Ethan Happ (born May 7, 1996) is an American-born naturalized Macedonian professional basketball player for Valencia of the Spanish Liga ACB and the EuroCup. At a height of 2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)[1][2] tall, he plays at both the power forward and center positions.

Ethan Happ
Happ with Vanoli Cremona in 2020
No. 22 – Valencia Basket
PositionCenter / power forward
LeagueLiga ACB
EuroCup
Personal information
Born (1996-05-07) May 7, 1996 (age 28)
Milan, Illinois, U.S.
Listed height2.08 m (6 ft 10 in)
Listed weight108 kg (238 lb)
Career information
High schoolRockridge (Taylor Ridge, Illinois)
CollegeWisconsin (2015–2019)
NBA draft2019: undrafted
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–2020Olympiacos
2019–2020Vanoli Cremona
2020–2021Fortitudo Bologna
2021Dinamo Sassari
2022Riesen Ludwigsburg
2022–2023Río Breogán
2023–2024Gran Canaria
2024–presentValencia
Career highlights and awards

Happ is the all-time leading rebounder for the Wisconsin Badgers, where he started all 139 games of his college career and is the school record holder in double-doubles and triple-doubles. Happ is one of just six players in NCAA history to record at least 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 400 assists.[3]

High school career

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Happ, whose hometown is Milan, Illinois,[4] attended Rockridge High School, in Taylor Ridge, Illinois, where he played high school basketball.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Ethan Happ
PF
Milan, IL Rockridge 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jun 26, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: 
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2014 Wisconsin Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  • "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  • "ESPN- Wisconsin Badgers Men's Basketball Recruiting". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  • "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 27, 2014.

College career

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He attended the University of Wisconsin, where he played college basketball with the Wisconsin Badgers. Happ red-shirted during his freshman season, during which the Badgers were the 2015 NCAA runner-up.

Happ started every game in 2015–16 for the Badgers and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.[5] He was also a unanimous selection the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and named to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team. He was selected to the third team All-Big Ten by the media and honorable mention by the coaches. As a sophomore, Happ became a greatly improved player.[6] He was named a third-team All-American after averaging 14 points per game.[7]

 
Happ in 2017

Despite not being listed in most mock drafts, Happ declared for the 2018 NBA draft without hiring an agent, giving him the option to return to college, which he later did.[8][9]

On December 22, 2018, Happ grabbed his 1,000th career rebound in a win over Grambling State.[10] On February 12, 2019, he scored his 2000th point, making him the first player in the Big Ten to score 2,000 points and collect 1,000 rebounds in 35 years.[11] As a senior, Happ averaged 17.9 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.[12] Happ was the only player in NCAA during the 2018–19 season, to lead their respective team in all 5 statistical categories.

Professional career

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Olympiacos (2019)

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After not being selected in the 2019 NBA draft, Happ signed with the Chicago Bulls, to play on their 2019 NBA Summer League team.[13]

On July 18, 2019, Happ signed a two-year deal with the Greek EuroLeague club Olympiacos, of Piraeus, Greece, to play under head coach David Blatt.[14]

Vanoli Cremona (2019–2020)

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After appearing in only one game with Olympiacos, Happ was loaned on November 5, 2019, to the Italian League club Vanoli Cremona, for the remainder of the 2019–20 season.[15] On June 30, 2020, the Greek club officially announced that they had forfeited their contract option and Happ thus became a free agent. Happ averaged 18.3 points per game, 9.3 rebounds per game and 2.5 assists per game with Cremona.[16]

Fortitudo Bologna (2020–2021)

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Happ signed with Fortitudo Bologna of the Lega Basket Serie A on July 10, 2020.[17] After suffering a left elbow injury, he was ruled out for three to four weeks on October 25.[18]

Dinamo Sassari (2021)

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At mid season, on January 18, 2021, Happ transferred from Fortitudo Bologna to Dinamo Sassari.[19][20]

Riesen Ludwigsburg (2022)

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On January 8, 2022, Happ signed with MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL).[21]

Río Breogán (2022–2023)

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On July 8, 2022, Happ signed with Río Breogán of the Spanish Liga ACB.[22] He played all 34 league games, averaging 12.6 ppg, 7.9 rpg and 17.3 PIR per game, helping the team to a 10th-place finish and securing a European spot.

