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Bohannon, Hughes enjoy the journey

Back in the summer of 2006, only a few weeks before he started his freshman year at Wisconsin, Trevon Hughes wanted answers.

“When I came in, I just wanted to see who this J-Bo was,” Hughes said, referring to fellow guard Jason Bohannon, also a member Bo Ryan’s ’06 freshman class. “At first, I thought he was a black kid.”

What Jay-Z is to rap, J-Bo is to three-point shooting. Hughes had heard about Bohannon’s shooting prowess and wanted to make his own evaluation.

“Then when I seen him,” Hughes said, “I didn’t think he looked like a player at all.”

Boy was that scouting report off.

Bohannon and Hughes went to the Kohl Center to play one-on-one, specifically make-it-take-it.

They shot to see who would take the ball out first. Bohannon won the honor ... and then drilled jumper after jumper in the face of a disbelieving Hughes.

“So, I’m standing at the free-throw line, checking the ball, and he’s at the three-point line just shooting it,” Hughes said. “He did that like 11 times.

“Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me. I guess I learned my lesson.”

Almost four years later, lessons continue to be learned, both by Wisconsin’s two senior guards and by the opponents who face them.

Hughes made the cut of 11 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award, given annually to the top point guard in the nation.

With Wisconsin (21-7, 11-5 Big Ten Conference) preparing to host Iowa (10-19, 4-12) tonight (7:30 p.m. tipoff, ESPN), Hughes is first on the team in scoring (15.5 ppg.) and steals (1.6 per game), second in assists (2.8 per game) and third in rebounds (4.5 per game).

His field-goal percentage (41.7 percent) could be better with improved shot selection. However, Hughes is much more consistent and under control than he was as a freshman and generally bears the responsibility of creating offense with the shot clock running down.

“He’s a darn good player,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said after Hughes hit 4 of 7 three-pointers and 9 of 16 field-goal attempts overall in a 26-point performance in the Badgers’ 73-69 victory over the Blue Devils. “In the last two years he has gone from a good player to a great player.”

Bohannon has undergone a gradual but remarkable transformation—from a spot-up perimeter shooter whose defensive shortcomings once limited his playing time—to a versatile scoring threat who has become adept at chasing scorers around a myriad of screens and providing key blocks with weak-side help.

He is third on the team in scoring at 12.4 ppg. and is shooting 48.3 percent overall. In league play, Bohannon is fifth in three-pointers made per game (2.4), tied for seventh in field-goal percentage (51.3 percent).

His overall three-point shooting (41.4 percent) is better than his previous best of 39.3 percent as a sophomore. Perhaps most telling, Bohannon is No. 2 in the league in minutes played (38.1 per game).

“Teams know he can shoot the three pretty well so you try to take it away,” UW associate head coach Greg Gard said. “He has done a good job of countering.”

Bohannon has countered with effective and timely drives into the heart of the defense, a pull-up, mid-range jumper and a step-back jumper that has fooled foes all season.

Hughes put together an eight-game stretch earlier this season in which he averaged 19.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists per game and shot 42.2 percent from three-point range.

Bohannon is in the midst of a seven-game streak in which he is averaging 18.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and shooting 52.2 percent from three-point range and 61.0 percent overall.

Both players have worked together to fill leadership roles this season, particularly during the nine games junior forward Jon Leuer missed because of a broken wrist.

Their journey began with that game of make-it-take it.

“I had the ball first and ended up getting a little hot,” Bohannon said sheepishly. “The next game he got the ball and scored quite a bit on me.

“We’ve been through a lot of different things, ups and downs. We’ve played a lot of tremendous basketball . . .

“To be a part of the program like we have and to play with the players that we have, it’s been a great experience.

“Hopefully there is a lot more to come.”