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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — On the morning of the shootaround, Bronson Koenig sat impassively in a courtside seat watching his Wisconsin teammates go through their paces in Ann Arbor.
ESPN's Rece Davis, who was carrying some game notes for the broadcast that night, sat next to Koenig during a portion of the 45-minute workout at the Crisler Center.
Davis eventually scratched Koenig from his personnel board. Shut down by a calf injury, Koenig didn't suit up for a 64-58 loss to Michigan snapping a string of 84 consecutive starts.
"Being it was the first game that I had ever missed in my career," said Koenig, who had appeared in 134 straight games to that point, "watching it from the sidelines was definitely different."
Being injured, in one respect, was therapeutic. "To have that one game to sit back and watch and heal my body a little bit," Koenig said, "definitely helped."
Being injured, in another respect, was sobering. "This being my last year," he said, "it reminded me of how much I really love this game and how much I want to be out there with my teammates."
As the 22-year-old Koenig gets ready for his final two home appearances — Thursday against Iowa and Sunday against Minnesota — he can also reflect on the injury that impacted his career path.
At the very least, it altered his timetable and accelerated his development when senior point guard Traevon Jackson went down with a foot injury in a mid-January loss at Rutgers in 2015.
"Coach (Greg) Gard called me the next day and told me that he (Jackson) was going to be out for awhile and that I was going to be taking over (at the point)," remembered Koenig, then a sophomore.
"He said that he had total confidence in me and that I was ready for the moment."
Gard, then an assistant, now the UW head coach, wanted to make sure that Koenig knew exactly how he felt about the situation. So, he laid out the plan and what was expected of him.
Here's what Gard told Koenig: "Get ready. Your time is here. You're ready for this. You've prepared for it. I'm excited for you. Trust your teammates. You'll be fine. Just go play."'
Gard was confident in Koenig even though he was replacing one of the team's heartbeats in Jackson, who relied on guile and guts and never shied away from taking a big shot.
"We were probably the only team in the country to be equipped to where if we were going to lose somebody that was probably the only position we could afford to lose him and still have that quality of a backup ready to step right in," Gard said.
"Bronson had some experience and wasn't going to be overwhelmed by the moment. Plus, he was surrounded by teammates who could help him. It wasn't like he was thrown into the fire and forced to carry all the weight on his shoulders. He had a heckuva crew to guide him."
Koenig went to school on that perspective and harvested it.
"I remember being a little bit nervous that first game starting," he said. "But I played with confidence and I played my game. My teammates needed me, but I also knew that my job wasn't going to be that hard playing with the Player of the Year (Frank Kaminsky) and on such a great team.
"We were so unselfish. I knew if I gave up the ball, I was going to get it back."
Koenig started the final 24 games and helped lead the Badgers into the Final Four and national championship game against Duke. As a starter, he averaged nearly 20 minutes, 11 points and 3 assists. He also shot 44 percent (50-for-113) from the 3-point arc.
"It was fun to watch him (develop) from afar," admitted former UW guard Ben Brust, who had graduated the year before. "Josh (Gasser) always said that Bronson used to come into those games and call the same call every time, which makes me laugh, because he did that even the year I was there.
"He was still young and he was still learning. But the fact that he was young and learning and able to produce at such a high level was impressive. Even as a freshman, he hit big shots. I remember he played in that (2014) Final Four game and had a big first half against Kentucky.
"And then, again, the next year, when Trae (Traevon Jackson) went down with the injury, he stepped up. He's always had that kind of killer confidence. He knows he can shoot. He knows he can score. And he really hasn't wavered from that."
Yet, it was not always that way for Koenig, who led La Crosse (Wisconsin) Aquinas to two state titles.
"Coming in here as a freshman, I was lacking confidence a little bit," he said. "It was such a change of pace to thinking that I was going to come and really play a lot to playing a minute (against St. John's) and not at all (against Florida) my first couple of games. I thought, 'Man, what's going on?'"
It would get worse, to this thinking, than better when he was put on the scout team, the unit that is responsible in practice to simulate the opponent's offense and defense for the starters and top reserves. When it happened, Koenig bristled, "I didn't come here to play on the scout team."
So, he didn't handle it well?
