by Brian Abate, Chris DiGeronimo and Gianluca Milea
“We’re all alright! We’re all alright! … HELLO WISCONSIN!” - That '70s Show [Theme Song]
Many greats have dawned the Wisconsin red. 42 Badgers have been drafted, three have been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, and 1 player is currently on an NBA roster.
Brevin Pritzl hopes to perhaps one day be the reason those numbers increase.
Pritzl put together a stellar career over the course of his five years at Wisconsin. After cementing himself as a high school standout and becoming the all-time leading scorer in De Pere High School history, Pritzl took his talents to the Kohl Center. During his time at Wisconsin, Pritzl was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, and notably led the Big Ten in 3-point FG percentage during conference play when he shot 53.5% during the 2018-19 season.
On this edition of Scrambling we dive into the life of the Wisconsin basketball legend. Pritzl breaks down everything from his NCAA successes, to his next journey in Serbia. Although Brevin Pritzl’s NCAA career abruptly came to an end, he still has much left to accomplish and will soon resume playing the “game he loves”.
Q: Growing up in Wisconsin, was the plan always to become a Badger? Wisconsin had a lot of success in the NCAA tournament during your upbringing and high school days. Who was your favorite Wisconsin player and who was your biggest influence in the decision to attend the University?
A: My favorite players growing up were Tuck [Alando Tucker] and Ben Brust. My biggest influence in my decision came from my fiancé as we both were able to get into UW. My plan was just to play basketball as long as I could, never knew where it would take me.
Q: You led the Big Ten in 3-point percentage during 2018-19 conference play, was that a goal of yours going into the season, or was that just a product of your hard work?
A: Leading the conference in three point shooting kinda just happened. I just tried to come into every game as ready as possible. I didn’t know how many shots I would get so I just tried to be as ready as possible.
Q: You were a 3x Academic All-Big Ten honoree during your career, what did that honor mean to you as a student athlete?
A: Getting academic All-Big Ten meant a lot because it’s just another product of my hard work in the classroom and it’s just something to look back on and be proud of.
Q: The Big Ten is widely considered one of the NCAA’s toughest conferences. What has it been like playing in the Big Ten and how has it challenged you to grow as a player and person?
A: As a player playing in the Big Ten just made me realize how hard you have to work to be successful. Every game anyone can beat anyone so you have to be ready to perform every day. It’s just helped me really focus on preparing and living in the moment.
Q: Do you have a favorite game or moment from your time at Wisconsin?
A: My favorite moment would probably be beating Purdue on frank night or beating Michigan State at home.
Q: You’ve had some world class teammates during your collegiate career, which teammate did you feel you had the best chemistry with and how did that help improve your rapport on the court?
A: I think I had great chemistry with many of my teammates because I tried to be easy to play with. Playing without the back and just helping anyone any way I can.
Q: How difficult was it to end your college career the way that it did? Can you walk us through how you found out that the conference and NCAA tournaments were cancelled and that you would have to say goodbye to college basketball so abruptly?
A: It was hard to see the season end so abruptly but we were able to go out winning 8 games and as champions so that’s something that I will always be able to look back on
Q: You’ve had an outstanding college career at Wisconsin. What are your future plans? Do you expect to play basketball professionally or do you have other goals in mind?
A: I’m currently signed with a team in Serbia and am looking forward to getting out there in the next month or so, so I can continue to play the game I love.
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