W
isconsin's fledgling video coordina- tor, Joe Krabbenhoft, was seated opposite a "Badgers in the NBA'' display in the UW basketball offices
at the Kohl Center. There was a time during his playing days when Krabbenhoft envisioned hav- ing his picture framed and featured on that wall. "That's always the goal, to play at the highest level, that's the NBA,'' he said. What ensued for Krabbenhoft – the doer, not
the dreamer – was a stellar career which saw him play in 136 games; a school record that he now shares with Jordan Taylor. In addition to collect- ing 756 rebounds and 273 assists, a claim no other UW player can make, he took part in 100 victories.
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"When you're in the middle of your career here, you're just soaking it all in; you don't think too far beyond that,'' Krabbenhoft said. "But I was always raised to think about what's next, and what's go- ing to be your next step in life. I was raised that way and coach (Bo) Ryan stressed that also. "When I thought about a career after Wisconsin,
I thought it might be the NBA. I had a few looks (with the Portland Trail Blazers) and it just wasn't meant to be for me. But playing in Europe – play- ing professional basketball – was a dream-come- true.''
Traveling from South Dakota to South Korea on
the first leg of his journey, Krabbenhoft found that basketball is a universal language understood in
