In Likely His Final Home Game, D'Mitrik Trice Pushes Through Taxing Season

MADISON, Wis. – It was moments after another winnable game slipped away due to poor shooting by the Wisconsin men’s basketball team and the Kohl Center was a shell of itself. Save for media members finishing up their reports on Iowa’s 77-62 victory over Wisconsin and the hum of the building’s appliances, the space was dead quiet: perfect for D’Mitrik Trice to work through some problems.

With a member of the team’s support staff rebounding, Trice worked around the floor shooting 3-pointers, mid-range jumpers, and attempts off the dribble. He was alone in his thoughts, which has been a common occurrence for Trice and his teammates during a college basketball season where postponed games, isolation and no fans in the stands has become normal amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s been very frustrating and very taxing, and I know it’s been like that for all the guys,” D’Mitrik’s father, Travis Trice Sr., said. “We’re relatively close to the other guys on the team, and the families are really close, but it gets hard. People don’t understand when they talk about mental strength and mental frustration, these young men are feeling it, and we’re feeling it as parents.”

Trice Sr. is more than just a basketball father. He’s coached the varsity girls team at Wayne High School in Ohio for the past four seasons, a team that has four Division-1 players on it this year. Before that he flipped between coaching the boys and girls teams so he could participate with each of his five kids, so he knows the sacrifices being made from both sides of the coin.

Before this season, Trice Sr. and his wife would attend nearly all Wisconsin home and road games. If they couldn’t make it, they would make sure siblings, grandparents, extended family or friends would be there for support. The drive from Huber Heights, Ohio, to Madison is roughly 6 hours, 30 minutes and would rarely include an overnight hotel stay. After driving up for the game and spending time with their son postgame, the pair would drive home through the darkness.

“We’d get back home at seven o’clock in the morning,” Trice Sr. said, “and do whatever we had to do to get rested for work the next day.”

Compare that to this season; he hasn’t seen his son in person since Wisconsin’s Christmas Day win over Michigan State. Adding to the emotional heartstrings is the entire seven-member Trice family hunkered down together during quarantine, giving one a workout buddy and emotional support.

“There’s all this separation and there’s a lot of anxiety for a lot of people,” Trice Sr. said. “I know it’s tough for fans. Our guys haven’t been playing their best basketball and people think because they are an older, experienced group that everything should be flowing. You can’t put a number on how difficult this is for people to function … The difference between playing in a scrimmage and in a real game is night and day. You miss all that excitement and the adrenaline from the crowd pushes you over the edge.”

Everyone adjusts differently, evident in the Badgers’ struggles since late December. UW (16-8, 10-7 Big Ten) hasn’t won more than two straight Big Ten games all season. Wisconsin’s shooting percentages and averages are down slightly compared to last season, but considering the Badgers won nine Big Ten games by single digits and by five points or fewer in 2019-20, those few missing points mean a lot.

To his credit, D’Mitrik is one of a few players who have taken a step forward. He’s increased his scoring average from 9.6 points per game to a team-best 13.5 points per contest. He’s shooting 41.2 percent from the floor (a career-best), has surpassed last year’s steals total in fewer games, and has maintained a 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio.

“I think he’s handled it very, very well,” Trice Sr. said. “We still talk every single day over FaceTime. I don’t think there’s any stress that you would notice by looking at him, but I do think that the internal beat is something that you can’t put a gauge on. You think you’re fine and maybe your body doesn’t respond and mentally it doesn’t respond the way you want it to. I think he sounds great, sounds confident.

“They lost their way there, there’s no doubt about that, but I think they are putting some things together."

Although the NCAA is not counting the 2020-21 season against player’s eligibility, Saturday’s home game against No.5 Illinois will likely be the last for Trice. Not only is he a fifth-year senior, the point guard spent a year at IMG Academy after high school to put the focus on his basketball career. That decision worked with Wisconsin having noticed him and successfully recruit him, but it added another year of basketball to his 24-year-old legs.

While the family hasn’t had discussions on the topic, Trice Sr. called D’Mitrik returning to Wisconsin “highly unlikely.”

“I don’t want to speak for him because we haven’t had that conversation, but he’s going to be given an opportunity to start a professional career,” Trice Sr. said. “You only have so many earning years left. He’s accomplished a lot, on top of multiple all-time lists (top 20 in scoring, top 10 in minutes, top five in 3-point field goals, top four in assists), won a Big Ten championship, but I told him to focus on where his feet are at. There’s no reason to stress about it now, and he’s not.”

Although there will be no fans in the stands, Trice and his fellow seniors will still be honored by Wisconsin before tip off. And for the first time since December’s game against Nebraska, Trice will have a cheering section that will consist of his mom and his two sisters. Trice Sr. won’t be there because of his team’s game in the district finals.

There will still be time for their pregame prayer ritual prior to warmups, thankful that a pandemic hasn’t taken away their love of basketball.

“The scary part is what if we didn’t have a season? What if we didn’t have an opportunity to play?” Trice Sr. said. “They are missing out on a lot. They miss hitting a big shot and having the crowd go crazy, but they are getting the opportunity to play on TV, have a senior season. You always have to look at the cup being half full, and I am so grateful he’s been able to play.”