Here’s how early entrants into the NBA draft have fared after leaving Wisconsin colleges
The Marquette men's basketball team finds itself in an unusual position with two players who finished the season mulling their NBA futures.
An asterisk may be required there, though. Oso Ighodaro and Tyler Kolek both have a remaining year of eligibility thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic that gave athletes an opportunity not to count the 2020-21 season against their allotment of four years, but both have been playing Division I college basketball for four years.
And both have declared they will enter this year's NBA draft.
The state of Wisconsin’s men's basketball teams seldom feature players who jump to the pros early, but there have been a few. Here’s how things turned out for them.
Olivier Maxence-Prosper, Marquette (2023)
You don’t have to go too far back in time to not only find the last Marquette player to leave early, but also the last Marquette player since 2016 to get drafted at all.
The Canadian power forward not only tested the waters as a junior, his stock rose dramatically in the buildup to the draft, and he was taken with the 24th overall pick in the first round by the Sacramento Kings, though he was quickly traded to the Dallas Mavericks.
In 40 games this season in Dallas, he averaged 8.4 minutes, 3.0 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. He doesn’t turn 22 until July 3, so there’s still plenty of room for O-Max to grow.
Johnny Davis, Wisconsin (2022)
Davis transformed from a promising freshman off the bench into a bona fide national player of the year contender as a sophomore, so much so that the La Crosse Central graduate was a slam dunk to submit his name for the NBA draft as a sophomore.
He was taken 10th overall by the Washington Wizards that year, and though he’s still looking to find a groove in the NBA (averaging 3.0 points in 12.3 minutes this season), he's still just 22 years old.
Davis won Big Ten Player of the year in 2022, joining Frank Kaminsky, Devin Harris and Alando Tucker as the only players from UW to achieve that standing (with the award dating to 1985).
Patrick Baldwin Jr., UW-Milwaukee (2022)
This was a fascinating situation: The Sussex Hamilton High School standout became one of the top recruits in the nation, but when he chose his college destination, he chose family and home. His father, Patrick Sr., happened to be head basketball coach at UW-Milwaukee, giving the Horizon League program its highest-profile recruit ever.
But Baldwin battled injuries and didn’t take the scene by storm, and the Panthers struggled, so much that Baldwin Sr. was fired after the season.
Baldwin Jr. fulfilled the expectation of “one-and-done” and jumped to the NBA, where he became the 28th pick in the draft by the Golden State Warriors. After an offseason trade to the Washington Wizards, he averaged 4.4 points in 13.0 minutes per game this season.
Henry Ellenson, Marquette (2016)
Rare is the early departure from Marquette or Wisconsin men’s basketball; even more rare is the player who went “one and done,” but here’s the second such example on our list. Rice Lake alumnus Henry Ellenson was just that special, a player who followed his older brother, Wally, to Marquette and stayed just one season (where he was named first-team all-Big East and the league freshman of the year) before becoming a first-round pick in the NBA.
The 6-10 big man was drafted 18th overall by the Detroit Pistons, though he played only a career 83 games in the league through the 2020-21 season. After stops with the Knicks, Nets and Raptors, he wound up playing professional basketball in Spain.
Sam Dekker, Wisconsin (2015)
One of the architects of back-to-back runs to the Final Four, Dekker declared after his junior season. The Sheboygan Lutheran standout had been Wisconsin basketball royalty since his high school playing days, and he twice earned second-team all-Big Ten. He was taken by the Houston Rockets with the 18th overall pick in 2015 and regularly saw the floor in 2017 and 2018, the latter with the Clippers.
But despite making a brief one-game comeback with the Raptors in 2022, Dekker has primarily played overseas, including this year with the London Lions. He was named the league’s MVP and won a championship in 2023.
Vander Blue, Marquette (2013)
After leading Marquette on a run to the Elite Eight in 2013, Blue elected to skip his senior year and enter his name in the NBA draft. He started 80 games at MU, averaging 9.3 points and 3.5 rebounds in his career, but had racked up 14.8 points and 3.2 rebounds in that junior season.
Blue, whose high-profile career arc began at Madison Memorial High School, when he switched his commitment from Wisconsin to Marquette, went undrafted that year and began his career in the NBA summer league, then in Israel before returning to the NBA development league. He ultimately made his NBA debut with the Celtics during the 2013-14 season and has 10 NBA games under his belt, including one start.
His wild journey has included stops in China, Italy, South America, Mexico and with the Wisconsin Herd, plus other G League teams. He also won a lawsuit after his career was interrupted when he was badly burned in a Dallas club by a CO2 sprayer.
Devin Harris, Wisconsin (2004)
The silky smooth guard from Wauwatosa East was named Big Ten Player of the Year in 2004 and the outstanding player in the Big Ten tournament. It became clear that he’d benefit from jumping to the pros, and he bcame the No. 5 overall pick by the Washington Wizards, then was traded to the Dallas Mavericks.
