March Madness is another way to describe John Tonje’s rare rise from bench warmer to All-American

DENVER (AP) — A late-bloomer in both high school and college, Wisconsin guard John Tanje never envisioned his rise to college basketball stardom.

He never thought he’d still be hitting the hardwood two years after graduating and there’s no way he counted upon becoming an All-American while leading the Badgers into March Madness a month shy of his 24th birthday.

“No, but I wouldn’t trade my journey for anyone else’s,” Tonje said Wednesday as the third-seeded Badgers (26-9) prepared to face 14th-seeded Montana (24-9) on Thursday in Denver.

“I think I’m super blessed to be in this position,” Tonje said. “Obviously, I didn’t expect to have a sixth year. It just was the cards I was dealt last year and that’s what God wanted me to do, have an injury and come play for Wisconsin. I’m not second-guessing it. I love it here, and it’s been a blessing.”

Tonje’s All-America credentials highlight a remarkable rise for someone who received only one Division 1 scholarship offer coming out of Omaha Central High School.

That was from Colorado State, where he started just one game in his first two seasons, averaging 3.6 points as a freshman and 6.6 as a sophomore. He started a dozen times his junior year, pushing his scoring average to 9.1.

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As a senior in 2022-23, he finally became a full-time starter and averaged 14.6 points before earning his degree in business/real estate.

Basketball was still in his blood, however, so instead of wheeling and dealing, he kept on cutting and screening.

With a year’s eligibility remaining because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tonje transferred to Missouri to study sports leadership as a graduate student and give hoops one last shot.

A foot injury limited him to eight games and just four starts for the Tigers. He was averaging a career-low 2.6 points when he shut it down for the year and received a medical redshirt.

Nobody would have blamed him if he would have put away his sneakers for good.

Instead, the time away from the hardwood only inflamed his passion for the game.

“I got a chance to kind of slow down, which I never had a chance to do, just sit down and reflect, watch a lot of film of my old games and kind of figure out what I want to do with basketball and how I want to approach getting better,” Tonje said.

“I think it was also kind of refreshing to kind of start from the bottom again, being injured and going day by day, and just seeing improvement week by week was just huge. I had to go back to the basics and kind of be in the gym alone. Had a lot of time kind of to myself. I had a more quiet year not really in the limelight, and I think that was great for me being an introvert, just getting to focus on hoops, and it got better for me to learn from it.”

So, back into the transfer portal he went.

And once again, he found little interest.

“A lot of Power-5 schools didn’t really know if I could compete at that level this time around in the transfer portal just because of the injury,” Tonje said.

Actually, Wisconsin coach Greg Gard wasn’t certain, either, but he had an inkling Tonje could be a nice addition to his squad, so he offered him a scholarship.

“Obviously, we dug probably deeper into the Colorado State film than we did anything else,” Gard said. “His little bit of time at Missouri he didn’t play very many games, obviously. And knowing Colorado State’s staff, we trusted how he was coached.”

It turned into one of the best decisions in all of college basketball this season.

“Yeah, I don’t think anybody would have projected this. If they did, they’re not telling you the truth,” Gard said.

Much of the attention surrounding Wisconsin after last season focused on the players who had left for other Division I programs, with leading scorer AJ Storr bolting to Kansas and three-year starting point guard Chucky Hepburn heading to Louisville.

Adding Tonje outweighed those losses. He set career highs in just about every category in his sole season in Madison, averaging 19.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists while starting all 35 games.

“The biggest thing that’s made the transition and the fit so seamless, is just how selfless he is,” Gard said. “He’s come in with zero ego. He’s really coachable. You would think in this day and age, a guy that’s coming in in his sixth year, third school, that he’d come in with a lot more answers than questions. He’s been the exact opposite.

“He’s been a great teammate. He knows he has more to get better at and he has gotten better as the year has gone on. I think the reason it’s been such a good fit and why he’s been so successful is because of his selfless mentality.”

That’s evidenced in Tonje’s comments that he’s the one who owes a debt of gratitude, not the Badgers.

“They believed in me, gave me a chance and I’ll forever be in debt,” Tonje said. “Wearing this jersey, it’s a blessing.”

Watching the war

Max Shulga is making his second March Madness appearance, but the VCU senior is balancing more than basketball with the 11th-seeded Rams preparing to face No. 6-seed BYU.

Shulga is a native of Kyiv, Ukraine, and is keeping track of his family back in his home country, which has been under siege since Russia invaded in February 2022.

“He’s done a magnificent job of balancing that along with school and high-level basketball,” Rams coach Ryan Odom said. “It’s a lot to deal with, and he’s done a fabulous job. He talks to his parents pretty much every day and has a chance to talk to his sister, as well. So he keeps tabs on what’s going on over there, but understands that he’s not in control over anything. None of us are. We just have to react and deal with what’s going on.”

Shulga, who averages 15.1 points, sees the NCAA tournament as more than just a chance to keep playing.

“There’s not many — in my memory — not many people from Ukraine or players from Ukraine that really get to play in March Madness,” Shulga said. “But if I can serve as an inspiration to young kids back home in Ukraine, then yeah, that’s something that I’m definitely willing to do and put on for my country.”

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness