The 2000 Wisconsin Badgers are a team of legends, and one that many Badger fans remember vividly. Most of those players have stayed in basketball in one way or another, and now Julian Swartz has been announced as an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Panthers. For Swartz, this is a promotion from “special assistant to the head coach” to a coach who’s on the bench and one of Bart Lundy’s main go-to coaches.
Swartz’s career took a few big turns, and even his time with the Badgers was marked with a little bit of ups and downs. It’s good to see a player who had to leave abruptly from Wisconsin and a Final Four team find basketball success in the coaching world. He went on to become a Hall of Famer in the state of Wisconsin from his playing days (high school).
Julian Swartz, a former Waukesha South (WI) basketball standout and member of the 2000 Wisconsin Badgers Final Four team, is now an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Panthers. https://t.co/hDeD585ZUs
— Jordan Loppnow (@JordanLoppnow) June 22, 2026
Former Badger Julian Swartz has been promoted to assistant coach for the Milwaukee Panthers
Swartz was part of one of the most iconic Wisconsin Badgers basketball teams of all time. He played in 17 games during his two years at Wisconsin, finishing the Final Four season with 1.5 points per game. While he wasn’t a huge part of the success in terms of production, he was a key member of the team. However, his time with the Badgers ended quickly as his family announced that Swartz was leaving the team due to his mental health…