BUFFALO, N.Y. — After missing the final two games of the Big Ten Tournament due to multiple deaths in his family, sophomore swingman Khalil Iverson returned to the floor in style Thursday night.
Literally. Iverson came out against the Hokies wearing a mismatching pair of socks. One was red with two navy blue stripes. The other was dark blue with a series of thin blue stripes up-and-down his ankle.
But Iverson made a statement Thursday night with more than just his fashion choice. The sophomore swingman finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, providing the No. 8 Badgers (25-9) with a spark that spurred UW to victory over the No. 9 Hokies (22-11).
“He was phenomenal, played with great energy,” redshirt senior guard Zak Showalter said. “He had a hell of a week and for him to come in here and bring that energy off the bench and just make plays that a lot of guys on this team can’t make and really pick us up. He was a huge reason why we won today.”
Iverson returned home to Ohio last Friday after learning that two of his cousins had been shot to death in Columbus, Ohio.
It wasn’t the first time he had to deal with tragedy in his life though. When Iverson was a senior in high school, his father died of a heart attack.
“It’s really phenomenal to see a young man mature before your eyes,” assistant coach Howard Moore said. “Adversity can turn into good fortune and to see a young man mature like that tonight was amazing.”
Iverson played 21 minutes Thursday night, his most since Wisconsin’s loss to Michigan in mid-February.
When redshirt sophomore forward Ethan Happ went to the bench midway through the first half due to foul trouble, Iverson picked up his slack. In the second half, after Showalter fouled out with just under six minutes to play, it was again Iverson who stepped up on both ends of the floor.
Saturday, when the Badgers face off against No. 1 overall seed Villanova, Iverson hopes to impact the game in a similar fashion.
His socks, though, might look a little bit different.
“That’s just one set,” Iverson said. “I might have something in store for Saturday.”
