BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
PHILADELPHIA — Wisconsin freshman Alex Illikainen paused before answering.
"I'd just call him crafty," he finally said. "His moves aren't basic moves all the time. He has spins and good ball fakes. You just never know what he's going to do."
Another pause.
"So I would probably use crafty to describe him."
Charlie Thomas, also a freshman, didn't hesitate when asked but drew the same picture.
"He's crafty, smart, reads defenses well and uses a lot of ball fakes," Thomas said in rapid-fire order. "One of his best moves is that quick, little spin move. He loves to go to that.
"He has a whole package of things up his sleeve that he likes to use but that spin is really effective. I don't think a lot of people know how good he really is. He's real crafty."
Illikainen and Thomas are well-versed on the subject, Ethan Happ.
Both have served on the scout team and taken their turns at defending Happ during practices. Both have been victimized by some of Happ's array of low post moves, his craftiness, if you will.
First-time opponents have often underestimated the 6-foot-9 Happ's length or wing span.
"When he goes up and extends," said Illikainen, also 6-9, "you look and he's got an extra foot on some people. You think you can block it, but when he extends full-out, he's right at the basket."
Footwork is at the heart of his success. But along with understanding shooting angles, Happ is adept at using the rim against a shot-blocking defender and reversing the ball on the glass.
"You think he can't use the other side of the rim," Illikainen said, "but all of a sudden he reaches over and it's in. Because he's so long, it's hard to stop."
Friday night, Happ will draw the sternest challenge of his redshirt freshman season in Notre Dame's Zach Auguste, a fiery and powerful 6-10, 245-pound senior.
The outcome of their Sweet 16 matchup in the paint will likely have a strong bearing on determining a winner between the Badgers and the Irish here in an East Regional semifinal.
Auguste is on the brink of reaching an improbable postseason high water mark: Bill Walton's.
Through seven career NCAA tournament games, Auguste has the highest field goal shooting percentage (.705) in history, topping the legendary Walton (.686).
There is one catch. The minimum to quality for the record is 70 attempts.
Auguste has converted on 43-of-61. That included a 20-point game (10-of-13) against Kentucky in last season's Elite Eight and a 16-point game (8-of-9) against Stephen F. Austin last Sunday.
"He's a real physical player," Happ said of Auguste, who's from Marlborough, Massachusetts. "He's a big body, a long body. And he kind of plays somewhat similar to me in using his quickness."
In 126 career games, Auguste has attempted just one 3-pointer. He does all of his work around the rim. This season, he has posted 21 double-doubles. Happ has nine.
On Thursday, Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey talked about Auguste's maturity. As a young player, he noted that Auguste had trouble controlling his passion and broke his hand when he punched a basket standard out of frustration during a practice.
Brey called him a great "over-reactor" because he plays "with great emotion."
His request to Auguste? "Can you just take a deep breath?" Brey suggested.
On Thursday, Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard talked about Happ's maturity.
"He has mellowed a little bit, matured a little bit," Gard said. "His consistency level has grown over the last month-and-a-half. He practices at a higher rate for a longer period of time."
In the same breath, Gard admitted that Happ is "just scratching the surface" of his potential. He can't wait to see a more finished product "as he gets stronger and adds more pieces to his game."
UW junior point guard Bronson Koenig has already seen a difference in Happ's makeup.
"Ethan has always been a pretty mellow dude," Koenig said. "But he's done a better job recently in not getting so down on himself … he has gotten more mentally tough in that sense."
Opposing defenses have been geared to make it tough on Happ. And yet, he has still scored in double-figures in six straight games and eight of the last nine; a noteworthy stretch drive.
"I haven't seen a flat-out triple team and I don't think that's going to come, either," he said. "But there have been some games where I've caught it and I've tried to back pivot and all of a sudden there are three guys around me. Two guys are playing on the backside and it's pretty hectic.
"But I guess that is good that you're drawing attention and getting shots for other guys.
"I watched a lot of Nigel's moves when he was a freshman and even a little bit last season," Happ said on the development of his spins and up-and-under shots and reverse layups.
"And obviously playing against Frank (Kaminsky), you learn a lot of things. A lot of it is instinctive. Once you catch the ball, you read your man and you make a move."
Here's where Kaminsky's mentoring has really taken root with Happ:
"Just because you've made a move," Happ 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 the move, he'd throw it out."
That's when Auguste can be the most dangerous — on the kick-outs to perimeter scorers.
"We've got to take away the 3s," said UW assistant coach Lamont Paris.
V.J. Beachem, a former AAU teammate of Hayes, has made 50 percent (18-of-36) of his shots from beyond the 3-point arc over the last seven games. Last weekend, he was 6-of-12.
Beachem leads the Irish with 82 triples. Point guard Demetrius Jackson has 51 and shooting guard Steve Vasturia has 44. Vasturia was born in Philadelphia so he'll have a big cheering section.
In putting together the scouting report, Paris was struck by Notre Dame's offensive efficiency.
"They move the ball," he said. "They do a lot of motion stuff, reading and reacting. The bulk of it is just playing basketball. We've faced more traditional motion teams. Their motion is more four-out."
The 6-1, 201-pound Jackson is the linchpin. He has scored in double-figures in 27 of 33 games, with seven of 20 or more points. He had 27 against Louisville and 26 against Pittsburgh.
In those two games, he made six and five triples, respectively.
Jackson, a former McDonald's All-American, is more of a threat off the dribble, whether he's breaking down the defense and distributing or drawing fouls. He has shot 131 free throws this season.
"Jackson is strong and athletic," Paris said. "He's fast, though he's not quite as explosive as Keifer Sykes (the former Green Bay star). But he's bigger than Sykes."
Jackson has a little bit of that Sykes flair. He will dunk on anyone.
The Irish will start two point guards: Jackson and 6-1 sophomore Matt Farrell, who's averaging only 1.8 points over 41 career games. Farrell is more about energy, ball-handling and grittiness.
Brey said Thursday that he wants his guards to push the tempo and attack in transition. That's out of respect for the Badgers' half-court defense. He doesn't want to give them the chance to set up.
There are many similarities between the two programs, particularly with their emphasis on developing players. Brey, a Mike Krzyzewski disciple, and Bo Ryan are good friends.
In fact, Brey will be the guest speaker at this spring's Coaches vs. Cancer event in Madison.
Brey is also very close with New Jersey governor Chris Christie, whose daughter is a Notre Dame team manager. Christie will likely be present Friday at the Wells Fargo Center.
It could be a celebrity groundhog day for Badgers fans watching on TBS. Last Sunday, the television cameras were fixed on Bill Murray, whose son is a Xavier assistant.
That aside, Christie, too, most eyes should be on Happ vs. Auguste.
"We're going to throw the ball into Zach a bunch," promised Jackson. "Give him a bunch of post feeds and let him go to work."
Happ knows that he has his work cut out for him.
"Coach has talked about how he's a bulldog," Happ said. "I have to match his intensity."
