Former Badger leads team to Euro League title, earns MVP honors

There is a new basketball champion in the Euro League; the Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul has taken the title for the second time in league history, defeating AS Monaco 81-70. It feels like it may not be relevant at all to a Wisconsin Badger site, but it is significantly relevant because one of our old friends and former players, Nigel Hayes-Davis, is on the champion team.

Not only is he a Euro League champion, but he was also voted the MVP of the Euro League Final Four. Hayes-Davis scored 23 points and nine rebounds, literally flying around the floor to bring his team to victory.

Nigel Hayes-Davis has won the MVP after helping Fenerbahce win the Euro League Championship

Nigel Hayes-Davis was one of the top scorers all season in the Euro League, averaging over 16 points a game, and was known as a spark for his team. He led the way with hustle and all-out effort, and this championship game showcased that. Early in the game, the Euro League's social media account sent a video of Hayes-Davis diving for a ball to save it from going out of bounds.

Nigel Hayes-Davis played for the Wisconsin Badgers from 2013-2017 and was part of the Wisconsin team that went to the National Championship. He helped the Badgers secure an NCAA Tournament birth in every season he was in Madison. He knows what it means to make tournament runs. He also knows what it means to come up just short; he wasn't going to let it happen again with this team.

He went undrafted in the 2017 NBA Draft and bounced around the NBA as an undrafted free agent and a G-league player for all of 2018. He finally signed a contract to play overseas at the end of 2018. He has been there ever since, becoming a star player in the league and now earning the highest Euro League trophy for his team and the highest individual honor for himself.