Dreamland Gran Canaria (2023–2024)

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After a lot of speculation about a possible move to Club Joventut Badalona or even a contract extension with CB Breogán, on June 29, 2023, Ethan Happ signed with EuroCup Basketball team Dreamland Gran Canaria for the 2023–24 ACB season.[23]

Valencia Basket (2024–present)

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On July 2, 2024, he signed with Valencia of the Spanish Liga ACB.[24]

College statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014–15 Wisconsin   Redshirt
2015–16 Wisconsin 35 35 28.1 .538 .000 .643 7.9 1.3 1.8 0.9 12.4
2016–17 Wisconsin 37 37 27.8 .586 .000 .500 9.0 2.8 1.8 1.2 14.0
2017–18 Wisconsin 33 33 30.8 .528 .091 .550 8.0 3.7 1.5 1.1 17.9
2018–19 Wisconsin 28 28 32.4 .540 .000 .441 10.3 4.6 1.0 1.2 17.9
Career 133 133 29.6 .548 .063 .540 8.7 3.0 1.6 1.1 15.4

Career honors and awards

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College career

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  • 2019 Second-team Consensus All-American (AP, NABC, SN, USBWA)
  • 2019 Pete Newell Big Man Award
  • 2019 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award
  • 2018 First-Team All-Big Ten (media)[4]
  • 2017 Wooden Award Final Ballot
  • 2017 Naismith Trophy Semifinalist
  • 2017 Oscar Robertson Midseason Watch List
  • 2017 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Finalist
  • 2017 Second-Team All-American (SI); Third Team All-American (USA Today, TSN)
  • 2017 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year (AP)
  • 2017 First-Team All-Big Ten
  • 2017 Big Ten All-Tournament Team
  • 2016 Big Ten Freshman of the Year
  • 2016 Third-Team All-Big Ten (media)
  • 2016 Big Ten All-Freshman Team
  • 2× USBWA All-District (2017, '18)
  • 2× NABC All-District (2017 first team, 2018 second team)
  • 2× Big Ten All-Defensive Team (2016, '17)
  • 2× Big Ten Player of the Week

Professional career.

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Personal life

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Happ's parents are Randy and Teresa Happ. His father Randy, played college basketball at North Central College (Division III), and his brother Eric, played college basketball at Carl Sandburg College (Junior College). Happ is a first cousin of former MLB pitcher J. A. Happ.[26] Happ had roots from Sicily through his great-grandfather.[27]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ HAPP, ETHAN HEIGHT: 2.08.
  2. ^ Ethan Happ CM 208 KG 108.
  3. ^ "2018-19 Men's Basketball Roster|Ethan Happ". uwbadgers.com. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
  4. ^ a b "2018-19 Mens Basketball Roster". Archived from the original on 2019-02-06.
  5. ^ "2015-16 All-Big Ten teams & award winners". btn.com. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  6. ^ Hamilton, Brian (February 9, 2017). "The Ethan-vention: Happ's rise to stardom at Wisconsin". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  7. ^ Norlander, Matt (July 25, 2017). "All-American Ethan Happ has never taken a 3 for Wisconsin, but that's about to change". CBSSports.com. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  8. ^ Polzin, Jim (May 2, 2018). "Wisconsin's Ethan Happ presses on despite not being invited to NBA draft combine". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  9. ^ Potrykus, Jeff (May 30, 2018). "As expected, Ethan Happ opts to return to Wisconsin for his final season". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  10. ^ "No. 16 Badgers rout Grambling State, Happ grabs 1,000th rebound". FoxSports.com. December 22, 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  11. ^ "Happ hits another milestone in loss to Michigan State". The Dispatch / The Rock Island Argus. February 12, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  12. ^ "Ethan Happ gets two year deal with Olympiakos Piraeus". Hellenic Daily News. July 21, 2019. Archived from the original on January 24, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  13. ^ Polzin, Jim (June 23, 2019). "Ethan Happ to play with Chicago Bulls' summer league squad after going undrafted". madison.com. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
  14. ^ Carchia, Emiliano (July 18, 2019). "Olympiacos signs rookie Ethan Happ". Sportando. Archived from the original on July 18, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  15. ^ Olympiacos loans Ethan Happ to Cremona.
  16. ^ Ethan Happ Stats, Pro Ballers
  17. ^ "Fortitudo Bologna officially signs Ethan Happ". Sportando. July 10, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  18. ^ "Fortitudo Bologna big man Ethan Happ to miss 3-4 weeks of action". Sportando. October 25, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  19. ^ "Risoluzione consensuale del contratto con Ethan Happ" (in Italian). fortitudo103.it. 18 January 2020.
  20. ^ "Ethan Happ completa lo scacchiere biancoblu" (in Italian). dinamobasket.com. 18 January 2020.
  21. ^ "RIESEN werden größer und holen US-Big Man". mhp-riesen-ludwigsburg.de (in German). January 8, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  22. ^ CBBreogan. "Ethan Happ, novo xogador do Río Breogán - CB Breogán". CBBreogan (in Galician). Retrieved 2022-07-08.
  23. ^ comunicacion (2023-06-29). "Ethan Happ refuerza el juego interior del Dreamland Gran Canaria". Club Baloncesto Gran Canaria (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  24. ^ "Valencia Basket signs Ethan Happ". Sportando. July 2, 2024. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  25. ^ "Ethan Happ, MVP Movistar de marzo | ACB.COM". www.acb.com (in Spanish). 2023-03-30. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
  26. ^ Ryan, Shannon (December 22, 2016). "Wisconsin standout Ethan Happ steeled by athletic Illinois family". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  27. ^ Happ may get italian passport sportando.basketball
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