Post by mhbruin on Mar 30, 2024 21:00:25 GMT -8
CHANGES
====================
Next are the 5th-place Wisconsin Badgers who are coached by Greg Gard. He has been in Madison for 9 seasons, where he has finished tied for first in the B1G twice, and has three other top 4 finishes. He has been to 6 of the 8 NCAA tournaments. The Badgers went to the Sweet 16 in his first two seasons, but have only won two tournament games since.
The Badgers finished #17 at KenPom and lost to #12 seed James Madison in the opening round of the tournament. After the season there was speculation that Coach Gard might be fired, but he is back for season #10.
Last season he was blessed with almost prefect roster stablity. Four of their five starters started every game. The lone exception started 35 out of 36 games. All five starters combined missed exactly one game.
The Badgers had the #17 offense in the country and the #46 defense. Their three-point defense was terrible.
GRADUATING
Wisconsin only had one senior on their roster last season, but he was a full-time starter.
Tyler Wahl was their third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder. He led the team in blocks, but only with 0.6 blocks per game. They are not generally much of a shot-blocking team.
IN THE DRAFT OR TURNING PRO
Storr was their leading scorer. He is transferring to Kansas, but he is still officially declared for the draft.
TRANSFERRING OUT
A J Storr led the team in scoring. He was the #4 player in the transfer portal.
Chucky Hepburn has started every game in his three seasons in Madison. He wasn't a great shooter, but he had a 3.2 A/TO ratio which was #14 in the country. He was the #103 player in the portal.
I have a hard time understanding why anyone would call himself "Chucky".
Connor Essegian started 19 games as a freshman, but his minutes were dramatically reduced in his sophomore season, so he is moving on to another B1G team.
4-star recruit Gus Yalden got off to a rocky start before the season began when he was cited twice by Madison Police for possession of marijuana and underage drinking.
He missed several days of practice while recovering from an injury suffered in a scooter accident but eventually was well down the rotation during preseason practices and eventually chose to redshirt. After creating plenty of buzz on campus for his arrival, Yalden will leave the program without having played a single minute for the Badgers.
RETURNING
The Badgers return 6 seniors from their rotation last season, including 2 starters. This will be a veteran team.
On the other side of the coin, this is not a bunch of highly-ranked recruits, with no Top 100 players on the roster (and none coming in). Let's call this team the old over-achievers.
Wisconsin returns several good shooters including three guys who shot 40% or more from the arc.
Steven Crowl led the tean in rebounds and he was their second-leading scorer. He scored in double figures in 6 of their last 7 games, but in the other game he was held scoreless by Zach Edey. He's 7 feet tall, but he was also their best thre-point shooters among the regulars.
John Blackwell was the only other player who started last season. He is their best three-point shooter.
Nolan Winter is the backup center to Crowl.
Kamari McGee started his career at Wisconsin-Green Bay.
RECRUITS
(#58 class, #13 in B1G)
Freitag is expected to play a significant role as either starting or backup PG.
TRANSFERRING IN
(#33 class, #10 in B1G)
John Tonje played 4 years at Colorado State where he was a full-time starter by his senior year. Then he transferred to Missouri where he only played in 8 games. His big problem seems to be he turns the ball over a lot.
Xavier Amos seems to be a good shooter, but like Tonje, he seems to turn the ball over a lot. They are hoping he can fill the role that Tyler Wahl played.
Camren Hunter did not play last season due to a leg injury. His stats are from 2022-23. He started every game in the two seasons he played in the ASUN.
One writer says he expects Amos and Hunter to start for the Badgers (along with Klesmitt, Blackwell, and Crowl), so they must not thing too much of some of those returning seniors.
CONCLUSION
This roster is probably the least talented in the B1G. They don't have a single 5-star or 4-star player on the roster. This looks more like a mid-major than a B1G roster.
Yet, with rosters like this, Greg Gard has taken Wisconsin to 4 of the last 5 NCAA tournaments. He has also tied for first in the B1G in two of the last five seasons. He must do a good combination of finding players who fit his system and coaching them.
Nonetheless, I still have a hard time seeing how he competes in the B1G with this roster.
Torvick projects Wisconsin as the #33 team in the country and #10 in the B1G with a 18-13 record (10-10 in conference).
====================
Next are the 5th-place Wisconsin Badgers who are coached by Greg Gard. He has been in Madison for 9 seasons, where he has finished tied for first in the B1G twice, and has three other top 4 finishes. He has been to 6 of the 8 NCAA tournaments. The Badgers went to the Sweet 16 in his first two seasons, but have only won two tournament games since.
The Badgers finished #17 at KenPom and lost to #12 seed James Madison in the opening round of the tournament. After the season there was speculation that Coach Gard might be fired, but he is back for season #10.
Last season he was blessed with almost prefect roster stablity. Four of their five starters started every game. The lone exception started 35 out of 36 games. All five starters combined missed exactly one game.
The Badgers had the #17 offense in the country and the #46 defense. Their three-point defense was terrible.
GRADUATING
Wisconsin only had one senior on their roster last season, but he was a full-time starter.
| Player | Games | Starts | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Notes |
| Tyler Wahl | 36 | 36 | 28 | 11 | 5 | 1.9 | |
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Tyler Wahl was their third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder. He led the team in blocks, but only with 0.6 blocks per game. They are not generally much of a shot-blocking team.
IN THE DRAFT OR TURNING PRO
| Player | Games | Starts | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Can Return? |
| A J Storr | 36 | 36 | 29 | 17 | 4 | 0.9 | Yes |
Storr was their leading scorer. He is transferring to Kansas, but he is still officially declared for the draft.
