Kaminsky knows Gard well to vouch for him. Gard was the Badgers' associate head coach under Bo Ryan when Kaminsky starred at UW for four years (2011-15). And Kaminsky also knows a thing or two about national awards. He was a consensus national player of the year in the 2014-15 season when he led the Badgers to the national title game.

Wisconsin basketball notched a season-defining win over Purdue on Saturday afternoon. It did so with a significant boost from an unlikely contributor

The Wisconsin men showed they are a mentally tough unit fit for a long postseason run this March on Saturday. After the ejection of key reserve Kamari McGee to a questionable Flagarant Two call late in the first half at Purdue,