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Sports
Friday, February 9, 2018 — 7
Behind Enemy Lines: Wisconsin center Ethan Happ
For the first time in two
decades,
the
Wisconsin
basketball
program
is
rebuilding. After two pairs of
Final Four and Sweet Sixteen
appearances
in
the
past
four years, the Badgers have
struggled from the get-go this
season.
A drop of some degree was
anticipated
for
Wisconsin.
Gone is the steady and effective
backcourt
duo
of
Bronson
Koenig
and
Zak
Showalter.
So is Nigel Hayes, the multi-
dimensional
forward
and
former Big Ten Sixth Man of the
Year. The trio was responsible
for over 60 percent of the
Badgers’ minutes last season.
Still, the level to which
Wisconsin dropped this year
has been surprising.
With
an
offense
ranked
312th nationally, the Badgers
have won just three conference
games and sit at 10-15 overall
— on track for the program’s
worst mark since 1998. And it’s
only gotten worse as the season
has drawn on. Wisconsin has
lost four straight games and
has fallen in seven of their last
eight.
But the Badgers are still
dangerous,
mainly
because
of Ethan Happ.
The
redshirt
junior center is
averaging over 17
points and eight
rebounds
per
game — good for
sixth-best in the
Big Ten. He has
also
earned
10
double-doubles
and expanded his
game to include
jump shots.
He’ll
be
a
challenging
matchup for No. 20 Michigan,
which heads to Wisconsin for
a 1 p.m. tip Sunday. The Daily
sat down with Happ at Big Ten
Media
Day
last
October
to
discuss
the
Badgers’
transition,
his jump shot
and
emerging
stardom.
The
Michigan Daily:
You’ve
played
under
both
Bo Ryan and
now Greg Gard
during your time at Wisconsin.
How do you compare their
respective coaching styles?
Ethan Happ: They’re very
similar because coach Ryan
obviously was coach Gard’s
mentor for how many years? I
think coach Gard tries not to be
as temperative as coach Ryan
was. I feel like (Ryan) lost it a
little quicker. When you messed
up, all hell broke loose. So I
think coach Gard tries to make
it a staple of him, to stay calm
even through tough moments.
Both ways are very effective.
Coach Ryan was very successful
with what he did. Coach Gard
has been successful with what
he’s done. I think as long as
you’re consistent so your players
know what to expect, that’s big.
TMD: Bronson Koenig and
Nigel Hayes were two long-
time players that become the
faces of Wisconsin basketball.
What have you learned in the
early stages of stepping into
their former roles?
EH: The biggest thing is
action
more
than
vocals.
Anybody can say the right
things to be a leader. But I think
really what’s the true testament
is what you do on the court: If
you’re the hardest worker in a
drill. If you know all the plays
to a tee and the other spots on
the play — things like that. A
freshman or sophomore looks
up to you and says, ‘Hey, what
do I do on this play’ or ‘Oh, he’s
going that hard in that drill?
I better do the
same thing.’
TMD:
Much
has been made
about
your
development of a
jump shot. How
do you balance
that with your
presence in the
post?
EH: The media
makes
a
big
deal
about
me
shooting the ball, but I’ll still
be in the paint. That is where
I help the team the most, and
that’s where I’m most effective
is down low. If I can draw
double-teams in, that’s what
we want to do. But at the same
time, if I can take upon and pull
defenses out, that’s what I’m
going to do as well.
TMD: How’s your jump shot
itself changed since last season?
EH:
It’s
definitely
taken
steps forward. I don’t expect to
come into the season shooting
60 percent on jump shots, but
I’ll set a goal, hit that and keep
going from there.
TMD: What do you make
of the reduced expectations
that your team has this season
with the losses of Bronson
Koenig,
Nigel
Hayes
(and)
Zak Showalter? Those lower
expectations
are
something
you’ve never really had at
Wisconsin, right?
EH: I’m not happy about
losing the talent, but I’m happy
that the expectations on us
are drawn back. Last year, we
were supposed to win the Big
Ten, and we got everybody’s
best game. You never get an
easy game in the Big Ten, but
hopefully we have a game like,
‘Oh Wisconsin? We’re fine.’
Hopefully, we get those games
a couple times.
TMD: What about the big
expectations put on yourself?
How
are
you
handling those?
EH: You just
can’t take it too
seriously.
I’m
going to have
bad games. I’m
going to miss
shots.
There
will
be
times
where
I
turn
the
ball
over,
and that’s just
part of playing
the game. That’s what happens
when I have the ball this much.
The Daily sat down with the talented redshirt junior at Big Ten Media Day in October
FILE PHOTO
Wisconsin redshirt junior center Ethan Happ leads his team in scoring, rebounding and assists, averaging 17.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.
MARK CALCAGNO
Daily Sports Editor
“... That’s
where I’m most
effective, is
down low.”
Harbaugh dishes on transfers
National Signing Day was
mostly
uneventful
for
Jim
Harbaugh and Michigan.
The
Wolverines
added
three new players to the 2018
recruiting class after signing
the bulk of their class during
the new early signing period
in December. They also lost
the headliner of their class,
Otis Reese, to Georgia after the
four-star linebacker had been
committed for nearly two years.
The three new recruits —
Ronnie Bell, Vincent Gray and
Michael Barrett — aren’t the
only
new
names
Michigan
will welcome into the fold
though.
