“Madison – Earlier this month, Michael Flowers shared the vision he has for himself as a University of Wisconsin basketball player and spoke of a hustling dynamo who would play with little regard for statistics or his body.
“Former walk-on Clayton Hanson has started every game for the Badgers this season.
“He wanted to be a player identified by his defense, he said, a hard-nosed competitor who wouldn’t think twice about diving on the floor for a loose ball.
“‘Basically a guy like Clayton Hanson,’ the freshman guard said. ‘He’s an ideal player of Coach Ryan’s. I just want to be the next Clayton Hanson.’
“That might be a surprising statement to some, but it speaks to Flowers’ blue-collar mentality as a player and even more to the status achieved in the program by Hanson, a former walk-on. …
“…Hanson’s is a great story but he isn’t the only one in the Big Ten. Wisconsin (13-4, 4-2 Big Ten) gets a close look at another at 7 [Central] tonight when it plays Penn State (7-12, 1-5) at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa.
“Aaron Johnson, a 6-9, 240-pound junior, is the only player in the conference averaging in double figures in scoring (13.7 points) and rebounding (10.6). He leads the Nittany Lions in both categories.
“Like Hanson, Johnson was an invited walk-on who earned a scholarship. …”