Senior guards Trevon Hughes and Jason Bohannon will lace ‘em up and run out onto the floor of the Kohl Center for the final time when the Badgers face Iowa Wednesday on Senior Night.
Players and coaches try to focus on the task at hand, but with the team facing a 4-12 (10-19 overall) Hawkeyes squad, some of the concentration will shift to the team's two seniors.
As Bohannon gears up for his final home game as a Badger, he reflected on his time at Wisconsin and had nothing but good things to say about his experience.
""I wouldn't change anything,"" Bohannon said. ""I've been here for four years and done a lot of great things. Every time there was something negative it's turned into a positive for us.""
Bohannon and Hughes have been a part of a UW squad that has qualified for the NCAA Tournament their first three years and won a Big Ten Championship in 2008.
Now the two upperclassmen are the lone seniors on the men's basketball team, and Bohannon said he has used that understanding to help his teammates.
""You have more experience than anyone else on the floor,"" Bohannon said. ""And if you feel like you should do something somewhere, you might as well speak up.""
The seniors' teammates have appreciated Hughes and Bohannon's time as Badgers and the guidance they have provided. Junior forward Keaton Nankivil said the two are not the loudest guys on the team, but still two players he looks up to.
""They've done such a great job of leading our team this year. [Hughes] has played a very steady point, [Bohannon] just quietly does his thing,"" Nankivil said. ""A lot of it's lead by example. They're not vocal, get-in-your face people, but you can always count on them to set an example, play hard, do the right things, and so far it's taken us a long way.""
No matter how hard Wisconsin may want to look at tonight's contest as just another game, associate head coach Greg Gard said he knows there is a different sense on Senior Night.
""There's always the emotion of it,"" Gard said. ""I'm sure it's special for them, and I know from a coaching standpoint it's always emotional. It's the last time you reflect on what they've done and how much they've benefited from being here and how much they've helped you and how you've seen them grow. I think that's the neatest thing.""
After the pre-game ceremony, Hughes and Bohannon will have to collect their emotions and manage to play a composed game against Iowa, something Gard said he believes they can do.
""[Past seniors] always have really handled it pretty well. They understand that this is just another phase,"" Gard said. ""Once the ball gets tipped up and we get going a little bit, then we can just play.""
Once the contest does end, Hughes and Bohannon will never step into the Kohl Center to play in a game for the Badgers again, and then it will be time to completely reflect on their careers. Bohannon said, when looking back at his time at UW, he'll remember multiple parts of the surrounding experience that made his time here special.
""Fans, teammates, coaching staff, everything,"" Bohannon said. ""You can't really label one thing as being the best thing, it's the combination of everything that makes it great.""
