NEW YORK – Ethan Happ, weighed down by a mix of frustration and disappointment, reclined in the Wisconsin locker room and pondered UW’s 63-60 loss to Michigan State in the Big Ten quarterfinals.
He also talked about his future.
In short, Happ plans to test the NBA waters and receive an invitation to the combine, set for May 16-20.
If he projected to be taken in the first round of the 2018 draft, he will leave UW. If not, he will return to UW for his final season.
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“I’m just worried about the draft right now and if it’s not the draft I’ll be back at Wisconsin,” he said. “There is so much more development you can do in college as opposed to sitting on the bench in the NBA or even (playing) in the G League.
“I think there is a lot of development that can happen in college basketball.”
Surgery on the horizon: Freshman guard Brad Davison, who first dislocated his left shoulder in the fourth game of the season, battled constant pain and a balky brace over the final 29 games.
He will undergo surgery to repair the shoulder, followed by a lengthy rehab schedule.
“It’s something I’m not looking forward to but it is something that has to be done,” Davison said, tears streaming down his face. “I know I am in great care and I know the Lord is going to watch all over me. It is all going to work out.
“I have 100% faith I’ll be just fine for next year.”
Davison, who averaged 12.1 points, was asked if he might miss any games next season.
“I won’t let them do that to me,” he said defiantly. “I will not miss any time next year.”
What if? Happ and Davison were limited to 11 and 14 minutes, respectively, in the first half because of foul trouble.
Davison ended up playing all 20 minutes after halftime and 34 minutes overall. Happ played 15 minutes in the second half and 26 overall.
“There’s a lot of what-ifs in the game,” Davison said. “You take Ethan off the floor and it is a different dynamic, both offensively and defensively.”
Happ sat out the final 7:46 after picking u his second foul. Davison sat out the final 3:45 after getting his second foul.
Happ was called for a hold while trying to battle Michigan State’s Nick Ward for position near the lane and clearly wasn’t happy with the call.
“Looking at the stats I only got 26 minutes,” he said. “Very frustrated…I think the Big Ten refs do a great job but I felt like my hands were up.”
Glass-kicking: Michigan State’s edge in second-chance points was minor – 10-9 – but the Spartans had six more offensive rebounds than UW (16-10).
Although the Spartans didn’t maximize the second chances, they forced UW to play defense for longer periods and cut down on UW’s scoring chances.
“They missed shots in the second half and we gave up a lot of offensive rebounds,” said guard Brevin Pritzl, one of three UW players with four rebounds. “That just takes the steam out of a possession when you give up offensive rebounds.
“This offseason we’re going to get a lot more physical and stronger.”
UW coach Greg Gard knew limiting the Spartans to one shot would be critical.
“I think we gave up 13 offensive rebounds in the second half on 19 missed shots,” he said. “That’s almost 70% of the misses. That’s too many. And that extended possessions.
“That allowed them to do what they do and hurt us from being able to maybe expand upon a lead we had or catch them closer.”
Looking over their shoulders? Several times it appeared UW players who got the ball inside were wary of a Michigan State defender coming from the backside to block the shot.
The Spartans finished with seven blocks, led by Xavier Tillman with three.
Pritzl at least twice used a pump-fake when he had enough time to go up for a shot. The result both times was a miss.
“For the most part I just program myself to always use a pump-fake,” he said. “Pump-fakes are great but a couple times I beat the guy to the spot and I’ve just got to finish right away.
“If the guy’s not there, go. But if the guy is there pump-fake.”
The streak is broken: The loss to Michigan State ensured UW’s streak of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances will end at 19.
The streak began in 1998-’99 under Dick Bennett, who led UW to the Final four in 2000 and then retired after three games in 2000-’01. Brad Soderberg finished off that season and Bo Ryan took over the program in 2001-’02.
Gard worked under Ryan through the first 12 games of the 2015-’16 season, took over as interim coach after Ryan retired, was hired as the full-time coach later that season and led UW to consecutive Sweet 16 appearances before this season.
“We’ve never talked about a streak,” Gard said. “All the way back to 2001, we’ve never talked about: ‘Oh, we’ve been to the tournament five years in a row, ten years in a row.’
“It was always about doing your best you could do to try to win the conference championship first, then come and try to win the conference tournament championship and then you try to bop until you drop in the NCAA Tournament.
“So we never said — we never went through it with it being results-oriented. We
always try to get better as the season went on.”
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