Thus began a 15-year NBA career, including one all-star appearance with the Nets in 2009. He finished with 985 career games and nearly 10,600 points.
Dwyane Wade, Marquette (2003)
Perhaps leaving early didn’t work out in the traditional sense for Ellenson or Blue. It worked out for this guy.
After a spectacular season in which Wade led Marquette to the Final Four, the Illinois native struck while the iron was hot and became the fifth overall pick by the Miami Heat. It was a loaded draft with future teammates LeBron James (No. 1) and Chris Bosh (No. 4) in the mix, along with Denver star Carmelo Anthony at No. 3.
Wade played 16 remarkable seasons in the NBA, making 13 all-star teams, winning three NBA scoring titles, making an all-NBA team eight times and, of course, winning three NBA championships, both with and without James in 2006 and 2013.
He was just added to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Rashard Griffith, Wisconsin (1995)
Griffith was a high-profile case, often portrayed as a malcontent in college who also wanted to support his parents in Chicago. He left after his sophomore year and was taken by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round (38th overall), but he spent his entire playing career overseas, winning championships in Italy, Romania, Turkey and Israel.
Oddly, for the hinted-at acrimony of his Badgers days, he returned to Wisconsin in 2017 and became a mentor for the UW men's basketball team, as well as a confidante for Jerell Moore, the son of Griffith's close friend Howard Moore, who has suffered serious health complications after a car accident that claimed the life of his wife and daughter.
Cory Blackwell, Wisconsin (1984)
As a junior, Blackwell became the third player in Big Ten history to lead the conference in scoring (19.3 points) and rebounds (8.7) per game, and he had previously stated he would be staying in school. But citing financial difficulties with his family, the Chicago native officially announced that May that he would be turning pro, and he was taken by the Seattle SuperSonics with the 28th overall pick (second round), averaging 3.4 points as a rookie in 60 games.
He spent one season in the NBA and played overseas thereafter for three years.
Doc Rivers, Marquette (1983)
Oh, you’ve heard of him, too? He’s the Milwaukee Bucks coach today, but his time in Milwaukee dates back to his days at Marquette, though he left early after his junior season, and he was taken 31st overall (second round) by the Atlanta Hawks that season.
It worked out: He played 13 NBA seasons, including an all-star campaign in 1988. His No. 31 jersey is retired by MU, and he happens to be one of the winningest coaches in NBA history.
Wes Matthews, Wisconsin (1980)
Matthews was taken with the 14th overall pick by Washington, though he spent only 45 games there and wound up with Atlanta, then won NBA championship rings with the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers in 1987 and 1988. He played in a total of 465 NBA games.
Matthews had famously gotten benched for the regular-season finale against Northwestern, a loss that possibly kept Wisconsin from a berth in the NCAA tournament. His son, Wesley Jr., became a high school star in Madison, was a standout at Marquette and has enjoyed a long NBA career.
Maurice Lucas, Marquette (1974)
After leading MU to the NCAA championship game in 1974, Lucas entered the NBA draft and was taken with the 14th overall pick by the Chicago Bulls, though Lucas chose the ABA and started his pro career in St. Louis.
He eventually became an ABA all-star in 1976, then joined Portland after the ABA-NBA merger, where he won the 1977 NBA title and scored 21 points per game in the playoffs. In all, he posted six all-star seasons between the NBA and ABA and received MVP votes in three different seasons. He played in 1,021 NBA and ABA games, averaging 14.6 points per game.
Larry McNeill, Marquette (1973)
It was an interesting season for MU basketball, which already had lost Racine St. Catherine alumnus Jim Chones during the regular season when he left midway through his senior season for the ABA. McNeill, after his junior season in which he averaged 17.6 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, entered his name for the NBA draft and was taken in the second round of the 1973 draft (25th overall pick).
He played in 297 NBA games, spending time with Kansas City, Golden State and others. He averaged 10.2 points per game in 1978, splitting time with two teams.
Jim Chones, Marquette (1972)
Chones was a trend-setter in 1972, leaving Marquette near the end of his junior season to pursue an ABA career after he averaged 20.6 points and 11.9 rebounds in the first 21 games. He was only the second player in NCAA history to leave school for professional basketball before his graduating year.
When he left, Marquette was undefeated and ranked No. 2 in the nation. MU finished the season losing two of its remaining four regular-season games and lost a second-round NCAA tournament game against Kentucky.
Chones signed a $1 million contract to play for the New York Nets of the ABA. Coach Al McGuire canonically encouraged Chones to go pro, and the money helped his family make ends meet shortly after the death of his father.
He wound up spending most of his career with Cleveland in the NBA, averaging 12.0 points and 8.2 rebounds in his career, which spanned 788 NBA and ABA games.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: How early NBA draft entrants have fared after leaving Wisconsin schools
