As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, USA TODAY Sports is celebrating the 250 greatest American sports figures of all time. Alongside that national recognition, the USA TODAY Network will spotlight the roots of the country’s sports culture: the high school athletes and sports figures who shaped communities and defined their states and regions.
The focus is on identifying trailblazers and trendsetters whose influence reaches beyond championships and statistics, and whose stories reflect a lasting impact on their state.
Criteria for Wisconsin’s Defining Players
Some players became local legends on the high school court but didn’t translate that success to college or the pros. Others blossomed late, and their high school days offered only a hint of their eventual greatness. The question is how to compare or measure those things.
Jenny Anderson’s Dominance at South Shore
Anderson was nearly unstoppable at South Shore, where she scored what was then a WIAA state-record 2,881 career points. That total still ranks fourth on the state’s all-time list.
The 2024 Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee averaged 37 points and 15 rebounds her senior year when she won the Ms. Basketball award, then headed south to Madison for a prolific career at the University of Wisconsin.
Anderson led the Badgers in scoring all four seasons and graduated as the all-time leading scorer – men’s or women’s – with 2,312 points. She was Big Ten freshman of the year in 2004 and Big Ten player of the year in 2008.
She was a second-round pick by the Connecticut Sun in the 2008 WNBA Draft and went on to 17 years of professional playing experience in Europe and other international leagues.
Chubby Checker’s Daughter Makes Her Own Name
Known for a long time as the daughter of legendary musician Chubby Checker, Bass made a name for herself on the hardwood in high school and beyond.
She’s the only Wisconsin girls high school player to be named Ms. Basketball three times and that record will never be broken. After the third time, the WBCA decided to limit the award to seniors.
The 2022 WBCA Hall of Fame inductee scored 1,906 career points. Parker went 75-3 over her final three seasons and went to the state tournament all three years, winning back-to-back Division 1 state titles in 2000 and 2001.
Bass played in two NCAA Final Fours at Duke and then played seven seasons in the WNBA. In 2014, she helped the Phoenix Mercury win the WNBA championship.
Bunek’s National Recognition
Bunek perhaps did as much as any player to put Wisconsin high school girls basketball in the national eye and is arguably the state’s most heavily recruited player ever.
The 6-foot-4 standout, a 2010 WBCA Hall of Fame inductee and 1985 Ms. Basketball award winner, was named to multiple All-America teams her senior year at Pius XI after leading the Popes to WISAA state championships in all four of her seasons.
She averaged 24.8 points, 10 rebounds and 3.9 blocked shots
The process of identifying Wisconsin’s defining girls basketball players in history is imperfect. Readers are encouraged to offer their suggestions.