Hometown hero Brian Butch, a 6-11, 235 lb. senior from Appleton, WI, is leading Wisconsin on their run through the 2008 NCAA March Madness Tournament. Here are 5 things you need to know about this Badger:



1. Butch was name twice name Wisconsin Player of the Year and played in the 2003 McDonald's All-American game along side LeBron James, where he scored six points and grabbed seven rebounds.

2. Nicknamed "Polar Bear", his scoring averaged jumped this year from 8.8 points per game to 12.5. He scored a team-high 14 in the Badgers' win over Cal State Fullerton in the first round of the 2008 March Madness Tournament. Video highlights of that win can be seen here.

3. The Polar Bear has suffered a myriad of injuries and ailments in his career with Wisconsin, including mononucleosis in his redshirt freshman season and broke his elbow in his junior campaign. Video of that gruesome injury can be found here [Warning: Graphic Video].

4. Butch was recruited by North Carolina but decided not to attend because the players had a lot of "swagger." He is now a graduate student studying Life Sciences Communication and in 2005 was selected to the Big Ten All-Academic team.

5. Coming out of high school, Butch was one of the most decorated recruits in Wisconsin history. He was rated higher than future NBA All-Star Chris Paul and Trevor Ariza. However he redshirted his freshman year and injuries have set back his career.