32 // VARSITY March 27, 2014
C
entral casting could not have sent over any-
one more perfectly suited to pull off the "An-
chorman" skit in the Wisconsin locker room
than Nigel Hayes, who looked at ease interviewing
his teammates as "Nigel Burgundy" prior to the
NCAA tournament games in Milwaukee.
"I feel it's my natural habitat to be in front of the
camera," Hayes said.
Others might agree after watching Hayes, an
18-year-old freshman from Toledo, Ohio, interacting
seamlessly with the older players, while meshing
comfortably and toying playfully on most levels with
Sam Dekker, a 19-year-old sophomore from Sheboy-
gan.
"We complement each other pretty well; I like to
make people smile, too," Dekker said.
Together, they have impacted this UW team, on
and off the floor. Not only have they been key con-
tributors to a Sweet 16 run ― the Badgers will play
Baylor in the West Regional on Thursday ― but they
have brought a youthful enthusiasm and innocence
to the mix; Dekker as a starter, Hayes as a sixth man.
"They just bring a good positive energy," said se-
nior Ben Brust.
When you have a close-knit group of players that
enjoy each other's company outside of basketball
and they transfer that togetherness to game days,
can you then make the time-honored correlation be-
tween a good team and good chemistry?
"I hope so. It definitely can't hurt," said Brust, who
has played the most minutes on the team.
"Absolutely," said Duje Dukan, who comes off the
bench as part of the Badgers' eight-man rotation.
"I would say definitely," said Evan Anderson, who
plays on the scout team.
Despite their different roles, they all speak to the
same things; a sign of unity.
"We have crazy different personalities on this
team," said Anderson, one of the graduating seniors.
"But it really blends together well somehow and it
