Over the past couple of decades, Wisconsin basketball fans have had plenty of opposing players/coaches worth hating with every fiber of our being, which is part of what makes college basketball so special.
For as long as I can remember, there have always been a handful of players/teams that rile up the fan base and serve as the main catalysts behind the disdain of the other programs across the country.
This idea got me thinking, who are some of the most prominent villains, actively playing or graduated, for Badgers hoops fans? Let's explore.
5. Iowa Guard, Jordan Bohannon
It sucks having to write this one because two of his three older brothers, Jason and Zach, played for the Wisconsin basketball program and were a part of some highly successful teams at UW.
However, their youngest brother, Jordan Bohannon, is objectively a douche and one of the most immature, whiniest players I can remember.
"It would have taken about 20,000 dollars in a McDonalds bag to go to Wisconsin," said Bohannon.
Despite playing six seasons with the Hawkeyes, he still won fewer games (104) than his brother Jason (105), never won a Big Ten regular-season title (although, he did win a Big Ten tournament title), and also never managed to make it to a Sweet 16 (the Fran effect).
But that never stopped him from taking to social media to puff his chest with the Wisconsin media - or accuse Illinois of NCAA violations on Twitter (cringe).
Perhaps if he spent as much effort playing defense as he did styling his hair before each game, he could have been recruited by the Wisconsin basketball program -- which toooooooootally didn't bother him. Just ask him -- he'll tell you.
4. Juwan Howard & Hunter Dickinson
Coming in at No. 4 is perhaps the biggest no-brainer on this list because Juwan Howard and Hunter Dickinson have made Michigan vs. Wisconsin a hated rivalry game on and off the court.
It dates back to February 20, 2022, when the Wisconsin basketball team defeated Michigan 77-63 at the Kohl center.
Coach Howard was unhappy that Greg Gard called a timeout during the game's final minute despite holding a double-digit lead -- which could have been a legitimate gripe if he wasn't using a full-court press against UW's walk-ons for no apparent reason.
Then, after the final buzzer, known bad guy Greg Gard stopped Howard in the handshake line to try to speak to him (how dare he), they exchanged words, and all hell broke loose.
Howard quickly escalated the situation, pointing his finger in Gard's face and grabbing his shirt. He would later strike Wisconsin Badgers assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft in the face, which incited a brawl involving coaches and players.
But that's not all...
Michigan Wolverines center Hunter Dickinson added some fuel to the fire on an episode of the RoundBall Podcast, which he does with...you guessed it, Jordan Bohannon, calling the Wisconsin basketball team "scumbags."
"Wisconsin, I mean they're just… they're just… they're scumbags, it's what it is," said Dickinson about his perception of Wisconsin. "I'm sorry, they're just scumbags. Like, nothing I can say about Wisconsin is going to fire up the matchup even more, so it's like, it already is what it is; they're scumbags."
Then he showed up to the Kohl Center on Valentines day (how can you not be romantic about basketball?) wearing a black ski mask to "steal a W." Spoiler alert -- he did not steal a W.
More recently, in a matchup with the Wisconsin basketball program at the end of February, Dickinson collided with Tyler Wahl, who fell to the floor. No foul was called, and the play didn't get reviewed.
Fans on Twitter, however, saw something that the broadcast appeared to miss. Dickinson seemed to attempt to step on Wahl while on the ground.
I'd be remiss if I didn't at least mention that Dickinson goes on to hit a three at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime - where the Wolverines would pull away and win the game 87-79.
That said, the Wisconsin basketball vs. Michigan rivalry is good for the sport, and there is no shortage of reasons this one will continue.
3. Former Wisconsin Basketball Star - Alando Tucker
"You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain."
When Alando Tucker, the leading scorer in the history of the Wisconsin basketball program, returned to UW in July 2019 as an interim assistant coach (filling in for Howard Moore), many thought it had the potential to be a match made in heaven.
Well, those people, myself included, were dead-ass wrong.
Wisconsin faced tremendous adversity in 2019-20, starting with the gut-wrenching Howard Moore accident. Then, Kobe King left the program, and strength & conditioning coach Erik Helland made the news after using a racial epithet in front of players during the season.
During that up-and-down 2019-20 season, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Tucker set up a meeting with former Athletic Director Barry Alvarez. During that meeting, he tried to convince Alvarez to fire Greg Gard and name him the head coach of the Wisconsin basketball program.