"No, I did handle it well," Koenig insisted, "because the first day they put me on the scout team, I remember that I was super mad and I killed it that day, and I got promoted (to the rotation) the next day."
Instead of sulking, Koenig had taken out his frustrations by competing harder.
"He has grown off the court in terms of a leader and a student-athlete and person probably more than anything else. He was always a very good player and his game has matured and gotten better. But we've seen the maturity more so in all the other areas."
"I remember that," said Brust, adding that serving on the Badgers scout team was usually a rite of passage, even for scholarship players. "It's just kind of the norm when someone comes in as a freshman, no matter what their credentials are.
"It's a credit to him. Bronson didn't think he belonged there and he worked his way out of there. I remember him making some 3s in a scout period when we ended up having to run. Usually that's a tell-tale sign that you're ready to be on the other side."
Still, nobody is completely ready at first. "It's a little shock and reality check in terms of where you need to be and how you need to grow," Gard said. "You learn to value intangibles and understand there's a difference between high school and college. That's the premium put on every possession."
Another injury factored into Koenig's timeline. The night before playing Green Bay in the third game of the 2013-2014 season, guard George Marshall was hurt in practice. He was diagnosed with a concussion and was ruled out for the Phoenix.
"We had some foul trouble at Green Bay early on," said Gard, who had no choice but to use Koenig off the bench. He was not disappointed. Koenig played 23 minutes and went 3-for-3 from the floor, including his only attempt from the 3-point line, his first triple at Wisconsin.
"Had the concussion not happened (to Marshall, who later transferred), he probably wouldn't have played in that game. Then who knows when he plays? At some time obviously he was going to get on the floor, but it probably kick-started a little sooner than everyone thought."
During Koenig's freshman season, he became friends with Brust, a high energy 3-point threat. As a junior, Brust recorded 79 triples, twice knocking down seven in a game, to break Sean Mason's single-season record. As a senior, he raised the bar to 96, which is still the school record.
One of Brust's most dramatic 3-pointers came at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. With 1:07 left against Oregon in the NCAA tournament, Brust knocked down a clutch shot from the wing that culminated a furious rally from a 12-point halftime deficit and lifted the Badgers into the Sweet 16.
That basket was also memorable from the standpoint that Brust moved past Tim Locum and became Wisconsin's all-time leader in triples. Brust's record (235) stood for less than three full seasons, 101 games, until Koenig broke it last Thursday night at Ohio State.
"Ben tweeted at me; he didn't think his record would be broken that quick," laughed Koenig, who viewed it as a bittersweet moment since the Badgers lost to the Buckeyes. "I've always prided myself on winning. Records don't mean that much to me. Winning means everything."
• • • •
Ronnie Stokes and Stephen Bardo were "old-school" Big Ten guards. Stokes played for Eldon Miller in the early to mid '80s at Ohio State. He was a two-time captain and team MVP. Bardo played for Lou Henson in the mid to late '80s at Illinois. He was the league's Defensive Player of the Year in '89.
Stokes and Bardo have tracked Koenig's growth over the last four seasons as color analysts — Stokes with the Ohio State radio network; Bardo with the Big Ten Network. Both were asked the same question: What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think about Koenig?
"Clutch," Stokes said. "Clutch is the word."
"Clutch," Bardo said. "Very clutch."
Both elaborated.
"Every time I watch highlights or watch Wisconsin (in person) it seems like anytime a play is needed to be made, he either assisted on it or he hit a big-time 3," said Stokes. "He has a great feel for the game. He understands how to get open and it's not like he's the quickest guy on the floor.
"But he finds a way to create enough space to get that shot off. He's really good at moving away from the basketball and coming off screens. He knows his limitations. And you've got to give him credit for understanding what his strengths and weaknesses are and trying to maximize his strengths."
Bardo had a similar critique of Koenig.
"He's kind of a hybrid — he's a point guard but he scores so easily and he's so clutch," said Bardo. "You see guys at the next level, the NBA level, being able to do some of the things that Bronson does. But you don't see it a lot in the college game.
"He has the ability to understand time and situation and what his team needs and he's able to step up and convert … he's a lot quicker than you think on first appearance … you have to close out on him because he shoots the ball so well. But he can get by you (off the dribble).
