Career
Badger played College basketball at the University of Iowa, and later for the United States. Air Force and division teams. He would get his first basketball coaching job at Saint Mary"s High School, While getting his master"s degree from the University of Iowa. After receiving his master"s degree, Badger moved to Marengo, Iowa to coach the Marengo High School basketball team
Badger than moved up to the college chashing ranks.
Foreign the next 15 years he would become a very successful head basketball coach at Wright College, a City college on Chicago"s Northwest side. In the 1973-1974 and 1974-1975 seasons badger"s teams went 33-0 and was ranked number 1 nationally in the polls for junior college teams.
Badger became an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls from 1973-1976. He would become the head coach of the Chicago Bulls for two seasons, from 1976 to 1978.
He would have a winning record and make the playoffs in his first season.
He later would head coach the University of Cincinnati Bearcats" men"s basketball team from 1978 to 1983, Where he was a 2 time Metro Conference coach of the year. On December 21, 1981 Badger"s team defeated Bradley 75-73 in a game that went into seven overtime periods. Badger would accept an assistant coach job with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1983.
In 1988 Badger became the vice president of basketball operations for the new expanding team Charlotte Hornets, where he would stay until 1990.
Badger joined the Atlanta Hawks as director of scouting from 1990-1992. In 1992 he would return to an assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers, followed by assistant coach jobs with Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76"s and a chief scout job for the Minnesota Timberwolves before retiring in 2003.
In international basketball, Badger was chosen as an Olympic basketball camp coach from 1968-1974. He also coached the Austrian National Team in 1972 and coached the 1973 United States. team during the World University Games in Moscow, winning the Gold Meda
