Where Are They Now? The 2015 National Champion Runner-Up Badgers

With the NCAA championship game coming up, let's take a look at some of the Badgers who were the last for Bucky to play in one. Wisconsin made the National Championship in 2015, their first in 74 years, but fell to the Duke Blue Devils 63-68. Still, it was an incredible run and will go down as one of the best Badger teams ever. So what happened to this group of players after the confetti fell 9 years ago?

Frank Kaminsky

The talented big man was drafted 9th overall by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2015 draft. He had a solid stint there, putting up a career high 11.7 points per game in his 2nd year. He then bounced around a few different NBA teams as a rotation player, and last year made the jump to the EuroLeague. He currently plays in Serbia and averaged about nine points and three boards a game this season. Kaminsky recently married ESPN reporter, Ashley Brewer.

Sam Dekker

Dekker was selected with the 18th overall pick in the 2015 draft by the Houston Rockets. Like his former teammate Kaminsky, he also set career-highs in his 2nd season, averaging 6.5 points per game. He played for a couple other NBA teams before taking his talents overseas. In 2023, he was the highest scorer and MVP of the British Basketball League. And also like Kaminsky, (this is getting eerie) he married an ESPN reporter - daughter of legendary sportscaster Kevin Harlan, Olivia Harlan.

Nigel Hayes

Hayes, who now goes by Nigel Hayes-Davis after changing it in 2021 to honor his stepfather, remained at Wisconsin for two more years before going undrafted in 2017. He had a short run on a few teams in the NBA but found his stride playing overseas. In fact, just this year on March 29, Hayes-Davis broke the all-time EuroLeague scoring record, dropping 50 points in a game against Alba Berlin.

Bronson Koenig

Koenig played for the Badgers for two more seasons, increasing his scoring each year. He went undrafted and played some time in the NBA G-League and in Europe.

Traevon Jackson

Jackson went undrafted in the 2015 draft and had a short pro career.

Josh Gasser

Gasser also went undrafted and had brief pro career. He started a family and still remains active in the Madison area, running youth basketball camps.