Junior
quarterback
Shea Patterson will join the
team after spending two years
at Ole Miss, while fifth-year
senior defensive back Casey
Hughes decided to take a grad
transfer from Utah and join the
Wolverines. Michigan is also
currently in pursuit of fifth-
year senior left tackle Calvin
Anderson, who took an official
visit recently to Ann Arbor and
is reportedly deciding between
the Wolverines and Texas.
There’s certainly a chance
that members of the 2018 class
could contribute as early as next
season. But Michigan’s new
transfers are more than likely
to see the field, though it’s still
currently
unknown
whether
Patterson will be eligible.
The quarterback is currently
in the midst of an appeal to the
NCAA for immediate eligibility,
with the argument that Ole
Miss misled recruits and players
during an ongoing investigation
— an investigation that resulted
in several penalties, including
a bowl ban and scholarship
reductions, for the Rebels.
Harbaugh was asked at his
press conference Wednesday
afternoon about whether he had
an update on the appeal process,
and his answer was blunt.
“No,” he said. “I don’t have
any update on the calendar.”
While Patterson’s status for
next year is still up in the air,
Michigan’s
other
incoming
transfer is certain to have
immediate
eligibility.
Where
he’ll fit in the secondary, though,
remains to be seen.
“Yeah, another thing to be
determined,”
Harbaugh
said
when asked about Hughes. “(I)
think he has the ability to be
a corner. Also has the ability
by what compiles our best
secondary to be a nickel or be a
safety. Think he’s got the ability
to play all three of those, and
we’ll determine that when he
gets here.
“Coverage
ability
plus
tackling abilities. He’s made
quite a few tackles, and he’s a
strong tackler.”
Hughes started 11 games this
past season for the Utes, tallying
35 tackles, two forced fumbles
and one pass breakup.
Michigan still switching up lineup late in season
With just three series left in
the regular season, Michigan
coach Mel Pearson is still
keeping his lineup in flux.
The 19th-ranked Wolverines
(8-10-2
Big
Ten,
13-13-
2 overall) — No. 16 in the
PairWise rankings — have
gotten heavy production from
their top forward line of junior
Cooper Marody and seniors
Tony Calderone and Dexter
Dancs. With 78 points between
them to date, it’s undeniable
the trio has been a dominant
force on offense.
“We’ve got some guys here;
you know what they’re gonna
do
every
night,”
Pearson
said on Wednesday. “As Red
(Berenson) always said, they’ve
put money in the bank, they’ve
made the deposits. They want
to take a thousand dollars;
they’ve got enough there.
“But other guys haven’t put
money in the bank, they can’t
take a thousand dollars out.”
And at the outset of the
season,
it
seemed
as
if
Michigan
was
completely
reliant on its top line.
However, some mid-season
stagnation
disrupted
the
system, and Pearson had to
get creative with his lines, and
who would populate them.
Since
that
point,
the
Wolverines
can
only
be
described as eclectic.
As a testament to their
versatility, freshmen forwards
Jack Becker and Dakota Raabe
combined for three goals this
past weekend against then-No.
18 Wisconsin.
Clearly
Michigan
is
allowing, encouraging even,
upward
movement
in
the
lineup for solid play. And
that’s highlighted by Becker
and
Raabe’s
outstanding
performances in the past two
weeks.
On Saturday, Raabe and
Becker played on the third
and fourth lines, respectively,
which proves their offensive
contribution to the system isn’t
going unnoticed.
However,
as
teams
transition into the postseason,
they usually have a perfect
idea of who they can go to for
points and what their lineup
will be.
“As far as that goes, you are
what you are,” Pearson said.
“I think now we should have
a pretty good idea of who you
are and what your lineup is,
and who can do what.
“Now having said that, some
of the younger guys have made
some steps, so it allows you to
test some things a little bit.”
Save for injuries, it’s rare to
see a team completely switch
up its lineup before massive
end-of-season matchups.
“You
get
down
to
the
time
of
the
year now when
you
don’t
get
many
more
opportunities,”
Pearson
said.
“With
each
game,
the
implications
grow.”
According to
the PairWise, Wolverines sit at
the last possible place to make it
into to the NCAA Tournament.
Why would Pearson switch his
lineup around now with such
high stakes?
The answer is that he wants
to foster an environment in
which anyone can earn a spot
at the forefront of the offense.
And that has seemed to
work through this point in the
season, as players like Becker
and
Raabe
–
even
junior
defenseman Joe Cecconi, who
contributed a goal to this
weekend’s offensive effort –
have been putting up much-
needed numbers.
“I think a lot of guys are
stepping up that weren’t at
the beginning of the year,”
Calderone said
Wednesday.
“So
they’re
getting
more
opportunities
and everything,
and
I
think
there’s
a
lot
of
excitement
around
the
room;
there’s
so
much
competition to
get out on a line, and I think
that’s overall better for our
team.”
In its upcoming matchup
against
Michigan
State
—
bottom-dwellers in the Big Ten
— Michigan has a perfect time
for its non-performers to move
into the performers category.
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Michigan coach Mel Pearson believes his younger players have “made some steps,” which gives him a larger variety of possible lineups.
ROBERT HEFTER
Daily Sports Editor
“With each
game, the
implications
grow.”
ORION SANG
Managing Sports Editor
FILE PHOTO
Jim Harbaugh had no update on Shea Patterson’s appeal to the NCAA.
“Coach Gard
has been
successful with
what he’s done.”