No. 36 — Dick Cable, Men’s Basketball
For many Badger basketball fans of this generation, winning and winning big are nothing new. However, after winning the 1941 NCAA tournament title it could be well said that UW basketball went in to a massive black hole.
UW made just one more tournament appearance (1947) until the mid 1990’s and the current run of 17-straight NCAA tournament appearances. However, that doesn’t mean UW basketball was devoid of talent or production either.
Enter exhibit A of that — star of the early 1950’s, Dick Cable.
Cable was coached by the great Bud Foster, and all he managed to do was become the greatest individual player in UW history to that date. By the time Cable left UW he was the all-time leading scorer (1,180 points), single-season scoring (442 points in 1955), single-season field goal percentage (.436 in 1954) and a single-game record for assists (11 vs. California in 1952).
The 1955 season saw Cable average 20.2 points per game, a mark that still stands 10th in the UW record books. All those stats may not seem too remarkable by today’s standards, but let’s remember college basketball played way fewer games (22 compared to over 30 today) and didn’t have the three-point play available to them.
Cable was named second-team All-Big Ten in 1955 and took home honorable mention honors in both 1953 and 1954. All on teams that went 35-31 in his three years as a letterwinner at UW.
While recent production from names like Devin Harris, Frank Kaminsky, Jordan Taylor and Alando Tucker have eclipsed just about anything from the past, Cable was easily the best of his generation and a few others at UW.
His work to help get the Kohl Center built also serves as a major testament to his fondness and connection the University of Wisconsin athletic program.
Full 50 Greatest Badgers List:
No. 50 – Randy Jablonic
No. 49 – Alex Rigsby
No. 48 — Michael Lihrman
No. 47 — Howard “Cub” Buck
No. 46 — Don Davey
No. 45 — Pat O’Dea
No. 44 — Curtis Joseph
No. 43 — Dean Anderson
No. 42 — Ivy Martin
No. 41 — Ron Vander Kelen
No. 40 — Carly Piper
No. 39 — J.J. Watt
No. 38 — Joe Pavelski
No. 37 — Barb Franke
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