The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team’s season ended Friday night versus James Madison in the first round of March Madness, and guard Connor Essegian announced on Sunday that he will enter the transfer portal.
Essegian had an impressive freshman campaign in 2022-2023, averaging 11.7 points per game while hitting a freshman-record 69 3-pointers. However, playing time was hard to find for him this year.
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The 6-foot-4 guard saw his average minutes drop from 27.4 to 7.3 minutes per game in 2023-2024. He averaged just 3.2 points per game. The emergence of transfer wing AJ Storr, plus Essegian’s shortcomings defensively were the driving factors in the stark change in usage.
The news came as a shock to Badgers fans. Essegian said 10 days ago he would return to Wisconsin.
Badger Nation thank you❤️ pic.twitter.com/0xRycl0b67
— Connor Essegian (@CEssegian) March 25, 2024
A fan favorite in Madison, Essegian will likely look for an opportunity that provides him with a more direct path to meaningful minutes during his junior season.
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