NBA stars from the ’80s and ’90s, such as Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, played a pivotal role in helping the game go global. Former Federation Internationale de Basketball Amateur stars like Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic are considered franchise cornerstones as they’ve helped to encourage young players all over Europe to pursue the dream of making it to the NBA.
One European players with NBA aspirations happens to be on this year’s Badgers basketball squad. Coming out of high school, Markus Ilver was a three-star forward and ranked as the No. 28 forward in the nation. Though his high school senior season was cut short due to COVID-19 restrictions, Ilver still had a chance to showcase his skills when he represented Estonia at the 2020 Baltic Sea Basketball Cup. He showed out, averaging 15 points and six rebounds per game and earning MVP honors.
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Ilver’s terrific play overseas helped him earn a spot on Greg Gard’s squad for the 2021-2022 season. Appearing in only two games and averaging a mere 0.6 points and 0.5 rebounds, Ilver barely saw the court during this first year. Over the summer, however, he helped Estonia to finish in third-place at the FIBA U20 European Championship in Tbilisi, where he averaged 8.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists.
The European game differs from leagues in the states, and its rules make it difficult for some of the best players at the collegiate level to catch a rhythm.
For starters, the European game is much faster, with a 24 second shot clock compared to 30 second shot clock in the NCAA. Also, the European court is smaller, measuring 92 by 49 feet compared to 94 by 50 feet at the collegiate level. Both games pride themselves on defense, but the European game tends to be much more physical. The most crucial difference is that Europe lacks a 3-second violation, meaning opposing bigs can station themselves in the paint for as long as they want. As a result, this crowds the lane making it more difficult to score.
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The Badgers are already stacked at Ilver’s position at small forward, with crowd favorites like Carter Gilmore and Tyler Wahl. But Ilver has had the opportunity to showcase his skills at FIBA tournaments. When given the chance, the sophomore has the ability to make a positive impact on both ends of the floor for the badgers.
Fans will find out this 2022 season if Coach Gard pulls the trigger on the European project.
