UW sophomore wing Johnny Davis is averaging 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game this season.
UW freshman tailback Braelon Allen has rushed for 1,109 yards and 12 touchdowns this season.
They are two of the hottest names in University of Wisconsin athletics right now, homegrown stars who share plenty in common as they navigate stardom at a young age.
But what you may be surprised to learn about Braelon Allen and Johnny Davis is they’ve never met. Allen knows of Davis, and Davis knows of Allen, but not once have the freshman tailback on the football team and the sophomore wing on the men’s basketball team shared a conversation or even crossed paths on campus.
“If I were to see him around,” Davis said, “I’d definitely say what’s up to him.”
Prior to even knowing whether or not they knew one another, were good friends or something in between, I considered trying to arrange for Davis and Allen to sit down for a dual interview because having them in the same room could have sparked an interesting discussion. Alas, the combination of the football team’s Las Vegas Bowl preparations/travel schedule and the ongoing pandemic complicating the men’s basketball schedule made that possibility unrealistic.
Besides, it may have ended up being an awkward setting for a first meeting between Allen and Davis, neither of whom seems particularly outgoing. That’s not a knock, it’s just something I’ve noticed during my limited interactions with the two. Both are serious and don’t waste words while answering questions. Not unhelpful, by any means, just direct and, for the most part, expressionless.
“Down to business,” Davis said, “That’s all it’s about.”
Fair enough, and both have done plenty of business since arriving on campus.
Davis is in the midst of a breakthrough second season with the No. 24 Badgers (9-2), who are scheduled to host Illinois State on Wednesday night after having a game canceled last week due to COVID-19 protocols. He leads the team with 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game, putting himself on the radar of NBA scouts in the process.
Allen has rushed for 1,109 yards and 12 touchdowns as a true freshman for UW (8-4), which is scheduled to end its season on Thursday night against Arizona State (8-4) at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. He rushed for at least 100 yards in seven consecutive games at one point, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors despite registering only 12 carries over the first four games of the season.
From afar, they’ve admired each other’s performances.
“There’s not many freshmen, especially in football, that can just get in and make an impact the way he did, breaking records and stuff already,” Davis said. “He’s a really good player and I’m looking forward to seeing how he fills out the rest of his career.”
Davis, who was a standout quarterback at La Crosse Central, is like the rest of us in one regard: He’s been amazed at watching Allen, who won’t turn 18 until next month, excel in such a physical game at such a young age.
“It makes me feel old because I’m 19,” Davis said. “It’s definitely impressive. He’s not even an adult yet and he’s out here running over grown-ass men.”
Allen, meanwhile, appreciates the sport of basketball even though the only time he played it was on a sixth-grade travel team.
“It was fun. It just wasn’t my thing,” he said. “I was a wrestler. I was always taught the only thing that belongs on basketball court is wrestling mats.”
That said, Allen has enjoyed watching Davis on the court this season.
“I’ve definitely seen a lot of him this year,” Allen said. “Obviously he’s having a great season. It’s cool for Madison and the basketball team to have a guy like that.”
Arguably the coolest part about Allen and Davis blossoming into stars is that they are native sons.
The UW football program lost out on some of its high-priority in-state targets in the 2022 class and Allen could have gone almost anywhere he wanted a year ago after deciding to leave Fond du Lac High School early and reclassify into the 2021 class. But he chose to stay home.
“It’s always cool to be able to play for your home team and allow for your family to come out and see you play,” Allen said. “I wouldn’t say it was a huge factor in my decision, but it’s definitely cool and I’m glad that I did it.”
Davis had a lot of options as well during the 2020 recruiting cycle but decided he wanted to play at UW alongside his twin brother Jordan.
“I definitely appreciate being in the home state,” Davis said. “It makes things a lot easier and I really enjoy being able to rep Wisconsin.”
One thing that’s stood out from my vantage point is how well Allen and Davis have represented UW, not just in terms of being fun to watch but also in how they’ve carried themselves despite all the attention they’ve received.
Both gave similar answers when asked what’s allowed each of them to travel this road of fame while avoiding the pitfalls in that path.
“My parents raised me to be a kid with good manners,” Davis said. “Be humble through all my success and always give credit to other people more than myself because I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the people surrounding me.”
“I guess you could say it’s from my upbringing,” Allen said. “My parents, the most important thing to them is humility. They’ve preached that to me since I was 4 years old, whenever I started playing sports. They preached that to me forever. I really don’t have to reach out and ask for advice about it. It’s just kind of what I was brought up to do and who I was brought up to be.”
If it ever gets to be too much for Allen and Davis and they want to chat with somebody who’s walking in their same shoes, they could always seek out one another. Their official introduction is long overdue.
Fave 5: Jim Polzin picks his favorite stories of 2021
Jim Polzin stepped into a new role in June, going from University of Wisconsin men’s basketball beat reporter to Lee Sports Wisconsin columnist.
Neither one of those pieces made the list of Polzin’s favorite stories for 2021.
I wish I didn’t have to write this story about the daughter of former UW football standout Al Toon, who was killed in an apparent murder-suici…
I was assigned this story when the news broke in early April that Alvarez was “retiring.” A couple months later, I’d produce what may have bee…
I wanted to get a game column in this list and there were handful from which to choose. But selected this one from the opener against Penn Sta…
Moseley is a fascinating woman who’s in the early stages of a major rebuilding project. Not as many people read this story as I’d hoped, so ma…
This story has been on a Microsoft Word document of stories I’d wanted to pursue ever since Smart, who grew up in the Madison area, was named …
Contact Jim Polzin at jpolzin@madison.com.
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