Wisconsin is densely populated with extremely talented ballers. Some of these hardened athletes are coming up big in the NBA recently, bringing a little shine to the now cold and dreary frozen tundra of the north. Jordan Poole and Kevon Looney are the duo largely responsible for bringing the recent burst of attention to our talent pool, during their golden run with the Warriors.
The list that I popped into the video shows another version of my millennial history of the Wisconsin basketball. It should be almost all of the players from Wisconsin that have played professional basketball since 2000. You will notice that some are listed as being in leagues outside the U.S., and others on G-League teams (which are more semi-pro). The teams on the list are their more recent teams for the most part.
Although most players on this list have played in the NBA, some have only played professionally outside the U.S. Others have jumped between the NBA, G-League, and international leagues. I did neglect to mention a couple other up and coming Wisco hoopers that are currently in the NBA! Shout out to Jordan Poole, Tyrese Haliburton, Kevon Looney, and Tyler Herro, but also Sam Hauser (Stevens Point) and Brandin Podziemski (Greenfield)!
Both of these players went off during the Bucks’ recent home stretch in Milwaukee. I’m sure it was exhilarating for these Badger State players to hoop it up at the Fiserv Forum with their families and friends all around. Hauser had a strong game in Bucks-Celtics blowout, even though the outcome didn’t favor his squad. Podziemski stepped in for a resting Steph Curry during and Bucks-Warriors game and played very well in his home habitat, putting up 23 with a double double.
It’s a crafty, scrappy, extremely talented group. Wisconsin hoopers tend to be agile, move around a lot, and push to break the mold of a typical role player. Handles. Crazy ball handling and creative passes. Excellent teammates, deadly shooters, and big personalities. Characters with a style of their own, but adaptable. A more elevated thought process, finesse, and swagger, which of course is often considered goofy, corny, and campy, by standard operating units of non-midwest non-working class non-multicultural spaces.
Wisconsin Hoopers:
Patrick Baldwin Jr. (Washington Wizards)
Tony Bennett (Harbour Heat, current head coach of UVA)
Vander Blue (Al Sadd)
Rodney Buford (London Lightning, retired)
Deonte Burton (Stockton Kings)
Caron Butler (Sacramento Kings, current assistant coach for Miami Heat)
Dwight Buycks (Trotamundos B.B.C.)
Johnny Davis (Washington Wizards)
Sam Dekker (London Lions)
Travis Diener (Vanoli Cremona)
Henry Ellenson (Ibaraki Robots)
Reece Gaines (Guaros de Lara, retired)
Diante Garrett (Ironi Kiryat Ata)
Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers)
Devin Harris (Dallas Mavericks, retired)
Sam Hauser (Boston Celtics)
Tyler Herro (Miami Heat)
Jalen Johnson (Atlanta Hawks)
Carl Landry (Hiroshima Dragonflies, retired)
Marcus Landry (Goyang Orions, retired)
Kevon Looney (Golden State Warriors)
Wes Matthews (Atlanta Hawks)
Trey McKinney-Jones (Gunma Crane Thunders)
Keaton Nankivil (Orlandina Basket, retired)
Brandin Podziemski (Golden State Warriors)
Jordan Poole (Washington Wizards)
Terry Porter (San Antonio Spurs, retired)
Alex Scales (Mumbai Challengers, retired)
Jerry Smith (Al-Arabi SC)
Tony Smith (Atlanta Hawks, retired)
Latrell Sprewell (Minnesota Timberwolves, retired)
Greg Stiemsma (Toronto Raptors, retired)
Diamond Stone (Marineros de Puerto Plata)
Nick Van Exel (San Antonio Spurs, retired)
Logan Vander Velden (Gaiteros del Zulia, retired)
Kyle Weaver (Twarde Pierniki Toruń, retired)
Mike Wilks (Arka Gdynia, current assistant coach for Oklahoma City Thunder)
Jamil Wilson (Converge FiberXers)
Joe Wolf (Chatlotte Hornets, current assistant coach for Wisconsin Herd)
