Badgers, Golden Eagles shut out in draft

None of the 10 players with Wisconsin ties who had pre-draft workouts with the Milwaukee Bucks, among other teams, were chosen in the NBA draft Thursday night. 

The list includes former Badgers Nigel Hayes, Bronson Koenig, Vitto Brown and Zak Showalter and former Golden Eagles Katin Reinhardt, Jujuan Johnson and Luke Fischer.

The last time no players from Wisconsin or Marquette were drafted was in 2014.

The list also includes the Iowa State tandem of Deonte Burton, the Milwaukee Vincent product who played at Marquette for two seasons before transferring to the Cyclones, and Matt Thomas of Onalaska. Ty Sabin, who played at Waukesha Catholic Memorial and Ripon College, also had a draft workout with the Bucks.

Koenig's essay titled "Dear NBA GMs" was published in The Players' Tribune on the morning of the NBA draft. In it, he made the case that he was the best pure shooter in this year's draft class. "I know my game is NBA-ready," he wrote. "Now I just need a GM to recognize it."

Hayes considered leaving for the NBA after his junior year but stayed in school and helped the Badgers to a fourth straight NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance. After his pre-draft workout with the Bucks, Hayes said, "I believe in my work ethic, my ability to get better, the skills and intelligence I have as a basketball player that's always helped me."

Any of the players could be invited to play in the NBA Summer League and then earn an invitation to a team's training camp.