One of the most promising, young teams in the NBA will be taking the court of a team that made it to back-to-back Final Fours, right here on the University of Wisconsin campus.
At a news conference on the floor of the Kohl Center Monday afternoon, Wisconsin men’s basketball head coach Bo Ryan, UW athletics director Barry Alvarez, Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd, Bucks general manager John Hammond and Jon McGlocklin, a member of the Bucks’ television broadcast team, announced that the Milwaukee Bucks will play a preseason game on Oct. 20 at the Kohl Center against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Bucks will also hold a week of training camp at Wisconsin’s practice facility, the Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion, for four days from Sep. 29 through Oct. 2. One of the practices will be open to the public.
Bucks to hold preseason game & 2015 Training Camp at the Kohl Center on the @UWMadison campus http://t.co/b0lcdgBcDg pic.twitter.com/Liw6eeOfJT
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) July 6, 2015
It will be the first time that the Bucks have come to Madison since the 1999 season when they hosted the Dallas Mavericks at the Kohl Center in October for a preseason game.
Kidd, who is entering his second season as head coach of the Bucks, spearheaded the idea. He called Wisconsin’s facilities “world-class” and added how this will benefit both Wisconsin and his team.
“This [facility] is as good as it gets in the country,” Kidd said. “So, for us to be able to use this time and stay at Wisconsin, and also to be able to display some of the greatest players in the world here on this campus, I think is going to be a thrill for the University of Wisconsin but also for our young men who could probably still be in college.”
After back-to-back Final Four runs, Ryan and the 2015-16 Wisconsin basketball team will get the unique opportunity of working in close proximity to a professional team when the Bucks arrive in Madison. And, according to Ryan, there’s a lot that his players will be able to take away from that.
“For us to be able to be the recipient of you and your willingness to have the team come here, I’m like a kid in a candy store because our players get the chance to see a first-class outfit like yours,” Ryan said speaking to Kidd.
Bo Ryan excited about the opportunity to have his players watch the @Bucks during training camp and pre-season game. pic.twitter.com/KqwKBFbrVP
— Wisconsin Badgers (@UWBadgers) July 6, 2015
The Bucks have played both regular season and preseason games in Madison, dating back to their first season in 1968-69.
During Milwaukee’s lone championship season in 1971, the team played three playoff games at the UW Field House against the Golden State Warriors. In the 1960s and ’70s, the Bucks played a total of 25 regular season games, four more playoff games and five preseason games in Madison.
Milwaukee played five more preseason games in Madison during the 1980’s and 1990’s but haven’t returned since 1999.
And 16 years later, the support the state has shown for UW athletics coupled with the success of the basketball team the past two seasons, is something Hammond wants to see replicated with the Milwaukee Bucks.
“The support that Madison and the entire state of Wisconsin gives the Badgers for all of their sports is absolutely amazing,” Hammond said. “The job that Barry has done with this whole athletic program is something that we’re trying to emulate, and what Bo has done with the basketball program in particular. We’re trying to build to a championship level that they’ve been at the last few years. That’s our goal.”
With a deal for a new arena to be built in downtown Milwaukee still in the works, the Bucks are working to better spread their reach across the state. McGlocklin said he thinks coming back and spending significant time in Madison should help that cause.
“This Bucks organization certainly is interested in reestablishing with UW and Madison,” McGlocklin said. “And of course, the Milwaukee Bucks are a state team. They’re not just the Milwaukee Bucks, they’re Wisconsin’s team. So, we look forward to coming here.”
The preseason game against the Timberwolves will tip-off on Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. Tickets will go on sale on Wednesday, Aug. 5 at 8:30 a.m.
Ticket prices range from $18 to $44. UW-Madison students can purchase up to two tickets in the $18 or $23 price levels for $13 each. They can be purchased at UWBadgers.com, by calling 1-800-GO-BADGERS, or in-person at the Wisconsin ticket office near Gate 1 of Camp Randall Stadium.
Register NOW for ticket info when the Bucks return to Madison in the fall http://t.co/OTAjOhjBzW pic.twitter.com/McM63Wcfgw
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) July 6, 2015
