The Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team got a big boost for their 2018-2019 season Wednesday when forward Ethan Happ announced he will return to UW for his senior season and forgo the NBA Draft.

Happ tested the draft waters after a strong redshirt junior season, wherein he led the Badgers in points (17.9 per game), rebounds (8.0), assists (3.7), steals (1.5) and blocks (1.1). The Badgers finished the year with a 15-18 record and missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998, but Happ finished the year as a First-Team All-Big Ten selection.

Happ declared for the NBA draft in early April but did not hire an agent, and had until May 30th to withdraw his name and return to school. The 6-foot-10 forward was not invited to the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, but worked out with several teams before making his final decision.

Happ's return will help the Badgers as they try to avoid missing the NCAA tournament for two years in a row. The team's top eight scorers are now projected to return in 2018-19, and the return of guards D'Mitrik Trice and Kobe King from season-ending injuries should help the Badgers take some of the pressure off of Happ, who was a one-man offense at times for UW last year.

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John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.