NCAA Basketball: Luke Maye vs. Ethan Happ as the better forward for 2018-19
By Brian Foley
The case for Ethan Happ
On the flip side, while Maye is near-lock for a double-double performance on any given night, Happ manages to stuff other parts of the stat sheet for the Badgers.
With each passing season, Happ has slowly assumed more offensive responsibility for Wisconsin. Last year, the Badgers fell to depths not seen in Madison since the 20th century, but Happ turned into an all-around playmaking force as a point forward within Greg Gard’s offense.
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On top of his 17.9 points and 8 rebounds per game, Happ also tossed in a career-high 3.7 assists. In fact, Happ’s 33.3 percent assist rate last season was by far the highest among players 6-foot-10 or taller. Finding college bigs who can catch the ball and make the obvious pass is hard enough. Getting one who not only is a fantastic low-post scorer, but also can run the offense on a fast break and attack the defense off the bounce is something we rarely see.
Happ also shows more promise on the defensive end than Maye. The Badgers’ star is two inches taller than UNC’s big man, giving him some extra length for reach-around swats even though neither player’s wingspan stands out. Last season, fellow top Big Ten big men – Purdue’s Isaac Haas and Michigan State’s Jaren Jackson Jr. – struggled in five games against Happ, shooting a combined 14-34 from the field (41.1 percent).