BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. – After the Michigan State loss,
Brad Davison stopped at a campus eatery not far from the Kohl Center for a postgame meal with Bronson Koenig, one of the returning alums who had been introduced at halftime. Davison made six 3-pointers against the Spartans, and it didn't take long for Koenig to get down to the nitty-gritty on where that put him in the Wisconsin record book.
"I actually found out from Bronson that I was only one away,'' Davison revealed.
One away from tying Koenig's school record of 270 career triples.
"I knew there was a possibility that I would get it this year,'' said Davison who came into his fifth season with 222 3-pointers in 128 games. "I knew I was close. But, no, I didn't know that I was THAT close. In my family, we really don't talk about stuff like that.''
On March 24, 2017, Koenig knocked down a 3 with 1:30 remaining in regulation against Florida in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament at New York's Madison Square Garden. It was his third triple of the game and the final make from beyond the arc in his 144-game career at Wisconsin.
"We've had a good relationship ever since I started getting recruited here,'' said Davison who verbally committed to the Badgers in July of 2016. Or just before the start of Koenig's senior season. "Obviously, he had a heckuva career so it's pretty cool to be mentioned with a guy like that.''
On Thursday afternoon, Davison drew even with Koenig when he converted a pass from
Tyler Wahl into his first 3-pointer of the game against Nebraska in Lincoln, a home away from home for Davison who has always found the rims and environment to his liking at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Less than 90 seconds later, Davison was money again breaking Koenig's record on an assist from
Steven Crowl. He didn't stop there. He went 5-of-6 on 3-pointers en route to a 17-point first half. He finished with five triples, three shy of the UW single game record that Davison shares with Koenig.
Two years ago, Davison went 8-of-11 from the 3-point line at Pinnacle Bank Arena, aka "The Vault.'' He ended up with 30 points. In five career games at the city-owned, 15,500-seat venue in downtown Lincoln, he has averaged 17.6 points while shooting 54 percent (21-of-39) on 3-pointers.
In Thursday's win, Davison also pulled down seven rebounds, matching his season high and putting him over 500 for his career. In 147 games, three away from Nigel Hayes' record, Davison has 1,662 points (8th all-time), 504 rebounds and 315 assists. Rarified air at Wisconsin.
The 22-year-old Davison, a native of Maple Grove, Minnesota, has thus joined the select 1,500-500-300 Club. The only other Badger members are Michael Finley (2,147 points- 648 rebounds- 371 assists), Ethan Happ (2,130-1,217-423) and Hayes (1,857-802-319).
What is Davison most proud of? The points? The rebounds? Or the assists?
"The Big Ten championship my junior year,'' he said without hesitation.
In the same breath, he added with emphasis, "And trying to get another one this year.''
You wouldn't expect anything less out of Davison. Still, he was pushed to pick one category.
"I'd say I'm most proud of the 3-point record,'' he allowed. "The emotion I get and all the things that I think about are all the time, work and effort that I've put in with my dad (Jim) over the years – pretty much from the fifth grade on – when he started letting me shoot 3-pointers.''
Davison went on to cite all of his teammates and the coaches and managers (who have retrieved the basketball for him during shooting drills) and the personal trainers that "have put time in with me and really cared about my improvement and development'' throughout his formative years and beyond.
He named names. There was Pat Freeman from Midwest Basketball Training. Davison spoke at his four-day youth camp in Maple Grove last August. There was Reid Ouse from Catalyst Training whose staff includes former UW center Jared Berggren. Ouse has worked with NBA players like Andrew Wiggins and Tyus Jones along with Jordan Taylor, another former Badger, and
Ben Carlson, a current one.
Davison also singled out Jake Sullivan from NXT Hoops. During a legendary career at Tartan High School in Oakdale, Minn. – 30 minutes from Maple Grove – Sullivan scored over 3,000 points and led his team to a state title. At Iowa State, he started 115 of 123 career games from 2000 through 2004 and accounted for 1,810 points. He's still the school's career record-holder for 3-pointers with 270.
Asked about Davison now holding that record at Wisconsin,
Greg Gard said, "First of all, he's the ultimate competitor and he'd be the first to give the credit to his teammates. He doesn't care about individual stats. But he has done so much for the program on the court and the numbers prove it.
"He's also done so much off the court – in the locker room, academically, in the community. He came right at the start of my transition (from assistant to head coach) and he has really been the bedrock to make sure the culture and the 'how to' and the work and commitment to the team has been solidified in that locker room. He has been a coach in that locker room for a long time.
"The kid never takes a day off. I have to make him. He embodies everything that is right about how you should play the game, how you should go about your life, how you should lead and how you should practice every day. He's a special one. I'm not sure if they haven't broken the mold when they made him because the qualities that he brings to the floor and the locker room are pretty rare.''
