Darin Schubring, 42, a former Baraboo High School phenom who went on to play for the University of Wisconsin basketball team, was sucker-punched by a man dressed in a Wizard of Oz flying monkey costume on Halloween at the Main Depot bar.

Schubring’s father, John Schubring of Baraboo, said his son is still in intensive care within the neurology department at UW Hospital in Madison. But he started speaking again late last week and has been more talkative recently, his father said.

"(Sunday) night I gave him a call, and it brought tears to my eyes to hear him carry on a conversation and talk so you could understand him," the elder Schubring said Monday, adding that his son was recently visited by a former college roommate and Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan.

A UW Hospital spokeswoman listed Darin Schubring as being in critical but stable condition Monday afternoon.

The former center played his first Baraboo High School varsity basketball game as a sophomore. In that game, BHS nearly defeated Wisconsin Rapids, one of the top teams in the state at that time, said former BHS coach Glen Richgels.

During his junior year, Schubring led the Thunderbirds to a 22-0 record and their first state tournament appearance in 33 years. They lost their first Madison-based tournament game after Schubring sprained his ankle in the first quarter.

"Darin is quite an unforgettable person," said Richgels, who now teaches math and computer science at Bemidji State University in Minnesota.

Richgels said Schubring, who grew to be 6-foot-10, had unbelievable strength and endurance. Aside from being pursued by several college basketball programs, including Notre Dame and Arizona, Schubring was recruited as a defensive end in football.

"I remember one game when he got mad. The quarterback was running around and he picked the quarterback up with one arm and threw him in the end zone for a safety," Richgels said.

Schubring joined the Badgers basketball team in 1986 and played under former coach Steve Yoder. He also played professional basketball in Europe.

Schubring suffered injuries in the Halloween incident, his father said, after a punch to his temple caused him to fall and hit his head on the front door of the bar, which opened, allowing him to fall further and hit his head on a concrete step.

The assailant had been giving a female bartender a hard time and Schubring was trying to calm the man down, his father said, adding that Schubring tried to walk away after the man pushed him, and that’s when he was sucker-punched.

Madison Police Department public information officer Joel DeSpain said a detective working on the case has good leads in the case and hopes to make an arrest.

"There were some people that provided some information at the time of the battery that was useful information," DeSpain said.