Former UW Badgers Star, Ho Chunk Tribal Member Shares His Story with LCO Students

LCO News

Press Release

Former UW Badgers basketball star and Ho Chunk tribal member, Bronson Koenig,

came to the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe School back in November to hang out with

students and share his story.

Koenig’s trip to LCO was sponsored by the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Governing Board.

LCO Schools Director, Jessica “Hutch” Hutchison, thanked the TGB for their support of the students and programming saying it’s always very much appreciated.

“The students seemed to have really been impacted by Bronson’s words and his story,” Hutch said.

Koenig is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Erie BayHawks of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Wisconsin

Badgers. Koenig attended Aquinas High School in La Crosse.

During his sophomore year at Aquinas, Koenig averaged 17 points and 3 assists per

game. He was named First Team All-State after leading Aquinas to the 2011 Division III

State Championship. He missed much of his junior season due to an injury. In his senior

campaign, he again led his team to a state title and was named 2013 Wisconsin Player

of the Year by the Associated Press. Koenig scored 16 points in the title game. He

averaged 17.0 points and 4.4 assists per game as a senior, shooting 45.5 percent from

beyond the arc. Koenig was a McDonald's All-American nominee.

Koenig was moved into the Badgers starting lineup during the 2014–15 season after an

injury to point guard Traevon Jackson on January 11, 2015. He averaged 11.6 points

per game as a starting guard.

In the second round of the 2016 NCAA basketball tournament against the Xavier

Musketeers, Koenig made a game-tying three-pointer with 11.7 seconds left. Then, after

a Xavier offensive foul, he made another three-pointer at the buzzer to give Wisconsin a

66–63 victory. Koenig finished the game with 20 points. After the win, he said, "I like to

have the ball in my hands in those kinds of situations because I believe in myself."

Koenig set the school record for career three-point shots made on February 23, 2017, in

a loss at Ohio State, passing former record-holder Ben Brust. Koenig averaged 14.5

points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game as a senior, shooting 39.3 percent from

the 3-point arc. He finished his career with 1,459 points and 270 career 3-pointers.