Huff's journey comes full circle as No. 21 will be raised to the rafters

BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider

Theresa Huff owns the most distinctive career in the history of Wisconsin women's basketball, but there was a moment when she nearly threw it all away.

Her bags were packed and thoughts of turmoil swirled around in her head. She stood alone inside the old bus terminal on West Washington Avenue with a ticket to her home in Milwaukee. She believed her time at UW was done.

"I was leaving," Huff said firmly.

This was during the 1980-81 school year. Huff was a sophomore forward on scholarship and her younger sister, Janet, was a freshman walk-on guard for the Badgers. Somehow Janet got wind of what her sister was up to and called Edwina Qualls, the UW coach, who dispatched assistants Kathy Richey and Dennis Simpson to the bus depot.

"I don't know what happened," Theresa said of her decision to leave town. "I don't know if I was having a breakdown or what. (Janet) called the coaches and told them I was at the bus station. They came down and got me. If she hadn't made that phone call, I would have been out of there."

Janet doesn't recall who alerted her about Theresa or what the issue was that led her sister to pack her bags. But Janet had a theory.

"She was much more of a homebody and missed Milwaukee much more than I did," Janet said. "I think there were just times when she was like, 'OK, I want to go back home.' I think she wanted to. Sometimes people get homesick or frustrated with things. They want to go where they're most comfortable and that may have been the case."

What did Janet say to her sister when Theresa returned to campus?

"What are you going to do when you get home?" Theresa recalled. "What else are you going to do?

"I went home the following week and realized I wasn't missing out on anything. I realized I had to grow up basically."

That moment of personal enlightenment gave way to a one-of-a-kind career at Wisconsin, one that will be celebrated Jan. 29 when Northwestern comes to the Kohl Center for a Big Ten Conference game.

Theresa Huff will have her jersey No. 21 officially retired and lifted to the rafters, becoming the first woman in the history of UW Athletics to be so honored. She will join Frank Kaminsky (No. 44), Michael Finley (No. 24) and Ab Nicholas (No. 8) from men's basketball and Mark Johnson from men's hockey (No. 10) to have their uniform number displayed high above the Kohl Center floor.

The ceremony for Theresa Huff, who played for the Badgers from 1979 to '83, is nearly 40 years in the making. Her number was unofficially retired by Qualls in 1983, prompting Tam Flarup, the former Hall of Fame sports information director, to instruct equipment staffers not to give out the number.

But there was so little pomp or circumstance outside of a halftime presentation in December of 1983 that Theresa doesn't recall the moment.

"I don't remember anyone ever telling me," she said. "I don't remember how it happened."

Huff said the first time she really thought about it was in November of 2013 when her oldest son, Troy, came to the Kohl Center as a member of the North Dakota men's basketball team. He scored 37 points, but was overshadowed by Kaminsky, who set the single-game program record with 43 points during a 103-85 victory for UW.

"My family was there and at the end of the game my kids asked me, 'Isn't your number retired here?'" Theresa recounted. "I said, 'Good question.'

"That's the only time I ever thought about it. It would have been nice to show my whole family."

Enter current Wisconsin coach Marisa Moseley, who reached out to Theresa Huff to try to make that happen. She invited the Huff sisters to a shoot-around and to speak to the team. At one point Moseley showed a video of Theresa in action and later pointed up to the Kohl Center rafters.

"I was pleasantly surprised," Theresa said.

Thus, what had been a somewhat awkward situation became a joyful one.

"I know Theresa doesn't want to dwell on what should have happened," Janet said. "I think the important thing is that it is happening and she's being recognized and her children and grandchildren will be able to enjoy that experience."

Theresa Huff was recruited out of Milwaukee Riverside High School and quickly became the cornerstone of the Badgers, who, on her watch, became the first to qualify for the national tournament and the first to win 20 games in a season. Wisconsin went 21-13 and reached the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women quarterfinals in 1981-82. The AIAW would eventually be folded into the NCAA.

A 5-foot-11 forward known for her athleticism and tenacity, Huff led UW in scoring all four seasons and was the top rebounder as a sophomore, junior and senior. She's the only member of the 1,000-point, 1,000-rebound club on the women's side with 1,879 and 1,201, respectively. Ethan Happ is the only Wisconsin player on the men's side to reach those plateaus with 2,130 and 1,217, respectively, from 2015 to '19.