As we all know, Gard rallied the troops, and UW won their final eight games to earn a share of the Big Ten regular-season title and was later named the B1G Coach of the Year.
But it only got worse from there...
Alando Tucker came back for a second season as an assistant coach on a team that returned seven seniors from 2019-20 and started the year ranked top 10 in the country.
During that season, Tucker reportedly undermined coach Gard, divided the locker room, and even told a player "to ignore the coaching points of a fellow assistant in charge of that player's position group."
After coming in with sky-high expectations, Wisconsin basketball finished with an 18-13 record and went 10-10 in Big Ten play.
Tucker was not retained as an assistant coach; instead, Greg Gard hired former Badger Sharif Chambliss for the vacant spot on his staff.
I don't believe in coincidences...
Shortly after, the Wisconsin State Journal got an anonymous email with a link to a "heavily edited" 37-minute audio file containing snippets of an emotional conversation between coach Gard and the seniors in his locker room.
Conveniently, the recording only had the portion where the players blasted the head coach. Although Alando Tucker denies any involvement, it doesn't take a genius to put 2 and 2 together to get 4.
Tucker was one of my favorite Wisconsin basketball players of my childhood, and I try to hold onto that when his name gets brought up, but there's no denying he became a villain in the eyes of the program.
2) The Kentucky Wildcats
With every good movie villain comes a triumphant victory for the "good guys" in the end. However, Wisconsin basketball had to wait an entire year before they could get the last laugh.
Badger basketball fans will never forget Bo Ryan's 2013-14 team that finally broke through and helped get him to his first-ever Final 4.
UW went on a magical run leading them to Arlington, Texas, where they faced John Calipari and the 8th-seeded Kentucky Wildcats. The winner would take on the No. 7 seed Uconn Huskies for the national title.
Holding a 73-71 lead over Kentucky with time winding down, Aaron Harrison hit a highly contested three-pointer with 5.6 seconds remaining to put the Badgers down two.
Starting point guard Traevon Jackson brought the ball up the floor and got a decent look from mid-range that ultimately bounced out and left Wisconsin basketball fans with a pit in their stomach.
Then, all was made right in the world...
Wisconsin basketball returned their core players (minus Ben Brust) in 2014-15 and took college basketball by storm.
UW finished the regular season 36-4, became the most efficient offense in the history of KenPom analytics, and won the Big Ten regular season and postseason titles en route to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Badgers parlayed that success into a tournament run with wins over Coastal Carolina, Oregon, North Carolina, and Arizona, which finally earned them a rematch with the undefeated 38-0 Kentucky Wildcats -- college basketball's top defensive team in history -- featuring nine players who wound up in the NBA.
And as the story goes, Wisconsin basketball made sure there would be no undefeated season, slaying arguably one of the greatest college basketball teams of all time en route to a championship appearance, UW's first since 1941.
1) Duke: Grayson Allen, Coach K, Justice Winslow
I want to keep this one short and sweet because the memories of the 2014-15 Wisconsin basketball team losing the NCAA title game to Duke are almost too much to bear.
That UW team was undoubtedly the most unifying groups Badgers fans have ever had the pleasure of watching, they made you feel like you were a part of the ride, and due to the almost cinematic nature of how things unfolded leading up to the title game -- I would have bet the farm it was Wisconsin's team of destiny.
I was wrong.
Grayson Allen
One of the least likable players in NCAA history, Grayson Allen, who averaged 4.4 points per game, and registered several DNPs, erupted for 16 points in 21 minutes off the bench. With 13 minutes remaining, Allen scored eight straight points that completely flipped the script.
Coach K
And if that wasn't hard enough to stomach. Wisconsin basketball, who notoriously doesn't foul, had only two fouls heading into halftime.
That is until coach K spent the better part of halftime working the refs rather than speaking to his team, according to a report from Grantland.
Then, wouldn't you know it, UW picked up 10 team fouls in the first 10 minutes of the second half, and Duke attempted 16 free throws (and was in double-bonus for the final 7+ minutes) to the Badgers three FTs.
Justice Winslow
In the final two minutes of the 2015 national championship game between Duke and Wisconsin basketball, Justice Winslow and Bronson Koenig fought for a loose ball under the basket that went out of bounds.
Referees went to the monitor, reviewed the play, and even though everyone with two eyes and a TV could see Justice touched it, the possession went to Duke.
Shortly after, with 1:24 on the clock, Duke hit a three-pointer, and the rest is history.
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