TRANSFERRING OUT
| Player | Games | Starts | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Notes | Destination |
| A J Storr | 36 | 36 | 29 | 17 | 3.9 | 0.9 | Also in the NBA draft | Kansas |
| Chucky Hepburn | 35 | 35 | 33 | 9 | 3.3 | 3.9 | Louisville | |
| Connor Essegian | 33 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0.8 | 0.2 | Nebraska | |
| Gus Yalden | 0 | Seton Hall | ||||||
| Luke Haertle | 11 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | ||
| Isaac Lindsey | 18 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0.4 | 0.4 | South Dakota St |
A J Storr led the team in scoring. He was the #4 player in the transfer portal.
Chucky Hepburn has started every game in his three seasons in Madison. He wasn't a great shooter, but he had a 3.2 A/TO ratio which was #14 in the country. He was the #103 player in the portal.
I have a hard time understanding why anyone would call himself "Chucky".
Connor Essegian started 19 games as a freshman, but his minutes were dramatically reduced in his sophomore season, so he is moving on to another B1G team.
4-star recruit Gus Yalden got off to a rocky start before the season began when he was cited twice by Madison Police for possession of marijuana and underage drinking.
He missed several days of practice while recovering from an injury suffered in a scooter accident but eventually was well down the rotation during preseason practices and eventually chose to redshirt. After creating plenty of buzz on campus for his arrival, Yalden will leave the program without having played a single minute for the Badgers.
RETURNING
The Badgers return 6 seniors from their rotation last season, including 2 starters. This will be a veteran team.
On the other side of the coin, this is not a bunch of highly-ranked recruits, with no Top 100 players on the roster (and none coming in). Let's call this team the old over-achievers.
| Player | Games | Starts | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | FG% | 3Pt% | A/TO | Class | Recruiting Stars | Recruiting Rank |
| Steven Crowl F | 36 | 36 | 29 | 11 | 7.3 | 2.1 | 56% | 45% | 1.3 | Sr | 3 | 232 |
| Max Klesmit G | 36 | 36 | 29 | 10 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 44% | 40% | 1.7 | Sr | Unranked | |
| John Blackwell G | 34 | 1 | 19 | 8 | 3.2 | 0.6 | 45% | 46% | 0.8 | So | 3 | 212 |
| Nolan Winter F | 35 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 42% | 31% | 1.1 | Sr | 3 | 151 |
| Kamari McGee G | 25 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 54% | 27% | 1.4 | Sr | Unranked | |
| Carter Gilmore F | 33 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 49% | 25% | 1.0 | Sr | Unranked | |
| Markus Ilver F | 27 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 31% | 25% | 1.2 | Sr | 3 | 151 |
Wisconsin returns several good shooters including three guys who shot 40% or more from the arc.
Steven Crowl led the tean in rebounds and he was their second-leading scorer. He scored in double figures in 6 of their last 7 games, but in the other game he was held scoreless by Zach Edey. He's 7 feet tall, but he was also their best thre-point shooters among the regulars.
John Blackwell was the only other player who started last season. He is their best three-point shooter.
Nolan Winter is the backup center to Crowl.
Kamari McGee started his career at Wisconsin-Green Bay.
RECRUITS
(#58 class, #13 in B1G)
| Player | Size | Position | Recruiting Stars | Recruiting Rank | Offers |
| Daniel Freitag | 6-2 195 | PG | 3 | 104 | Baylor, Iowa, Iowa St |
| Jack Robison | 6-6 190 | SG | 3 | 106 | Minnesota, Nebraska, USF |
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| . | |||||
| . | |||||
| . |
Freitag is expected to play a significant role as either starting or backup PG.
TRANSFERRING IN
(#33 class, #10 in B1G)
| Player | Size | Games | Starts | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | FG % | 3-Pt % | A/TO | From | Class | Recruiting Stars | Recruiting Rank | Notes |
| John Tonje | 6-5 215 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 50% | 33% | 0.5 | Missouri | Sr 5 | Unranked | 297 | |
| Xavier Amos | 6-8 215 | 25 | 25 | 31 | 14 | 5.8 | 1.2 | 50% | 39% | 0.5 | Northern Illinois | Jr | Unranked | 106 | |
| Camren Hunter | 6-3 200 | 30 | 30 | 34 | 17 | 5.0 | 3.9 | 42% | 31% | 1.4 | Central Arkansas | Sr | Unranked | 191 |
John Tonje played 4 years at Colorado State where he was a full-time starter by his senior year. Then he transferred to Missouri where he only played in 8 games. His big problem seems to be he turns the ball over a lot.
Xavier Amos seems to be a good shooter, but like Tonje, he seems to turn the ball over a lot. They are hoping he can fill the role that Tyler Wahl played.
Camren Hunter did not play last season due to a leg injury. His stats are from 2022-23. He started every game in the two seasons he played in the ASUN.
One writer says he expects Amos and Hunter to start for the Badgers (along with Klesmitt, Blackwell, and Crowl), so they must not thing too much of some of those returning seniors.
CONCLUSION
This roster is probably the least talented in the B1G. They don't have a single 5-star or 4-star player on the roster. This looks more like a mid-major than a B1G roster.
Yet, with rosters like this, Greg Gard has taken Wisconsin to 4 of the last 5 NCAA tournaments. He has also tied for first in the B1G in two of the last five seasons. He must do a good combination of finding players who fit his system and coaching them.
Nonetheless, I still have a hard time seeing how he competes in the B1G with this roster.
Torvick projects Wisconsin as the #33 team in the country and #10 in the B1G with a 18-13 record (10-10 in conference).