With the Badgers' home win-streak on the line last year against Big Ten Champion Illinois, the Kohl Center home crowd started to get a lot of national attention. The Grateful Red began drawing comparison to the crowds at Duke, Connecticut and Kansas. Many players even credited the fans' intensity with their 11-point come-from-behind win against Michigan State last year. With every Alando Tucker slam and Greg Stiemsma swat, the Big Ten banners hanging from the rafters tremor with the vibration of the arena. Yet the place really goes berserk when a certain junior guard enters the game.
When the chants of 'Tanner Bronson' come roaring from the student section, you know the game is basically over. And when head coach Bo Ryan is kind enough to appease their request, the crowd goes wild anytime Bronson touches the ball, urging the junior to shoot.
However, Bronson is far from a sideshow. Generously listed at 5'11\, he has spent his life playing basketball and takes his game very seriously.
'Definitely after playing a year, you get a little more comfortable with ball handling and your shot and defensively you understand where you need to be more often,' the Glendale native said. 'It's fun to be out there.'
Bronson is no joke. He was a three year starter at Nicolet High School, led the Knights to a 19-3 record as a senior and was named honorable mention all-area by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Serving team manager his freshman year at Wisconsin, Bronson learned the ropes and got accustomed to practices. The next year, he was on the team, playing in 12 games and scoring his only points of the season against UNC Greensboro.
This year, though, things are different. While he might have been considered a gag by the fans before, there is simply no truth to that anymore. Bronson is no longer a team manager or a scarcely played walk-on. He is now playing on a scholarship, being awarded for his hard work.
'It is exciting. I worked hard last year and I was thankful that I had the opportunity there was a scholarship open this year,' Bronson said. 'I was fortunate to get it because it helps out my family a lot, putting me through school. I was happy for them.'
With the respect from his fellow teammates and coaches growing every year, something has also changed: his age. Now, at 20 years old and a junior, Bronson has the ability to be an educator and a leader on the Badgers.
Enter Devin Barry. Like Bronson, Barry also served as manager of the team prior to the season. But, unlike Bronson, he has jumped onto the team as a walk-on in his freshman year, impressing coaches with his enthusiasm and skill.
'They had me manage the team for a while and after getting comfortable with the program and knowing the time commitment and obligation that it requires,' Barry said. 'Eventually, after a couple weeks, they asked me to walk on before the season started and I was as excited as I could be.'
In Barry, Bronson sees someone who he can guide and help mature into a contributing member of the Badgers on the court.
'Devin was a great player out of high school and you try to tell him the ins and outs of the stuff you need to do everyday,' Bronson said.
In Bronson, Barry sees a little of himself.
'Tanner has definitely helped me out with stuff on the scout team, giving me little tips with angles on the court and defensive stuff like that,' Barry said. 'He has gone in the path where I am going and he is a help for me.'
And while it will be a long time before we see a Bronson to Barry ally-oop, maybe we'll hear some 'Devin Barry' chants from the Badger faithful. But that doesn't matter to either Barry nor Bronson. Being a member of the Badger ball club is an honor by itself, and a testament to their hard work.
'The experience itself,' Barry said, 'is enough to get out of it.'
