Big Ten Offseason Evaluation: Wisconsin Badgers

In our Big Ten Offseason Evaluation series, we’ll break down the roster changes and outlook for all 18 Big Ten basketball teams heading into the 2024-25 season. The final leg of the series is Wisconsin, which enters its ninth full season under coach Greg Gard.

Jack Ankony | Aug 9, 2024

Wisconsin Badgers head coach Greg Gard against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at the Kohl Center. / Kayla Wolf-USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin climbed as high as No. 6 in the AP top-25 poll last season, but it closed the regular season on a 3-8 run and was upset by No. 12 seed James Madison in the NCAA Tournament.

Following the season, Wisconsin suffered severe transfer portal losses, putting a return trip to the Big Dance at risk.

Here’s a full breakdown of Wisconsin’s offseason, plus its outlook for next year.

Who they lost

Transfers: AJ Storr (16.8 ppg, Kansas), Chucky Hepburn (9.2 ppg, Louisville), Connor Essegian (3.2 ppg, Nebraska), Isaac Lindsey (0.6 ppg, South Dakota State), Gus Yalden (redshirt, Seton Hall), Luke Haertle (0.0 ppg, Winona State), Ross Candelino (0.0 ppg, Lipscomb)
NBA/graduation: Tyler Wahl (10.6 ppg)

Who they gained

Transfers: Camren Hunter (16.9 ppg, Central Arkansas 2022-23), Xavier Amos (13.8 ppg, Northern Illinois), John Tonje (2.6 ppg, Missouri)
Freshmen: Daniel Freitag (No. 127 in 247Sports Composite), Jack Robison (No. 189)

Returning

Steven Crowl (11.2 ppg), Max Klesmit (9.9 ppg), John Blackwell (8.0 ppg), Nolan Winter (2.4 ppg), Kamari McGee (2.1 ppg), Carter Gilmore (1.8 ppg), Markus Ilver (1.1 ppg), Chris Hodges

Reasons for optimism

John Blackwell made the Big Ten All-Freshman team last season, scoring eight points per game on 45.5% 3-point shooting. The 6-foot-4 guard was college-ready, scoring double-digit points in five of his six games and tying his season-high with 18 points in the final regular season game at Purdue. Blackwell hit a rough patch in the middle of Big Ten play, but the shifty guard should thrive in a more prominent role after the departure of Storr, Hepburn and Essegian.

Steven Crowl is back for his fifth-year senior season, giving Wisconsin a three-year starter at center. He increased his 3-point shooting to 44.8% (26 for 58) last season and finished with a career-high 55.6% field goal percentage. Crowl has never made an All-Big Ten team – and there’s a good chance he won’t in 2024-25 – but he’s a steady presence in the paint at 7-foot. The next step for him is becoming more of a shot-blocking threat after averaging just 0.4 per game in his career.

Wisconsin’s third returning starter is Max Klesmit, a 6-foot-4 sharpshooter. After beginning his career at Wofford, the Neenah, Wisc., native came home and has shot 39.2% from 3-point range across 286 attempts in his two-year Wisconsin career. He finished 11th in the Big Ten in 3-pointers made last season and should slot even higher with more opportunities.

Biggest concerns

The transfer portal was extremely unkind to Wisconsin, which lost leading scorer AJ Storr to Kansas and three-year starting point guard Chucky Hepburn to Louisville. They played key roles as the Badgers finished fifth in the Big Ten and earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Had they returned, Wisconsin would be in the mix for the Big Ten title.

But instead, Gard was forced to search the transfer portal for replacements, each of which come with question marks. Camren Hunter, a 6-foot-3 guard, missed the entire 2023-24 season with a foot injury, so acclimating to a new team while shaking off injury rust could be difficult. When last healthy in 2022-23, Hunter averaged 16.9 points and made the third-team All-Atlantic Sun. He’ll likely step into the starting backcourt alongside Blackwell and Klesmit, and he’ll have to improve upon his 28.7% career 3-point shooting.

The same is true for Missouri transfer John Tonje, a 6-foot-6 guard who missed all but eight games last season due to a foot injury. It would be a huge boost for Wisconsin if Tonje can return to his 2022-23 form, when he averaged 14.6 points and shot 38.9% from 3-point range at Colorado State, but that’s no guarantee.

Wisconsin also lost Tyler Wahl to graduation, creating a void at the starting power forward position. That could be filled by returning sophomore Nolan Winter or Xavier Amos, a 6-foot-8 transfer from Northern Illinois who averaged 13.8 points and 5.8 rebounds. He can stretch the floor, too, shooting 38.5% (40 for 104) from 3-point range last season, but making the jump to the Big Ten will be a challenge.

The bottom line

Gard should be able to run out a solid starting five, but depth is a major concern after his roster was gutted by transfer portal decisions. There doesn’t appear to be any immediate-impact freshmen, and if the incoming transfers don’t pan out as they move up a level, things could go downhill quickly. I’d put Wisconsin outside the conference’s top-10 teams.