Badgers keep it light, tight

Wisconsin has Frank the Tank and Captain America, plus Nigel Hayes and his adorable obsession for stenography.

The fun-loving Badgers might be the most tightknit team at the Final Four.

But once coach Bo Ryan whistles practice into session, it’s all business for the Badgers.

“The Tank” refers to Frank Kaminsky, the player of the year candidate who leads Wisconsin’s versatile frontcourt that also includes Hayes and Sam Dekker. Captain Josh Gasser is the take-charge defensive sparkplug on the perimeter.

The chemistry has developed over two seasons growing into one of the best teams in the country. Wisconsin has returned to the national semifinals with largely the same roster.

Kaminsky and Hayes are the lead jokesters. Instead of stifling personalities, Ryan says he lets guys feed off each other and enjoy themselves. matchup against Duke shooting 63.2 percent on free throws. Only one team in the last four decades has won the NCAA tournament while being this bad at foul shots.

The best news for Michigan State might be that its semifinal opponent has issues of its own. Jahlil Okafor, Duke’s leading scorer, shoots only 51 percent at the line — so that game may be decided by which struggling free-throw shooters produce under pressure.

There will be some good foul shooters at the Final Four. Several of them play for Wisconsin, which ranks 11th in the country at 76.4 percent. Kentucky is shooting a solid 72.5 percent. best in March, a big reason why the Blue Devils are back in the Final Four for the 12th time under Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski with a roster of just eight scholarship players.

Krzyzewski says Winslow has been an athlete and competitor “who is becoming an exceptional basketball player.” 10, with four more coming this year.

The Kentucky coach spends large chunks of his time at the NCAA Tournament answering questions about one-and-done, and what that trend growing everywhere, but most prevalent at his program means for college basketball and its players.

He makes no apologies, and rattles off the facts as he sees them almost as quickly as the stats about his team’s academic achievements.

“These kids have a genius,” Calipari said Thursday.

That genius could lead to their making more than $100 million playing basketball, an amount that has grown considerably over the last 20 years.