UW men's basketball: Badgers' barber shop duo specializes in buzz cuts

Rob Schultz  —  3/19/2008 3:13 pm

OMAHA, Neb. -- There is no rule, long, short or otherwise, regarding the length of hair for the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team.

It just looks like it.

The Badgers are heading to the NCAA tournament with a reputation as one of the best defensive teams in the country. But the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Regional that will play Cal State Fullerton in a first-round game Thursday night might be the cleanest-cut team in the tournament, too.

Badgers Joe Krabbenhoft and Greg Stiemsma buzz their scalps. So do Jason Bohannon, Jon Leuer, Tanner Bronson, Kevin Gullikson, Brett Valentyn and Trevon Hughes. They all go to the same barbers.

Is it Krabbenhoft & Stiemsma? Or is it Stiemsma & Krabbenhoft?

"We have a little barber shop," said a proud Krabbenhoft, who has joined forces with roommate Stiemsma to cut their teammates' hair in their apartment for about two years now.

Bohannon, a sophomore guard, likes to get his hair cut there because "it's easy to keep it up. During the season we don't always have time to go somewhere."

Plus, Bohannon added, it's free of charge and the buzz is, "it makes us look faster."

Krabbenhoft, a junior forward, and Stiemsma, a senior center, started cutting hair during a team gathering one hot summer night.

"Greg's hair was long, my hair was long, Tanner's hair was long, Kevin's was long, JBo's was not as short. Everybody came over one night and we just did it and it stuck," said Krabbenhoft, who went home to Sioux Falls shortly after that and bought a pair of quality clippers.

As team oriented as the Badgers may be on the court, not everybody goes to see Krabbenhoft and Stiemsma for a haircut.

Redshirt freshman J.P. Gavinski has no interest because, according to Stiemsma, "He's going for the missing mudflap; the mullet look."

Another big man, senior Brian Butch, also stays away.

"I love those guys but I'm not sure I love them enough to touch my hair," said Butch as a shiver went up his spine. "I've seen some of their mistakes, too."

Butch mentioned how they accidently took out a chunk of Bohannon's scalp.

"Ohhhh, they got JBo once. They got him with, it looked like a Nike swoosh, right in the back of the head," Butch claimed. "They weren't trying to make a Nike swoosh, I think they just stopped paying attention for a second and got a little gouge in it.

"After I saw that, I said, 'No way,' " Butch added. "Plus, I've got two big ears. I need something on top to balance it out."

Bohannon didn't mention the accident but admitted he has been going to professional barbers for his most recent cuts.

"They trimmed it up a little better," he said. "It wasn't bad. It's just that my parents liked it when it was a little cleaner shaven around the sides and stuff. I go to Joe and Greg every once and a while."

Marcus Landry is another who has no plans on going to Stiemsma or Krabbenhoft.

"Would you?" an incredulous Landry asked a reporter.

"I think it's the difference between white guys and black guys," he added.

And Trevon Hughes doesn't count in the argument, Landry said, "because he's bald-headed. If you want to go bald-headed, that's different."

Hughes likes going to Stiemsma to get what he calls a straight baldy. "They only get to cut it all off. They can't mess up that. If they mess up that then they would never touch my hair again," he said.

And Hughes only allows Stiemsma to cut his hair. "He really cares. Krabbenhoft, he's a jokester. He likes to make fun of people's heads," Hughes mentioned. "Greg is always serious. He has everything down to a science. He'll say, 'This is not perfect, wait, don't get up. I have to finish.' I won't see anything on my head, but he'll see a little speck."

Bronson wasn't sure why he picks Krabbenhoft over Stiemsma to shave his head. "There isn't a whole lot of variety in what they do," he said with a laugh.

That's what the most important critics believe. In the eyes of young women, the Badgers' haircuts are right in line with the unity and balance aspects of the team that carried them to Big Ten Conference regular-season and tournament titles.

"They don't say much about it," said Bohannon sheepishly. "They think we all look alike."

Rob Schultz  —  3/19/2008 3:13 pm