomplish the feat when Josh Gasser posted 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists at Northwestern. Gasser is also the first freshman in Big Ten history to record an official triple double.
• I will remember Mike Bruesewitz’s hair. Something that was once referred to as “a rust-colored poodle,” his coif certainly garnered a lot of attention. With the help of Jon “the Barber” Leuer, Mike used that notoriety to raise money for Multiple Sclorosis. Mike didn’t quite end up at his jersey number and goal of $3,100… instead he raised over $5,100!
• I will remember Wisconsin was one of the best in the nation at both ends of the floor. UW led the Big Ten and ranked 4th in the nation, allowing 58.6 points per game… ho hum. Seems like we talk about that every season. But in addition, UW also finished second in the NCAA in terms of offensive efficiency, averaging 1.18 points per possession. The Badgers were just a tiny fraction behind Ohio State for the top mark in the country.
• I will remember UW’s six-man senior class – J.P. Gavinski, Tim Jarmusz, Jon Leuer, Keaton Nankivil, Wquinton Smith and Brett Valentyn. A group that witnessed 100 wins in their tenures. To give you a little perspective on this. Michael Finley’s class from 1992-95 (also Howard Moore’s tenure), which featured some other great players and snapped UW’s long NCAA tournament drought, won 58 games in four years.
• Finally, I will remember walking to the postgame press conference at the NCAA tournament win over Kansas State. In addition to Coach Ryan, the four players selected to address the media were Jon Leuer, Jordan Taylor, Mike Bruesewitz and Josh Gasser. A senior, a junior, a sophomore and a freshman.
I remember thinking that our program is in good hands and we’ll have a host of new memories this time next year.
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Patrick Herb
UW Athletic Communications
