With 0.4 seconds left on the clock and the regular-season finale with Illinois tied at 59, Devin Harris stepped up to the free throw line at the Kohl Center and buried his foul shot, giving Wisconsin the 2002-’03 Big Ten Championship.
A few months earlier, in late November of 2002, Jim Leonhard snagged two interceptions against Minnesota, earning Wisconsin a 49-31 victory, bowl eligibility and returning Paul Bunyan’s Axe to Madison.
Both Harris and Leonhard left a deep mark on their respective teams, as they were integral parts of a transition period between mediocrity and dominance for both the basketball and football programs. Their contributions earned them a very deserved invitation to the UW Athletic Hall of Fame induction last Friday, Sept. 11 at Union South.
“The fact that we took the program from kind of an unknown and made it—built a foundation to make it a powerhouse,” Harris said of his contributions as a Badger. “Just the success we had early on, winning the conference championships, making it to the Sweet 16, things that we haven’t done in a while. I hang my head on a lot of that.”
Leonhard’s reflection on his time in Madison is understandably, if not eerily, similar.
“The first couple years were not as successful as we wanted them to be,” Leonhard said. “To finish it in 2004 the way we did, kind of lay the foundation and get nine wins. There hasn’t been very many years after that where they haven’t had nine wins, so to see where this program’s went in the last 10 years, it’s meant a lot to me and my teammates.”
Harris came to Madison two years after head coach Dick Bennett took UW to the Final Four, which was an astounding accomplishment for a team that consistently strayed toward the mean. Another newcomer to the Kohl Center in fall 2001 was head coach Bo Ryan, a man who would shape Harris’ life over the next three seasons.
“I think the work ethic I learned here and the little teachings I’ve had from coach Ryan have allowed me to prolong my career,” Harris said. “I’m still playing today, I think he has a lot to do with that.”
Harris, who started in all 96 games of his Wisconsin career, carried the Badgers to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, including the Sweet 16 in the 2002-’03 season.
Leonhard’s value in Badger history is similar. After making the team as a walk-on in 2001, the safety quickly became the keystone of a Wisconsin defense that allowed just over 22 points per game during his tenure. He fell in love with Madison during his college years, and his roots have been planted in the city despite playing for five different franchises over his 10-year NFL career.
“We looked around, I’ve been fortunate to live in a lot of different cities, but there was nothing like this,” Leonhard said. “Just the energy in this city on a day-to-day basis, whether there’s anything happening or not, whether there’s a big event or it’s just another Thursday or Friday. The energy in this city is amazing with the university and it’s infectious. It’s something you don’t ever want to leave.”
In 2004, his senior season, Leonhard helped the Badgers to their first nine-win year since the start of the decade, and Wisconsin has now registered nine wins in eight of the 10 seasons since then.
Harris and Leonhard’s additions are important precursors to the success of the basketball and football programs today. The modern Wisconsin student may not realize it, but an era of the very average existed not that long ago. Harris and Leonhard are two key figures they have to thank for that break in history.
