Chicago Bulls: Big Ten players to watch in 2019 NCAA Tournament
By Ryan Heckman
Forward Ethan Happ, Wisconsin
Last year, big man Ethan Happ had a decision to make between entering the NBA Draft or returning to his Wisconsin Badgers. Because the draft buzz wasn’t exactly where he would have liked it to be, Happ chose to come back and attempt another run with Wisconsin.
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This year, the Badgers started slow but came on midway through the season and enter the tournament as a 5-seed.
Speaking of Happ’s draft buzz, it still probably isn’t where he would like it to be. Like a lot of big men coming out of Wisconsin, Happ is a fundamentally-sound player, but not a great athlete. He has a pretty strong post game and averaged a double-double over the course of this season, putting up 17.5 points and 10.1 rebounds.
Where he will get heavily criticized, outside of his lack of athleticism, is his inability to hit shots from deep. Throughout his four years with the Badgers. Happ attempted 16 three-pointers, making just one of them.
Happ is a phenomenal Big Ten player. If he’s on, the Badgers are likely winning. At this point, he’s looking at potentially being a late second-round pick or even an undrafted free agent pickup to test out his skills at NBA Summer League.
The Badgers take on Oregon in a 5-seed vs. 12-seed matchup on Friday afternoon.