When the Badgers renew their Border Battle rivalry Sunday with a noon tipoff against Minnesota at the Kohl Center, Davison will be starting his 144th career game tying Josh Gasser's school record. The atmosphere is guaranteed to be much more welcoming than what he faced at Nebraska.
Every time Davison touched the ball Thursday, the crowd – mostly the students behind the benches – booed lustily. It's certainly not the first time that he has drawn that type of reaction on the road. Davison even noted, "I've gotten used to it over the years. COVID kind of gave me a break.''
Fans were not present last season because of the pandemic. Davison is glad that they're back. On being booed, he said, "I kind of enjoy it. The thing that I'm going to miss about college basketball is the road environments and the hostile crowds – maybe not being cheered for but being jeered at.
"I really think it's kind of a respect thing and something I appreciate,'' he went on. "It means you're making an impact on the game. It's usually a good thing when the other team's fans don't like you because you must be doing something right.''
As a team, the Badgers were not always at their sharpest in the 73-65 win over the Cornhuskers, even though they're now 8-1 away from the Kohl Center. Following the game on a Zoom call, Davison admitted as much, "We were struggling inside to finish. We were getting what we wanted around the rim. We just couldn't get the lid off the basket. Thankfully, we got some 3's to fall.''
On the strength of Davison's shooting, the Badgers were 9-of-14 from the arc in the first half. By contrast, they made only 4-of-24 shots INSIDE the arc. The trends were reversed in the second half. They went 1-of-8 on 3's and 11-of-22 on 2's. In addition, they were 9-of-11 from the free throw line.
"It's a sign of a really good team when you can't key on one style or one shot or one guy,'' Davison opined afterwards. "There's a lot of different weapons out there and different ways that we can beat you. Whether it's making 3's or post-play with our back to the basket or getting out in transition, we want to make sure we can score in a lot of different ways so it's a lot harder to guard us.''
The Badgers finished with 10 triples which is what they're averaging the last four games.
On this recent 3-point trend, Davison reasoned, "You get confidence from putting a lot of time into your game – a lot of time into shooting game-like shots whether it's in practice, before practice, after practice, coming in early in the morning, late at night. That's where your confidence comes from. Repetition … I'm proud of how our guys have worked.''
UW freshman
Chucky Hepburn hit the first shot of Thursday's game. It was a 3-pointer.
"I think everyone in unison just screamed for Chucky as he hit it,'' Davison said.
Hepburn was playing with a broken heart. A close friend had been killed Sunday night.
"Obviously, he's one of our teammates,'' Davison said of Hepburn who hails from Omaha. "But he's also one of our brothers. So, whenever a brother goes through a tough time, we just wanted to make sure that he knew that he had people there to rely on … to lean on … to talk to … to listen. Whatever he needed from us, we wanted to be there for him.
"I'm so happy for him. Not only did he get to come home and play the way he did (13 points, including three triples) but to get a dunk in transition (with 4:09 left) that's something that made our whole team, coaches, fan base smile. One thing you realize is yes, we're basketball players. But we've got personal lives outside of this, too, that is much bigger than basketball.
"As a friend and as a brother and a teammate, we're all here for him.''
And they will continue to be there for Hepburn during his grieving period, Davison stressed. Hepburn didn't return to Madison with the team. Instead, he stayed in Nebraska so that he could attend Friday's funeral in Omaha. Vincent Burns, whom Hepburn viewed as a brother, was 20 years old.
After the game, Davison hugged Hepburn and later texted him. It read in part, "Bigger than basketball always. I love you so much. Got your back.'' Explained Davison, "That's kind of been the message that everyone has been trying to tell him. He's definitely unflappable (during games). But, at the same time, there are some things that hit pretty close to the heart.''
Gard and Hepburn met with the media after Thursday's game. At the end of the interview session, Gard threw his arm around Hepburn, and they walked back together to the locker room.
"I just thanked him for his effort, I knew this was going to be hard and I just made sure he was doing OK,'' Gard said of their conversation. "I told him that I saw his mom and dad before the game. And I went over and saw them again after the interviews. I just reassured Chucky, and I just let him know that it's one day at a time and you've got a lot of people here supporting you for whatever you need.''
Gard dealt with his own emotions Thursday morning when he put on his pink shoes which he wore for the game out of respect and support for his mom, Connie, who's being treated for breast cancer. As part of Coaches vs. Cancer ("Suits and Sneakers'' week), the players and staff had pink laces.
"It really didn't hit me until I was putting them on in the hotel room,'' said Gard, who lost his dad, Glen, to brain cancer six years ago. "I took a moment. I took a deep breath – obviously for mom and all the other people who are battling all types of cancer.
"When I was putting on the pink socks and I went to grab the pink shoes – not that I didn't know the moment was coming – but when you're by yourself and you look down at those shoes and you know the reason why you're wearing them … That was a little bit of a quiet, somber moment.''
There have been plenty of those moments to go around this past week.
