Wisconsin’s Duje Dukan front-rimmed his first 3-point try Friday. He then was smothered on a drive and misfired on a jumper. He was pointless at halftime against Michigan, not the way he wanted his United Center return to go.
Dukan must have been thinking: Making baskets as a ball boy for the Bulls was way easier.
“I basically grew up in this building,” he said. “I’m so used to this atmosphere.”
It showed eight minutes into the second half, right when the Badgers needed a boost. Dukan swished a pair of 3-pointers a couple of minutes apart and sliced through the lane for a powerful slam, hanging on the rim long enough, perhaps, to merit consideration for a technical foul.
“That would have been,” Dukan said, “a bad way to end it.”
The Badgers, though, found a great way to end the game, outscoring Michigan 17-6 for a 71-60 victory to advance to the Big Ten tournament semifinals against Purdue.
Asked what he got from the victory, coach Bo Ryan replied: “We get to play another 40 minutes down here in Chicago in a great venue (before our) supporters. I brought a James Patterson novel hoping to stay here a few days.”
He wasn’t kidding. Ryan said later he plans to crack open “NYPD Red 3” on Friday night.
He secured an advance copy, so when he’s not watching game film he can delve into the tale of “a billionaire businessman … (whose) perfect life shatters one horrific night when he discovers the severed head of his chauffeur, stuffed in a bag marked, in blood, with his son’s initials.”
Even stranger than fiction was that height-deprived Michigan (16-16) had as many points as mighty Wisconsin (29-3) with six minutes to play.
Frank Kaminsky, the Big Ten Player of the Year, was benched after a second-half stretch in which he missed a contested layup and threw consecutive passes to Michigan players.
“I had to recuperate mentally,” Kaminsky said.
More Top Picks Best Ergonomic Office Chairs For Home Offices
With Big Frank riding the pine, Dukan nailed back-to-back 3s. Suddenly Dukan was reliving his glory days as a ball boy for the Bulls, for whom father Ivica has scouted international talent since 1992. (He was key in signing Nikola Mirotic, who said he’s a “big fan” of friend Duje.)
Dukan said he finally gave up the ball boy duties as a sophomore at Deerfield High School “when I realized I was taller than half the (players).”
Now a fifth-year senior listed at 6-foot-10, Dukan had a huge impact Friday, giving Wisconsin all eight of its bench points.
Dukan’s season-high of 14 points came at another local venue, Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena. But he hadn’t done much since that Jan. 4 game, going 1-for-15 on 3s during a rough 11-game stretch.
“Just missing shots,” he said. “There’s really no explanation for it. But I think I’ve found it now and hopefully it’s here to stay.”
Wisconsin might need him to make it back to the Final Four. Guard Traevon Jackson, icing his right foot after the game, said he would return to action only if he’s 100 percent.
“I don’t want to be out there at 90 and be thinking about it,” said Jackson, who broke a bone in the foot Jan. 11. “I want it to be completely ready.”
Coming off a 72-48 road demolition of Ohio State, the Badgers were not completely ready for a gritty Michigan team. They committed more turnovers (7-5) and let the Wolverines hit 51.9 percent from the field.
But they won.
Now Ryan can tackle that novel.
Twitter @TeddyGreenstein