Lucas at Large: Big man Happ ready to grow into role
November 04, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Mike Lucas
Battling Frank Kaminsky in practice will be of benefit to redshirt freshman
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. -- Ethan Happ is still haunted by the memory from his freshman season at Wisconsin.
"I remember that day last year," he said, "and it was traumatic for me."
That was the day when Happ was assigned to the scout team, a designated group of players, mainly walk-ons, entrusted with simulating the opponent's offense and defense in practice.
"We were preparing for the first game," he remembered, "and they handed out the yellow jerseys, or whatever color they were, and the other guys stayed in white."
White was for the five starters and the top reserves in the playing rotation.
"I was putting on the yellow jersey and thinking, 'Man, this is tough,'" Happ said. "And I've been working hard ever since so it doesn't happen again. Hopefully, I'm not on the scout team this year."
He was serious, which is maybe a good thing, not an insecure thing. More than anything else, Happ doesn't want to take anything for granted, even if he is a central figure in retooling the Badgers' lineup.
"I think one of the biggest things for me is to be a constant on defense so that my teammates know that I have their back," said the 6-foot-9, 228-pound Happ.
"Because I will be guarding one of the bigger guys usually, or the 4-man, I want them to know I will keep my guy in front of me or I will always be there to help them."
Happ conceded that it's tough to pinpoint his role since it hasn't been defined yet. But that picture will begin to crystalize for everyone with Wednesday's exhibition opener at the Kohl Center.
Despite all of the unanswered questions, there is something that Happ can, and will, guarantee. "Hustling," he said. "That was a big thing with me last year on the scout team. I prided myself on that."
As a true freshman, Happ drew considerable praise from the coaches for his work with the scouts. He agreed that redshirting was clearly in his best interests from a developmental standpoint.
"It definitely improved my game more than playing last year would have," said Happ, "just because I would have gotten minutes so sparingly.
"Going against Frank (Kaminsky) and Nigel (Hayes) and Sam (Dekker) every day in practice made my game jump a lot more than playing six to eight minutes (off the bench) would have."
Happ got quite the education from Kaminsky and Josh Gasser, the school record-holder in games played and started. Both taught him the tricks of the trade that only veterans could teach.
"They would grab a leg or arm where the ref wouldn't see it and it hinders the other player greatly," Happ said. "Josh did that to me all the time when he was boxing me out.
"He'd get our arms tied up and I couldn't do anything about it -- it's great to learn that stuff early in your career. But you've got to be smart about it, obviously (in games).
"Whenever Frank was posting up, it looked like he was shielding, but he was grabbing your arm, so you couldn't get around all the way to the ball, regardless if you had position or not."
There were many other things, far more visible things, that Happ picked up from Kaminsky, the consensus Player of the Year in college basketball and a first-round draft pick of the Charlotte Hornets.
"Just because you've made a move," he said, "it doesn't mean that you have to shoot on that move. You can always spin back, pump fake and go under. There are a lot of different ways to score.
"Frank did a great job, especially when he was getting double-teamed. He knew when to throw it out and when to make his move. And if he wasn't open when he made his move, he'd throw it out."
During the summer, Happ worked on his post moves and all other aspects of his game after returning home to Milan, Illinois, which is three hours from Madison and just outside of the Quad Cities.
"I really got after it -- I worked out twice a day," said Happ, who trained with Jordan Delp, an elite skills coach with Pure Sweat Basketball. "He helped enhance my ball-handling and shooting ability.
"It was a grind, it was tough. But it was definitely something that hopefully by the middle of the season, I can look back on and know that the time I spent this summer was worth it.
"It was nice to not have to go from class to workouts. Instead, it was family, friends, workouts, family, friends, workouts. It was a lot easier to be motivated that way."
One family member, in particular, has provided special motivation. That would be his first cousin, J.A. Happ, who just completed his ninth season as a Major League pitcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
After being acquired from Seattle at the trading deadline, the 33-year-old Happ had a strong finish with the Pirates by fashioning a 7-2 record with an 1.85 ERA. He's now a free agent.
"We're pretty close, we've really connected through sports," said Ethan Happ. "He texted me after the Final Four and I texted him after his season ended."
Happ is leaner than he was last spring when the UW season ended in a title game loss to Duke. He carried a little over 230 pounds on his frame as a freshman. Now, he's between 225 and 228.
"Now, I have a lot more lean muscle mass, and I feel a lot more agile," he said. "I feel like I can move side to side and defend people on the perimeter which has really boosted my game."
Based on the early practices, he also said, "I feel more readily available to attack the rim and I feel a lot more confident in my shot whenever I'm open.
"I know they want me in the post a lot more this year, just because of our lack of size and experience. And I know I'm ready to take the shot if I need to."
He knows, too, that expectations have changed. Last year, he was off the radar.
"On the scout team, you could hone your game without too much lashing from the coaches," he said. "You could mess up a lot while you were trying to work on your moves."
Happ has already noticed a difference in how UW head coach Bo Ryan is treating him.
"It's a lot different," he admitted. "People have told me that when they're not yelling at you, that's when you've got to worry because they've given up on you."
Happ paused and grinned, "Coach Ryan definitely hasn't given up on me. There are just so many little things in the game that he didn't address with me last year. But he is now."
With so many true freshmen on the roster, Happ is a viewed as somewhat of a veteran.
"I learned so much from those older guys last year and all of them have left," he said. "Now, I still have Nigel and Vitto (Brown) and Bronson (Koenig) to look up to. I can still ask them questions.
"But now, I'm also getting asked questions from the freshmen, which I am -- a freshman."
A redshirt freshman; a relatively young one, at that. Happ is 19. That still makes him older than first-year low-post player Charlie Thomas, who's 17, soon to turn 18.
In Wisconsin's Red and White Scrimmage, Happ had eight points and eight rebounds. One of his personal goals is to average a double-double with his rebounding leading to putbacks and scoring.
"I feel if I'm working hard enough," he said. "I can get that almost every night."
But he's not making any predictions, nor guarantees, beyond hustling. That alone should keep him off the scout team.
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