Chucky Hepburn Explained

Chucky Hepburn
Team:Louisville Cardinals
Position:Point guard
League:Atlantic Coast Conference
Height Ft:6
Height In:2
Weight Lb:195
Birth Date:9 February 2003
High School:Bellevue West
(Omaha, Nebraska)
College:
Highlights:

Chucky Hepburn (born February 9, 2003) is an American college basketball player for the Louisville Cardinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference He previously played for the Wisconsin Badgers of the Big Ten Conference.

Early life and high school career

Hepburn grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and attended Bellevue West High School. A 6feet point guard, he averaged 15.9 points, 8.3 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 3.8 steals per game as a senior as Bellevue West appeared in the Class A state title. He guided Bellevue West to a Class A state title as a junior averaging 17.1 points, 6.5 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 3.1 steals per game. As a sophomore, Hepburn averaged 18.3 points, 5.0 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 3.4 steals per game.[1] Hepburn won the 2020 Nebraska Mr. Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year.[2]

College career

Wisconsin

Hepburn enrolled at University of Wisconsin–Madison after receiving offers from Nebraska, Creighton, Minnesota, Loyola (IL) and Valparaiso.[3]

Freshman season

Hepburn became the first true freshman to start the season opener since Devin Harris in 2001.[4] He went on to score 13 points in his first career game against St. Francis.[5] Hepburn banked in a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left against #8 ranked Purdue, giving the Badgers a share of the Big Ten regular-season title.[6] Hepburn was able to profit in the newly implemented NIL after the game-winning shot against Purdue with merchandise named "The Chucky Special".[7] After the regular season, Hepburn was named to the Big Ten All–Freshman Team.[8]

Sophomore season

Hepburn was asked to take on a larger role in his second season at Wisconsin after Johnny Davis was selected 10th overall by the Washington Wizards. Hepburn started all 35 games and was the Badgers leading scorer (12.2 points per game), 3-point percentage (.405), assists (2.8 APG) and steals (1.5 SPG). The team struggled with injuries midway through the season and Wisconsin missed the NCAA tournament. Following the conclusion of the regular season, Hepburn was named an All–Big Ten honorable mention selection.[9] The Badgers accepted an invitation to the NIT where Hepburn scored a career-high 27 points in a second round victory against Liberty.[10]

Junior season

Hepburn came into his junior season and has thrived in the role of facilitator and defender.[11] The previous season, he was looked at by his teammates as the "go to guy" to score late in shot clock or late in games.[11] With the additions of scorers AJ Storr and freshman John Blackwell, Hepburn has been able to refine other parts of his game.[11] Evidence of this is Chucky has put up his best assist to turnover ratio of his career and uptick in steals.[11] Following the completion of the regular season, Hepburn was named All-Big Ten honorable mention by the coaches and named to the All-Defensive Team.[12]

Louisville

Senior season

On April 25, 2024, Hepburn announced he would be transferring to Louisville.[13] [14]

Career statistics

College

|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2021–22| style="text-align:left;"| Wisconsin| 33 || 33 || 31.0 || .388 || .348 || .696 || 2.1 || 2.3 || 1.1 || 0.2 || 7.9|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23| style="text-align:left;"| Wisconsin| 35 || 35 || 32.0 || .377 || .405 || .718 || 2.8 || 2.8 || 1.5 || 0.1 || 12.2|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2023–24| style="text-align:left;"| Wisconsin| 35 || 35 || 33.3 || .429 || .322 || .737 || 3.3 || 3.9 || 2.1 || 0.1 || 9.2|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2024–25| style="text-align:left;"| Louisville| - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || -|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 103 || 103 || 32.1 || .395 || .365 || .719 || 2.8 || 3.0 || 1.6 || 0.1 || 9.8[15]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: March 12, 2022 . Chucky Hepburn page . January 7, 2024 . MaxPreps.
  2. Web site: April 13, 2020 . Chucky Hepburn Mr. Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year . January 7, 2024 . RealGM.
  3. Web site: Hepburn. Rivals. September 29, 2021. January 7, 2024.
  4. Web site: Wisconsin Freshman Likely to Start Season Opener Tuesday. Rivals. November 8, 2021. January 15, 2024.
  5. Web site: St. Francis (NY) vs. Wisconsin Box Score. sports-reference.com. November 9, 2021. January 15, 2024.
  6. Web site: No. 10 Badgers nip No. 10 Purdue for share of Big Ten title. apnews.com. March 2, 2022. January 15, 2024.
  7. Web site: March Madness: The 'Chucky Special' shows how NIL will play in the Big Dance. Yahoo Finance. March 18, 2022. January 15, 2024.
  8. Web site: 2021-22 Big Ten Men's Basketball Postseason Honors Announced. https://web.archive.org/web/20220308180525/https://bigten.org/news/2022/3/8/2021-22-big-ten-mens-basketball-postseason-honors-announced.aspx. dead. March 8, 2022. Big Ten Conference. March 8, 2022. January 25, 2024.
  9. Web site: 2023 Big Ten Men's Basketball Postseason Honors Announced. https://web.archive.org/web/20230307181941/https://bigten.org/news/2023/3/7/general-2023-big-ten-mens-basketball-postseason-honors-announced.aspx. dead. March 7, 2023. Big Ten Conference. March 7, 2023. January 25, 2024.
  10. Web site: Rewatching Chucky Hepburn's offensive playmaking reveals strengths, areas to grow. badgersextra.com. July 14, 2023. January 15, 2024.
  11. Web site: Chucky Hepburn Loving his Role of Wisconsin Badgers' Facilitator. wisconsin.rivals.com. January 11, 2024. January 25, 2024.
  12. Web site: Big Ten Announces 2024 Men’s Basketball Postseason Honors. https://web.archive.org/web/20240312183111/https://bigten.org/news/2024/3/12/general-big-ten-announces-2024-mens-basketball-postseason-honors.aspx. dead. March 12, 2024. Big Ten Conference. March 12, 2024. March 13, 2024.
  13. Web site: Cobb . David . April 25, 2024 . What Chucky Hepburn's commitment means for Louisville basketball as Pat Kelsey lands ex-Wiscconsin guard . May 6, 2024 . CBS Sports .
  14. Web site: Kelsey Adds Wisconsin Transfer Chucky Hepburn . 2024-05-29 . University of Louisville Athletics .
  15. Web site: Chucky Hepburn Statistics . January 15, 2024 . ESPN.