"There were times when he was a freshman, and even as a sophomore, where he might get a little hurried by someone getting up under him, really pressuring the basketball. But now I haven't really seen anybody get him to speed up his game. He plays within himself as well as any guard in the league."
Both have seen the college game evolve with the 3-point shot, an obvious Koenig strength.
"Lou (Henson) didn't like us shooting a lot of 3s — that was right when the 3 came into the game," Bardo said of the 1986-87 season when the NCAA adopted the 3-point line at 19 feet, 9 inches. In 2007, it was lengthened to 20-9. "Lou was more predicated on dribble-drive and getting to the rim."
If he was guarding Koenig, Bardo said, "I would just try to deny him the basketball. You have to take something away. Take away his jump shot and he can beat you off the bounce. He can create and get the ball to where it needs to go. He's a tough matchup."
The 3-pointer can be found in everybody's arsenal today.
"When you think about it," Stokes said, "it not only changed the guards, but also the bigs. Now, you have stretch 4s and stretch 5s. Back when I played, it was a nightmare for a big to go beyond 10 feet because the coach would say, 'There's no reason for you to shoot out there.'
"But now, because it's an extra point, it has changed the game."
Koenig has studied 3-point marksmen starting with Golden State's Stephen Curry.
"He is unique," he conceded. "But, obviously, I love to watch him, especially some of his step-backs. That's kind of where I got the shot that I had in the corner (to beat Xavier in the 2016 NCAA tournament). I like to watch all great shooters. I watch how they shoot the ball, their rhythm."
Koenig has broken down considerable video of Mark Price who starred at Georgia Tech and played 12 years in the NBA. Price shot a little better than 40 percent from the 3-point line for his career. "He was an undersized guy who could really shoot the ball," Koenig said. "I've watched a lot of him."
Closer to home, Iowa State's Matt Thomas is on Koenig's short list. "He's from Onalaska, which is 10 minutes from La Crosse," Koenig said. "Me and him have had a lot of battles back and forth in high school. I like to watch him shoot because he's probably one of the best shooters I've ever seen."
Meanwhile, Brust was a natural role model for Koenig.
"At some level, I don't think you can teach it really," Brust said of 3-point shooting instincts. "You can develop a better shot. But to be a shooter, I think you just have it in you — you have your own style, your own shot and you become consistent with it. You really mold it to how you know you shoot."
That has been the case with Koenig and his short, compact 3-point mechanics.
"There's a lot of different things that go into it," Koenig said. "Moving without the ball. Your teammates setting good screens. Having them find you when you're open. Taking what the defense gives you. If they're going to pressure, you've got to have the balance of attacking the rim or pulling up.
"My freshman and sophomore years, I had great teammates and I just kind of deferred. I didn't have to shoot as much. I could just get them the ball and I knew if they were going to be doubled, or my guy was helping out, they were good enough passers to kick it out and I got a lot of easy shots, easy 3s."
A lot has changed since those early years, particularly off the court for Koenig.
His activism on behalf of Native Americans has been well-documented.
"I'm proud," said his mom, Ethel Funmaker, "of what he has become and what he has done."
She's not alone with those feelings.
"He has grown off the court in terms of a leader and a student-athlete and person probably more than anything else," said Gard. "He was always a very good player and his game has matured and gotten better. But we've seen the maturity more so in all the other areas."
"It's cool," Brust said, "to watch someone who's so passionate about making a change and making a difference and using the platform that he's given. A lot of the opportunities are there for people. But not everyone takes advantage of it when they're in a position to make a difference. He did."
Bardo and Stokes have been equally moved by Koenig's commitment to a very personal cause.
"He's inspiring," Bardo said. "A lot of African Americans in the United States have some lineage of indigenous people, Native Americans, and I'm one of them. I really admire the young man for what he has been able to do and how he carries himself all the time.
"He does it in a quiet fashion … in such a way where there's a regal quality about what he's doing."
"I know when I was 21 or 22, I was not thinking about things like that," Stokes confessed. "It tells me how mature he is to understand that the world is much bigger than playing in the Big Ten as a basketball player. I can't wait to see what he's going to be like over the next 20 years in his life.
"He's going to make Wisconsin very, very proud."
He already has.
