MADISON, Wis. – Isaac Lindsey was ready for the moment.
The University of Wisconsin sophomore guard had played just six collegiate minutes, none coming in the previous 10 games leading into the team’s contest against Illinois State on December 29. But when his No.10 was called, Lindsey had no qualms about squaring up to hit a 3-pointer for the Kohl Center faithful.
“Coaches always tell me to stay ready,” Lindsey said. “I never know when I’m going to get that opportunity. I got thrown in there against Illinois State, and I just had to be ready. I’m just a guy who will do whatever they need me to do.”
The action has been sparse for Lindsey in his first season with the program, the life of a young player trying to find his footing in the college game. Since that three-pointer, he’s played in two games for a grand total of 96 seconds and each of those seconds on the court has been a thrill.
“This is a dream come true for me,” Lindsey said, “to be here and be a part of this.”
A lot of that has to do with experience, something Lindsey doesn’t have much of after being plagued with injuries the last two seasons. He missed all but five games of his senior season at Mineral Point (Wis.) High because of a torn labrum and a right hip impingement.
He was never in danger of losing his scholarship to UNLV (the school he committed to prior to his senior year) because of the injury but imagine his surprise when he got to Las Vegas and those same hip injuries cropped up, only this time they affected the left hip.
Homesickness was never an issue during the rehabilitation process, as it does for plenty of student athletes. Lindsey said his parents visited him often and that he was fully prepared to compete this season for the Running Rebels.
Of course, that was before UNLV coach T.J. Otzelberger, who recruited Lindsey a both South Dakota State and UNLV, took the head coaching job at Iowa State after just two seasons in Vegas.
“The whole thing for me is Coach Otzelberger was leaving and I really didn’t have a connection at UNLV anymore,” Lindsey said. “A lot of the guys were leaving, too.”
Prior to this season, non-graduate students who transferred to another program had to sit out one season, a penalty that could cost a student-athlete a year of eligibility if they had already previously redshirted. Aided partly by the coronavirus pandemic, the NCAA Board of Directors ratified the one-time transfer legislation in Spring 2021, allowing athletes immediate eligibility.
Knowing that he didn’t have to incur a penalty, Lindsey put his name in the transfer portal and didn’t wait long before heading from UW assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft.
“The first day I talked to Coach Krabbenhoft,” Lindsey recalled. “We texted that morning, got on the phone that night and I woke up the next morning to a text from Coach Krab saying Coach Gard was going to call me in a little bit. He offered me the walk-on spot, and I just took it right there. There wasn’t much recruiting going on.”
Choosing a walk-on opportunity over other mid-major scholarship opportunities was never really a choice. Lindsey also spent time growing up going to Badgers games, volunteering as a ball boy for the program, and performing with the “Little Badgers” at halftime.
“I was hoping I could come here,” he said. “That was kind of my main thing.”
Rotational players have praised Lindsey for being one of Wisconsin’s best shooters on the scout team, mimicking opponents – like UW’s Saturday opponent in Penn State – to simulate player and offensive tendencies. He brings a lot to the table. The former three-sport athlete was a two-time first-team all-state selection and finished his career with 1,420 points, 272 assists, and 137 steals.
But if there’s a player Lindsey has tried to copy on offense, it’s senior guard Brad Davison. The two have a lot of common traits with how they operate and hunt their shot, especially on the perimeter, and spent most of the summer doing shooting workouts together and living with each other over the summer.
They are also both former high school quarterbacks – Davison being the Minneapolis Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year and Lindsey throwing for the fifth-most touchdowns and seventh-most yards in state history – that deepen that bond.
“He’s incredible,” Davison said. “His shooting ability is very dynamic. On the scout team he gets to be these guards that fly off screens and play at a high level. It’s really good for him, but at the same time we know he’s a great shooter. Everyone knows he’s a great shooter but he works hard. He takes charges, dives on the floor, and brings a competitiveness, an energy that’s infectious. That’s hard to find.”
Barring injury, Lindsey’s role will remain status quo for the final two months of the season but Davison was adamant that the sophomore’s shooting will make his name more recognizable in the coming years. That moment would be icing on the cake for Lindsey as he works up a sweat preparing the starters.
“I know I’ve put in the work my whole life to get here,” he said. “This is where I expected to be. This is my goal my whole life to be here. Being able to be a part of this and do this, I’m just happy I’m here, ready to work every day with these guys, and give it everything I have.”
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