Saturday, April 01, 2000
Wisconsin: No frills, dunks - or scoring
BY PAUL DAUGHERTY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
INDIANAPOLIS — The Wisconsin Badgers performed a dunk drill at the end of practice Friday. They hit 48 percent. A 6-foot-7 forward named Erik Faust lobbed a ball off the glass and palmed the rebound. He hung from the rim for several seconds. He jammed. He missed.
“I hope we showed today we're not just layups and 3-pointers,” was how forward Mark Vershaw described the Badgers jamfest.
Well, uh ...
“I got my one dunk in,” Vershaw said. “It was special. Duany opened it up with the 360. That's a tough act to follow. I just have the classic two-hander.”
It's OK. As another Badger, Jon Bryant explained, “We don't sell tickets with dunks.”
Laugh now, scoffers. Just because the Badgers score as often as Gilligan did with Ginger — just because their dunking virtuosity is limited to Krispy Kremes in milk — doesn't mean you'd want to play them.
You wouldn't.
You with your Airs and your big hops and your designs on 20 points a night. Give me the damn ball. That's you. They are your worst nightmare.
You look at them and think: Don't they ever get tired of setting picks? I feel like I'm playing rugby.
Do they always have to pass the ball five times before they even think about shooting? And what's with their defense?
The guy guarding me knows I'm chewing Doublemint. He knows my socks are a cotton-polyester blend. No wonder they're called Badgers. Hey, man: Back off.
Do they ever take a bad shot? Ever break a defender down, one-on-one? Ever ... dunk?
“I'd never hear the end of it,” decided Michigan State forward Andre Hutson. The question was posed: What would happen if the Badger you were guarding jammed on you? “I'd come back for a 10-year reunion — they'd still be talking about that.”
Wisconsin is in the Final Four. What's their highlight film called? Me and My Canvas Chuck Taylors?
But you want nothing to do with Wisconsin. The Badgers don't play by the current rules. They don't style. They're in your shirt. “We chase you down until you don't want to win anymore,” said guard Mike Kelley, the Big 10 defensive player of the year.
They won't beat themselves with stupidity on offense. They're scoring only 60 points a game. That's fine: They're allowing only 56. “If you're will ing to stand up to us toe to toe in the halfcourt, you have a chance,” Vershaw said.
They play for a coach who says, “We recruit good players with tremendous attitudes who will be there four years.” Dick Bennett learned his coaching philosophy in Green Bay, watching Vince Lombardi's practices.
Yet we seem to regard Wisconsin as we do an AMC Pacer. That says more about us than them. When did we abandon the virtue of a well-aimed pass? When did playing below the rim begin to be considered the hallmark of chump-itude?
If it's not fast, it's boring. If it's not flying, it's not fun. But there's more to basketball than joining the circus.
I watch Wisconsin the way I watch the U.S. Open golf championship. I know, at some blessed point, I will be able to look at the action and say, “I can do that.”
I can hack a 5-iron out of the rough and watch it fly 45 yards sideways. I can hit a pine with my approach. I can make a chest pass.
The Badgers aren't complex. They just do what they do very well. Think of the Packer Sweep. Wisconsin will not be confused with the '80s Lakers. But the Badgers have their own ballet. Not everyone can dance with them.
It takes discipline. It demands self-sacrifice. As Michigan State's Hutson said: “I wouldn't mind playing that defense. But that offense, man. They only score 50 or 60 points. Their leading scorer only gets about 15.”
He might get some more. If he could dunk.
“We dunk,” Bryant protested. “We just have to try real hard to do it.”
Maybe it's all been a pose. Wait until tonight, when the Badgers break out the windmill slams. Or maybe not.
Associated Press Final Four Coverage: Men's •
Women's
Sports Stories
Quick start would help Reds
Martin wins 3rd player of year award