Theresa Huff was so dominant that she was a three-time Most Valuable Player for the Badgers, was a finalist for the Wade Trophy – given to the best women's player at the college level – and was the first American woman to play professionally in Spain. She still ranks among the top five in UW history in points (fifth), rebounds (first), double-figure games (fourth with 102) and double-doubles (first with 60).

Linda Gough played two seasons with Theresa Huff and served as an assistant coach under Qualls for two more. One of four former Huff teammates at UW who topped the 1,000-point barrier, Gough said Theresa was a "phenomenal athlete" who had several gifts.

"Her jumping ability and her knack for finding the ball when she rebounded," Gough said. "She was literally at the right place at the right time or knew where to be at the right time."

Gough's reaction to having No. 21 hoisted to the Kohl Center ceiling?

"I'm happier than happy," she said. "Theresa is a wonderful, wonderful person."

Theresa Huff had as many 30-point outings as 20-rebound performances for the Badgers (two). Her calling card was consistency, a valued trait no matter what the era.

How would she have fared in today's game?

"Basketball is basketball," Theresa said. "I was 5-11 and I was a forward and now 5-11 is a point guard, so that's a difference in the game. They look a little more athletic now – bigger, stronger – but at the end of the day it's still basketball.

"My favorite thing to do was rebound. I didn't care how big you were; I was going to get the rebound and a lot of times I was rebounding against some pretty big girls.

"Rebounding takes heart more than anything. Of course you have to be physical to get in there and rebound, but determination is a big factor, too, and in my mind I was going to get every rebound."

Theresa said her favorite on-court memory of playing for UW was taking part in the AIAW national tournament in 1981-82. The Badgers opened with a 60-59 victory over Colorado before dropping a 73-61 decision to Texas in the quarterfinals.

"Back then I didn't realize how big of a deal it was," Theresa said.

The truest highlight for Theresa was playing three seasons with Janet by her side.

"She saved my career," Theresa said. "I had my suitcase and was literally at the bus station. I'd packed up. I was leaving."

According to Janet, the sisters didn't play organized basketball until high school, but their competitiveness was honed well before that.

"We worked out together and made up our own kind of basketball games," Janet said. "We didn't have a basketball hoop, but there was a factory behind our house and there was a drain pipe coming out of the factory and that was our hoop."

When Theresa and Janet joined forces at Wisconsin, their impact was immediate and profound and their complementary instincts were impossible to miss. While Theresa did her best work around the rim, Janet ran the offense. She currently sits 13th on the all-time UW scoring list with 1,455 points, third with 294 steals and fourth with 412 assists.

Janet was the team MVP in 1983-84, became the first UW player to earn all-Big Ten first-team honors and received the prestigious Big Ten Medal of Honor for academic and athletic success.

"It was amazing playing with her, not only because she's my sister, but because she was one of the best players in the country," Janet said. "Theresa is the reason that I played for the Badgers. If I could do anything to support her during her career, of course I was going to do that."

Theresa, now retired from her job with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and living in Milwaukee, described her sister as the backbone of the Badgers.

"She was a leader, even as a freshman," Theresa said. "That's how she earned her scholarship, by being a hard worker."

Theresa recalled a time when UW players had to run a mile in under six minutes before anyone could touch a basketball for practice.

"I was always last and she was always first," she said of Janet. "She came and ran with me and finally I made it."

Janet, who lives in Madison and works out of the Madison School & Community Recreation office, marveled at the way her sister impacted games.

"Her attitude was, 'I will get every rebound and every loose ball,'" she said of Theresa. "She was a great scorer, but I think her passion was getting rebounds and, as a teammate, I think it took a lot of pressure off of you for not worrying about missing a shot because you knew that there was a good chance that Theresa was going to get the rebound."

While Theresa had some bumpy moments at the outset of her UW career, Janet was comfortable from the get-go. She thanked her sister for that.

"I think it was a lot easier for me because I knew that there was someone here who knew me, who would look out for me and have my back," Janet said. "Someone who loved me and I trusted. The transition was easier for me."

By the sounds of things, Janet may derive more from seeing No. 21 hanging in the Kohl Center rafters than Theresa.

"It was incredible to play with her," Janet said. "I'm so honored that she's being recognized in this way. It makes me very proud.

"It's going to mean everything for me to see that. I know it's something that she truly deserves."

University of Wisconsin Athletics

Huff's journey comes full circle as No. 21 will be raised to the rafters

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