It’s been a few months since the Wisconsin basketball and basketball season ended. The transfer portal has been on the front pages of newspapers for a long time. The players left the NIL for other universities. Wisconsin basketball was fortunate last season to retain its core by adding AJ Storr to the lineup. However, this year they were not so lucky.
The Badgers lost Storr to Kansas and quarterback Chucky Hepburn to Louisville. Greg Gard was able to replace those players in Cameron Hunter, Xavier Amos and John Tonje, all from the portal. This year the squad will look completely different, but there are reasons for optimism.
Wisconsin basketball will get three productive players to start
I mentioned this offseason earlier and I’ll say it again: Greg Gard didn’t bring three transfer players to the bench. He didn’t do that with AJ Storr either. Hunter, Amos and Tonje should and probably all will start at least the start of the season.
Hunter didn’t play last season, but he averaged 17 points per game for Central Arkansas in 2022-23. He is also a good floor general. I’m not saying Hunter will be better than Hepburn, but I think Wisconsin basketball will be in good hands with Hunter still having two years of eligibility left.
I can’t wait to see what Xavier Amos brings this year. He had a solid year at Northern Illinois last year, averaging just under 14 points per game and shooting almost 50% from the field. This also applies to almost 39% of three. Amos also scored 26 points at Northwestern, a place where scoring is challenging.
Tonje played in just eight games at Missouri last year due to injury, but he scored nearly 15 points per game two years ago in his final season at Colorado State. He is also an effective three-point shooter at 39%.
Last year’s core large holder is still around
It won’t be uncomplicated to replace Storr, Hepburn and Tyler Wahl. However, Wisconsin basketball returns Max Klesmit, Steven Crowl, John Blackwell and Nolan Winter. Add Kamari McGee and you have five players to add to your rotation. Considering the three signings, this is a pretty decent eight-man rotation.
Wisconsin basketball may add another player at some point, but Markus Ilver or Carter Gilmore will also see narrow action. It will take some time to get used to seeing some modern faces, but Gard and his staff have done a good job replacing the players who have left.
Young players ready to break through
John Blackwell and Nolan Winter are ready to make the jump in year two. Very few saw Blackwell step in right away and average eight points per game while shooting 45% from three. Blackwell has the Big Ten written all over him this season. We didn’t see many freshman mistakes made by a freshman either. He can be a special player.
If Winter takes the step we expect from him, he will be a matchup nightmare due to his ability to draw bigs and throw the ball behind all three. He had his moments as a freshman, but I think Wisconsin basketball will make the jump in his sophomore year.
It’s challenging to say what role Daniel Freitag will play as a rookie, but we know he will play and have his moments. Freitag has the skill and ability to break out right away as a freshman.
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