Sophomore walk-on Isaac Lindsey fulfilled the dreams of countless Madison teens Monday when the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team announced on Twitter he was awarded the final scholarship head coach Greg Gard and the Badgers had to offer.
Lindsey, a native of Mineral Point, Wisconsin, and the fifth-ranked prospect in the state coming out of high school, first came to the Badgers as a walk-on transfer after a year at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
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For many Wisconsin basketball fans, Lindsey may be a niche character who is rarely seen at the scorer’s table. Lindsey has shone in practice as the anchor for the white pinnies, where he often takes charge of offense alongside Carter Gilmore.
In multiple interviews, Gard preached culture and the power of a team community, and Lindsey imparts this value in the way he plays the game. This culture permeates through the whole Badger squad, something freshman Connor Essegian spoke to.
“The culture, the people that drew me in … the people made me feel like I was part of the team and I wasn’t even committed yet,” Essegian said.
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With a Big Ten schedule including three AP preseason top-ten teams all boasting NBA-level talent and no Badgers showing up on any early draft boards, their success will have to rely on sticking with their identity. For years, the team has stuck close to home, looking not for the most talented player but the best piece to the great puzzle Gard and his staff lay out each year.
The video showing Lindsey receiving the news of his scholarship has him smiling, but he stays — for the most part — cool, calm and collected, dapping up his teammates, but bringing it in quickly. That reaction has always been his style — just there to play ball and compete, whether in the Kohl Center or Nicholas Johnson Pavilion.