Wisconsin is a top 10 team, and it’s been the simple, old-fashioned game of Ethan Happ leading the way.
Rhythm and Poetry. Altruism.
That is Ethan Happ‘s Twitter description. Short and sweet, just like his game.
Big men who can’t shoot are often overlooked in today’s game. A stretch-4 has become one of the most overused terms in basketball because everyone expects power forwards and centers to be able to hit threes now.
But not Ethan Happ.
He has yet to attempt a three in 59 career games with the Wisconsin Badgers, yet he is still one of the most dominating and overlooked big men in the nation. It makes his game unique and harder to defend, despite his scoring range residing in a five-foot span around the basket.
His game is reminiscent to how big men use to play. He leaves three-point shooting to one of the best point guards in the Big Ten, Bronson Koenig, who is shooting 46.2 percent from three in conference play.
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As a result, Happ’s field goal percentage has skyrocketed by 6.9 percent as a sophomore to the second-best mark in the Big Ten at 60.7 percent.
Teams know if Wisconsin can pass it inside to Happ they will. Teams also know that Happ isn’t going to face-up his defender for a jump shot. He wants to use the post game that he’s perfected in a short time at Wisconsin to gain better positioning and create an easy look near the basket.
Despite everyone in the stadium and watching on TV knowing what Happ and Wisconsin want to do, Happ continues to bully his way inside or use his signature spin move to get by defenders. Part of it is that Happ is strong and nifty in the paint, but it’s also extremely hard to double-team him because he’s one of the best passing big men in the nation and will find the man left open.
Happ is second to only Nigel Hayes on Wisconsin in assists per game this season at 2.7, but leads the team with 2.6 assists per game in conference play. He’s also 25th in the conference in assists per game, fourth among forwards, and the only Big Ten player 6’10” or taller in the top 50.
Also, this season, Hayes is the only player with more four-assist games than Happ on Wisconsin — Happ has seven of Wisconsin’s 24. Still, Happ has the highest usage percentage on Wisconsin at 26.8 percent, which is telling of how often they run plays through him, and also leads the Badgers in assist percentage at 22.5 — 4.9 percent higher than Hayes who is second on the team.
Plus, his usage rate in conference play has gone up to 28.6 percent, and Happ is attempting 12.3 shots per game compared to just 8.2 in non-conference play.
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It’s evident how much Wisconsin is relying on his offense more in conference play despite his limited scoring arsenal that includes shooting just 50.5 percent from the free throw line. Wisconsin wouldn’t be able to if Happ wasn’t a smart playmaker that knows when to shoot but can also pass it out of the high post or in the paint.
His free throw shooting is evidence to why Happ doesn’t attempt midrange shots. It’s one of his only weaknesses and forces Wisconsin to keep him on the bench late in games so teams don’t intentionally foul him.
While Hack-a-Happ has yet to happen, it’s definitely an option for opposing teams. Happ is not as inefficient as Andre Drummond or DeAndre Jordan were in college, but he’s close, and 50.5 percent is far from a sure thing either way.
Even though Happ doesn’t always play both ways late in games, his defense still makes him arguably the most valuable player on the floor. He averages 9.3 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.1 blocks per games this season and 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per game in the Big Ten.
Happ is the only player in the nation to average at least nine rebounds, two steals and a block per game this season. Those numbers haven’t been duplicated since Nerlens Noel and Andre Roberson in 2012-13. It’s why many, including ESPN analyst Jay Bilas, believe Happ is the National Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner.
Wisconsin's Ethan Happ is the best defender I've seen all season. To this point, he's the leader for National Defensive Player of the Year.
— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) February 6, 2017
Plus, Iowa’s Nicholas Baer is the only other forward ranking inside the top 15 in steals per game in the conference, as well as Happ being the only player top 10 in rebounds, steals and blocks per game this season. It shows how versatile his defensive game is at 6’10” and why Wisconsin’s scoring defense leads the Big Ten and is fourth in the nation.
Many could think that grabbing 9.3 rebounds per game and blocking 1.1 shots per game is due the amount of time he spends in the paint. It surely helps him gain positioning on offense, as he averages 3.1 offensive rebounds per game, but Happ’s defense is far more than hovering in the paint or being tall and lengthy.
Happ is quick enough to step outside of the paint and still be a solid perimeter defender. His quickness and movement is best captured when he intercepts a pass and leads Wisconsin’s fastbreak, which also highlights his underrated ball-handling. Having long arms helps, but Happ plays the passing lanes extremely well and has great instincts, too.
Happ ranking third in defensive box plus/minus and leading the nation in defensive win shares and total box plus/minus is telling of how valuable his defensive game is and how it’s more than just simply being tall. In fact, Happ is the only forward in the top five of win shares.
Wisconsin’s last game against Nebraska on Thursday night is a perfect example of how valuable Happ is, even when he isn’t scoring 20+ points. Nebraska did a good job forcing the ball out of his hands and not letting him establish position down low. It led to just eight points on the night for Happ, but also 14 rebounds, one steal and one block.
It was far from his best game, but in the last five seconds of overtime, Happ recorded a block, defensive rebound and knocked the ball out of Michael Jacobson‘s hands before Nebraska could attempt a desperation heave down 70-69. If he didn’t make both plays, Wisconsin could have been on the outside of the top 10 next week.
Here's Ethan Happ's highlight package for National Defensive Player of the Year. These are Nebraska's final two posssessions tonight. pic.twitter.com/ziPsWRmg1W
— Mike McCurry (@Mike_McCurry16) February 10, 2017
Happ made two of the best defensive plays of the game without fouling, too, granted he had four fouls in the game. Although, only Nicholas Baer and D.J. Wilson average fewer fouls per game than Happ’s 2.3 among the top 10 shot blockers in the Big Ten.
Besides, Happ has only fouled out once this season and has five other games with four fouls. Although, it hasn’t impacted his play. He is averaging 17.7 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.7 steals and 1.5 blocks per game when recording at least four fouls. It includes his season-high of points, rebounds and blocks.
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While being in foul trouble is not ideal, part of what makes Happ a great defender and rebounder is that he knows how to play with fouls and doesn’t commit frustration fouls. It showed against Nebraska as he picked up his fourth final with 43 seconds left in overtime but still had a couple of huge plays to close out the game.
According to CBS Sports, Ethan Happ is the 17th best prospect in this year’s draft if he comes out. If he stays at Wisconsin for another year or two and develops even a mediocre mid-range game, he’d be a sure-fire top 10 pick.
Happ’s game doesn’t offer an exciting highlight reel, which may have led to him being overlooked in the draft process at this point, but he’s one of the most fundamentally sound players in the nation. He simply knows how to play basketball well on both ends, and it’s led to his rise to stardom over the past couple of months.
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The Big Ten named Nigel Hayes their preseason Player of the Year, but it will be Ethan Happ carrying Wisconsin come March.