Wisconsin Basketball: Ethan Happ is having a historic freshman season
Wisconsin basketball is having a poor season, but freshman forward Ethan Happ is giving fans something to cheer about.
On January 17, 2016, Wisconsin Badger fans packed inside the Kohl Center in hopes of seeing their Badgers salvage something out of an otherwise miserable season.
At that moment in time, the Badgers, riding a three game losing streak and fresh off of a loss to the lowly Northwestern Wildcats, had almost nothing going for them. And with Michigan State up by four with the clock under a minute, it seemed like it would be another close but heartbreaking loss for them, something fresh in their minds after Melo Trimble hit a game-winning three from about 28 feet just eight days prior.
But one thing led to another, and Wisconsin found themselves with the ball, down one, with about 20 seconds left. Ethan Happ took over at that point and made a little Badger magic.
Who on earth would have thought before the season that Ethan Happ would be taking (and making) game-winning shots for the Badgers this year? If you’re currently raising your hand, you’re lying.
Happ finished that game with 14 points and 8 rebounds, then followed it up with a 20 point, 11 rebound performance against Penn State, and a career-high 25 points, 8 rebound game against Indiana. In his last four games, he’s averaging more than 16 points per game. Even better: Wisconsin is 4-0.
It’s not like Happ’s recent performances were completely unprecedented, though. On the season, he’s averaging 12 points, and 8 rebounds a game, and he’s doing so efficiently, too, with a true shooting percentage of about 58%.
That’s a stat-line that puts him in extremely elite company. Check out this list of freshmen over the past 10 seasons to post seasons of 12+ points, 8+ rebounds, and true shooting percentages greater than 55%:
| Per Game | Advanced | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Season | Pos | School | G | MP | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PTS | TS% |
| Kevin Durant | 2006-07 | F | Texas | 35 | 35.9 | 11.1 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 25.8 | .587 | |
| Michael Beasley | 2007-08 | F | Kansas State | 33 | 31.5 | 12.4 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 26.2 | .610 |
| Kevin Love | 2007-08 | C | UCLA | 39 | 29.6 | 10.6 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 17.5 | .644 |
| Jabari Parker | 2013-14 | F | Duke | 35 | 30.7 | 8.7 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 19.1 | .558 |
| Jahlil Okafor | 2014-15 | C | Duke | 38 | 30.1 | 8.5 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 2.5 | 17.3 | .641 |
| Jared Sullinger | 2010-11 | F | Ohio State | 37 | 31.7 | 10.2 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 17.2 | .591 |
| Julius Randle | 2013-14 | F | Kentucky | 40 | 30.8 | 10.4 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 15.0 | .567 |
| DeMarcus Cousins | 2009-10 | F | Kentucky | 38 | 23.5 | 9.8 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 15.1 | .579 |
| Anthony Davis | 2011-12 | F | Kentucky | 40 | 32.0 | 10.4 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 4.7 | 1.0 | 14.2 | .654 |
| Ryan Anderson | 2006-07 | F | University of California | 33 | 33.2 | 8.2 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 16.3 | .588 | |
| Greg Oden | 2006-07 | C | Ohio State | 32 | 28.9 | 9.6 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 3.3 | 15.7 | .626 | |
| Blake Griffin | 2007-08 | F | Oklahoma | 33 | 9.1 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 2.3 | 14.7 | .580 | |
| J.J. Hickson | 2007-08 | F | North Carolina State | 31 | 28.7 | 8.5 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 14.8 | .621 |
| Taj Gibson | 2006-07 | F | Southern California | 37 | 8.7 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 12.2 | .578 | ||
| Derrick Favors | 2009-10 | F | Georgia Tech | 36 | 27.5 | 8.4 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 12.4 | .621 |
| James Johnson | 2007-08 | F | Wake Forest | 30 | 8.1 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 14.6 | .557 | |
| Ben Simmons | 2015-16 | F | Louisiana State | 21 | 34.4 | 12.5 | 4.9 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 3.0 | 19.5 | .610 |
| Al-Farouq Aminu | 2008-09 | F | Wake Forest | 31 | 8.2 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 2.6 | 12.9 | .564 | |
| Per Game | Advanced | |||||||||||
| Player | Season | Pos | School | G | MP | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PTS | TS% |
| Tyrus Thomas | 2005-06 | F | Louisiana State | 32 | 25.9 | 9.2 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 3.1 | 12.3 | .627 | |
| Ivan Rabb | 2015-16 | F | University of California | 22 | 28.2 | 8.4 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 12.5 | .645 |
| Ethan Happ | 2015-16 | F | Wisconsin | 22 | 28.0 | 8.3 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 12.3 | .579 |
Provided by Sports-Reference.com/CBB: View Original Table
Generated 2/2/2016.
Every single guy on that list has either played in many NBA seasons, or figures to be in the NBA for many years to come. Show this list to Happ himself and he would probably be shocked.
Perhaps what is most impressive, though, is that Happ does this by living primarily at the rim. By primarily, I mean that almost all of his shots come from there. According to hoop-math.com, 87.2% of Happ’s field goal attempts come at the rim, and he’s converting on over 61% of those shots.
How does he get this done? For one, he’s great at rolling to the rim, and it certainly helps that his front-court mate is Vitto Brown, who lives in the midrange. There’s plenty of room inside for Happ to operate, and he fiends off shot-blockers and defenders with patience and pump-fakes:
When he catches the ball in an isolation situation, he surprises defenders with a quick first step and athletic finishes:
And he’s fully capable of going coast-to-coast and showing some versatility and guard-like moves:
The other 12.8% of his offense has come from the mid-range. He’s yet to attempt a three-pointer, and is shooting just 12.5% from the mid-range, although in a small sample size of just 24 shot attempts (per hoop-math.com).
However, many of those close to the team, who have seen Happ play much more often, seem to think he can do better, and possibly become a three-point threat at some point down the line.
If Ethan Happ ever expands his range...unguardable. He does have it. Saw him hit 6 triples in an AAU game as a senior. #Badgers
— Evan Flood (@Evan_Flood) January 27, 2016
Last year, during Happ’s redshirt season, FoxSports.com reported that the Wisconsin coaches track their players’ shots in practice scrimmages. Happ was shooting greater than 40% from beyond the arc in those scrimmages.
Now, translating this to a real game is much, much different. With that being said, it’s clear that the potential is there. He’s already potent inside. If he were to add a jump-shot that he was comfortable pulling the trigger on in games, Wisconsin’s offense would go to another level.
Still, two weeks ago, none of this mattered. Ethan Happ was just a small bright spot in an otherwise miserable season in Madison that saw the mid-season retirement of their beloved head coach, Bo Ryan. It looked as if they were going to miss the NCAA tournament for the first time in almost 20 years.
More busting brackets: Important Early February Games in the Big Ten
Now, Wisconsin is playing the best basketball of their season, and Happ is a lot of the reason for that. With Wisconsin hovering around the bubble, Happ is having his coming out party in a big way.
Should they manage to get a berth to the big dance, he may have a coming-out party in an even bigger way.