Last season, the Badgers were predicted to finish 12th in the Big Ten, but they managed to surprise many national experts. Against the odds, they excelled by transforming their offense into a more dynamic and explosive style, proving the skeptics wrong. What was once met with doubt has now been silenced by their success.
Lately, Greg Gard has been receiving a lot of praise from the national media, with many now fully trusting his ability to rebuild the roster and keep Wisconsin competitive within the top 25. In fact, Andy Katz has placed the Badgers at No. 20 in his “Way-Too-Early Power 37” rankings, further solidifying their rising status.
Andy Katz Ranks Wisconsin Basketball No. 20 in His Way-Too-Early Rankings
Greg Gard is facing a major roster shakeup, with many key players graduating or finishing their eligibility. John Tonje, Kamari McGee, Steven Crowl, Max Klesmit, and Carter Gilmore are all departing, which includes three starters and two significant role players. Despite this, the national media, including Andy Katz, seem to have full faith in Gard’s ability to reload the program and keep Wisconsin competitive for another strong season.
And in many ways, Gard has already begun to reload. As reported by On3.com, he currently boasts the No. 1 transfer portal class, having added talented players like Austin Rapp, Nick Boyd, and Andrew Rohde to the roster. Notably, the Badgers are only losing one regular contributor, Xavier Amos. This means Wisconsin is bringing in three 4-star transfers while only losing one 3-star transfer.
In addition to the new additions, Gard will be welcoming back starter Nolan Winter and potentially star player John Blackwell—although Blackwell is considering entering the NBA Draft. Gard has also managed to secure Jack Janicki’s return and is likely to add one or two more players from the transfer portal. It’s clear that Gard isn’t rebuilding; he’s simply reloading for another successful season.
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