BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. –
Isaac Lindsey motioned to the empty seating area in the Kohl Center.
"My grandparents,'' he said, "have season tickets right behind the bench – 4th row.''
Lindsey pointed across the court.
"My parents have got season tickets right over there ...''
He pointed in another direction.
"My uncle has season tickets right over there ...''
What was the point of this? "This is where I've been ever since I was a little kid,'' Lindsey said.
How little? "I did The Little Badgers at halftime. I was one of those little dribblers.''
Taking part in choreographed ball-handling routines as a grader school foreshadowed the Little Badger to Badger narrative. "It's pretty cool to finally be on this stage and be a part of this thing,'' he was saying now. When did he start thinking about this thing? "As soon as I could pick up a basketball.''
With his eyes rescanning the venue, he remembered watching games here as a small fry.
Pausing, he then delivered the punchline, "That was my dream – to get on that court.''
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Seated at courtside after Monday's practice, Lindsey was still smiling, still trying to collect his thoughts, still savoring the surprise revelation and the moment. He had just learned he was going on scholarship via a scoreboard video. Breaking the news was Ailbe, the team's tour guide in France.
"That was definitely not what I thought was going to happen,'' Lindsey of the video's opening (players jet skiing off the Monaco coast). "And when Ailbe came on the screen, I thought he was just checking in with us. He's a pretty cool guy. I don't think any of us will forget Ailbe the rest of our lives.''
Nor will he forget his teammate's reaction to Ailbe announcing his tender. Lindsey was quickly swarmed in a group hug. "There was a lot of emotion right there – in just showing their excitement for me,'' he said. "It's cool to see how close we are as a team and how much it meant to them too."
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But what did it mean to him? "This has been my goal since I was a little kid to get a scholarship to this school,'' he said. "Being able to come here and work and earn it just means a lot. I appreciate these coaches for believing in me and my teammates for believing in me. But it doesn't change anything.
"We have goals ahead of us for the rest of the year, so we'll be focused on that.''
Lindsey was now contemplating phoning home – Mineral Point – and sharing the scholarship news with his mom and dad, Alea and Matt. "They're going to be pretty excited – I'm not very good at surprises, but I think they'll be surprised,'' he said. "We've talked about it for a long time.''
A redshirt sophomore guard, Lindsey conceded, "I've been pretty fortunate this past year. My parents have been able to help me with schooling (and expenses). But they weren't going to be able to help me all my years through here. So being able to earn this is a pretty big deal for us.''
Lindsey often speaks to his father after practice. It has become part of their routine. "He has been my coach ever since I was a kid,'' he said. "He coached me through middle school. And he's always been kind of my trainer. Me and him have been working for this our whole lives.''
Asked whether the wait was worth it, Lindsey, who started his college career at UNLV, flashed a big smile again and said, "It was worth it. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Even if I wasn't on scholarship, this is still where I wanted to be. But being on scholarship … makes it perfect.''
It's the way Wisconsin coach
Greg Gard looked at it, too. Lindsey was the perfect candidate.
"I always like to reward guys who have come in and worked – who have given up other opportunities to come here and pay their own way,'' Gard said. "We're very similar to how football has looked at it when you have someone who wants to be part of your program … who want to be here.
"And then, he earned it. He has played well. He has gotten better.''
There's a kinship between Gard and Lindsey based on hometown pride. Gard is from Cobb (population: 484), a 20-minute drive from Mineral Point (2,565). "We know a lot of the same people in southwest Wisconsin,'' Lindsey said. "It's pretty cool to have a coach who knows where I'm from.''
Expanding on that theme, Gard said, "I don't want to say there's this Little Engine that could mentality coming from a small town … but there may not be a greater example of that right now than Jim (Leonhard) over in football. Coming from tiny Tony, it might be even smaller than Cobb.''
That is a fact. Leonhard's hometown – Tony, a village in Rusk County – has a 2022 population of 103. "It's just that mentality,'' Gard went on. "No matter where you're from, if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish whatever you want.''
