For red shirt freshman Andreas Helmigk, immigrating to the United States from his native Austria was a chance of a lifetime. It was Helmigk’s chance to further his developing talents as a basketball player and learn from some of the game’s greatest minds.

At 6-foot-9, 245 pounds, Helmigk was recruited by former Wisconsin head coach Dick Bennett to be the big bruising forward in the mold of Andy Kowske. After Bennett’s retirement, and the subsequent hiring of Bo Ryan, Helmigk, with scholarship in hand, came to Wisconsin wide-eyed and unfamiliar with the country he would now call home.

“I always wanted to come over to the States,” Helmigk said. “Here, basketball is life, basketball is awesome. In Austria, in Europe, it’s in a stage where it’s still developing. There, people aren’t really into it; it’s soccer, skiing and everything else.”

Looking to contribute immediately, Helmigk’s aspirations to play in his freshman season were dashed when he tore his ACL in a preseason practice in 2001. After coming down on his knee awkwardly, Helmigk hit the floor with screams of pain. Helmigk’s dreams would have to take a back seat as the Austrian was given a medical red shirt and had to rehabilitate his leg before he could get back out on the court.

“It was tough, especially coming from Austria and all,” Helmigk said. “I didn’t know a lot of people here. I really didn’t know anybody. It was actually a pretty tough time last year. But I got over it, practiced hard and lifted the whole year, and tried to come back, and I’m still working on coming back right.”

Helmigk took solace in the weight room while watching his teammates make a run to the top of the Big Ten and into the NCAA tournament. With few friends and little knowledge of his new country, Helmigk often felt out of place. Outside of the weight room, he found comfort and enjoyment at the movies.

“I love to watch movies,” Helmigk said. “My favorite is ‘Lord of the Rings.’ That’s far up there. Then there are the funny movies like Kingpin, Dumb & Dumber; the classics.”

After an entire year spent on adding bulk, the only extensive training his injury allowed, the added strength limited Helmigk’s mobility and athleticism upon his scheduled return from injury in 2002.

“My body changed a lot last year,” he said. “After I tore my ACL I was just lifting. My body became more about power and more strength, and now I’m getting back into quickness with strength and athleticism; finding the right balance.”

After a slow start to the 2002-03 season, Helmigk has crept into the Badgers rotation, providing some minutes of relief in the frontcourt. His comfort and competitiveness noticeably increase every time the self proclaimed “Proud Austrian” hits the floor.

“I’m getting more comfortable with my body,” he said. “My body is coming back and I’m still improving and still working on my game. I think I have a lot more steps in front of me.”

Before coming to the United States Helmigk had developed his basketball skills in various programs. He had played in a semi-pro league in Austria, which parlayed into selection to the Austrian national team.

Helmigk’s travels with the team have brought the 23-year-old all over the world, including some very exotic and interesting locations.

“[With the National team] in Europe I traveled around to pretty much every country,” Helmigk said. “I’ve even been to exotic places like North Korea.”

After averaging 11 points and six rebounds in limited action with the Worthersee Piraten of the first division Austrian league, Helmigk became quite a commodity as college scouts searched Europe for talent.

UW assistant coach Tony Bennett was informed of Helmigk’s talent on Wisconsin’s tour of Italy in 2000.

“Bennett talked with an Austrian coach, and he said I [was] supposed to be good,” Helmigk modestly stated. “One day Tony called me on my cell phone and told me ‘Hey, I’m Tony Bennett from Wisconsin basketball,’ and it just started. He called me everyday and he actually got me a scholarship. I was pretty surprised, just from a few tapes I sent him. No one actually went over [to Europe] to recruit me.”

Slowly and surely Helmigk regains comfort with his body as he looks to make an impact on the court. After a lonely year of heartbreak and unfamiliarity, Helmigk has found his place and looks to continue to get better.

“I love to play for our fans here,” he said. “That’s what I play for. I want to look back when I’m older and say I played here at Wisconsin. That’s awesome.”