In Lindsey's case, he added, "I knew the background. I've known his family for a long time. I've known his mom and dad before they were Mrs. and Mr. I've known his high school coach forever. I've known his reputation. We've had him at (summer) camp.''
As such, he was aware of Lindsey's athletic prowess as a three-sport athlete at Mineral Point High School. In football, he passed for 7,467 yards and 85 touchdowns over four seasons. In baseball, he batted .533 as a junior and led his team to a runner-up finish in the Division 4 state tournament.
But it was in basketball that he drew the most initial traffic from college recruiters. As a junior, Lindsey averaged 20.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. Hip surgery derailed his senior year and limited him to only five games. Nonetheless, he was already on T.J. Otzelberger's radar.
"He was the first coach to ever reach out to me as a freshman in high school,'' Lindsey said.
Otzelberger, a Milwaukee native, was then the South Dakota State head coach. When he took over the UNLV program, Lindsey followed him to Vegas and accepted a full ride with the Runnin' Rebels. But fate intervened again. Lindsey was sidelined as a freshman after undergoing more hip surgery.
"It was a tough year, but I did get to come home for my surgery and be with my family,'' he said. "It was a good experience being out there (Vegas) – just seeing what college basketball was like with somebody else. It was a good year building who I am now.''
When Iowa State hired Otzelberger in March of 2021, Lindsey entered the transfer portal. "I really wanted to come home because this is my dream here, and coach Gard gave me that opportunity,'' Lindsey reiterated. "I can't give him enough thanks for letting me be a part of this thing.''
Wisconsin, though, was not among the programs recruiting Lindsey as a prep. "I talked to the coaches all through high school, we just never got to the scholarship (talk),'' he said. "I was a little smaller. I wasn't as physical as I should have been for the Big Ten. It just didn't work out right away.''
Gard was candid, "He wasn't good enough, to be honest. I've told him several times I didn't think he was tough enough in high school. But he has shown me that he has a level of toughness to him that he's either developed or grown or has found because he realized at this level you need that.
"And that's a compliment to him because he's the one who has changed that narrative.''
Last season, Lindsey logged only 13 minutes in six games for the Badgers. But it wasn't wasted.
"I was able to pick up a lot in practice – battling every day – the Big Ten is different, it's more physical, it's the toughest league in the country,'' Lindsey said. "I definitely got better having to guard guys like Brad (Davison) and Johnny (Davis) every day. That has really helped me.
"I feel a lot better with my defensive abilities and how I have to play.''
Lindsey felt like he got a little heavy at UNLV. He was up to almost 200 pounds. Working with basketball strength and conditioning coordinator
Jim Snider, he has slimmed down while putting on some much-needed muscle to his 6-4 frame. "I feel stronger and quicker than I've ever been,'' he said.
On what's Lindsey's role might be, Gard said, "It's starting to define itself more. He has become very trustworthy. His IQ is really high. He rarely makes mistakes. He knows who he is. He knows what makes us good. First and foremost, he loves being a Badger and he has given everything he has to it.''
Lindsey is willing to contribute in any way possible to the rotation. Whatever that entails.
"I just really want to be a guy they can rely on – they can throw me in anytime,'' he said. "You need me to play point guard? You need me to play shooting guard? You need me at the 3? I'll come in and do it and you can rely on me to understand the offense and where I'm supposed to be on defense.
"I'm pretty confident in my ability to shoot the ball, too. I think I can help spark us if we need it.''
The Badgers need shooters, perimeter scorers. Who doesn't in today's game? Still, it remains to be seen what Lindsey's role might be. "I know he dealt with an injury-plagued year at UNLV,'' Gard said. "But he has gotten better, there's no doubt. He just has to stay healthy. That's the key for him.''
Despite some physical setbacks, Lindsey never stopped believing in his dream to be a Badger.
"My 'why' would ultimately be my family,'' the 21-year-old Lindsey said of his motivation and driving force behind earning a scholarship at Wisconsin. "But I would also say it's my hometown. Mineral Point means the world to me. I just feel like I have so much support coming from there.
"I really wanted to show them that a kid from a small town can do something like this.
"Ever since I was a little, I've always wanted this. It has never left my mind.''
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