The Wisconsin Badgers were one of the teams mentioned as ‘hurt by the transfer portal’ by ESPN’s Jeff Borzello in his recent breakdown of the winners and losers of the 2024 college basketball offseason.
Wisconsin was stuck in the ‘hurt’ category due to losing star point guard Chucky Hepburn, star guard A.J. Storr and sharpshooter Connor Essegian to the portal.
Related: Big Ten basketball teams ranked by returning production entering 2024-25 season
That fallout also saw Hepburn and Storr’s destinations (Louisville and Kansas respectively) each listed as big winners thanks to landing those star players.
In total, Wisconsin’s portal losses were Hepburn, Storr, Essegian and freshman forward Gus Yalden. The additions, then, were Central Arkansas guard Camren Hunter, Missouri guard John Tonje and Northern Illinois forward Xavier Amos — three players who all expect to play a significant role for the Badgers during the 2024-25 season.
The Badgers were by no means a winner during this offseason portal cycle. But the team expects to again be competitive with that incoming transfer class, plus returning contributors including Max Klesmit, Steven Crowl and John Blackwell, and incoming freshmen Daniel Freitag, Jack Robison and Andrija Vukovic.
But when comparing Wisconsin’s current situation to the potential alternative of Hepburn returning and the program landing top transfer guard Frankie Fidler, it’s hard to say the program wasn’t hurt by this portal cycle.
2024 men's NCAA basketball transfer portal: Winners, losers – ESPN https://t.co/4jGtn6aHgp
— Basketball Agent (@Basket_Agent) June 19, 2024
Here’s what Borzello said about the Badgers’ offseason:
The Badgers took gut punch after gut punch via the portal. Leading scorer AJ Storr entered and ended up at Kansas. Connor Essegian leaving was predictable, but happened. Same with Gus Yalden. And then point guard Chucky Hepburn’s loss was the devastating one. He started 103 games in three years with Gard.
I’d agree that this transfer cycle was a net negative. But the program’s future remains bright with the development of players like Blackwell and the potential stardom of incoming freshman Freitag.
Wisconsin should hold its own in 2024-25 with the returning production and incoming transfers. But things line up favorably for 2025-26 and beyond once the young talent reaches its stride.
First, the Badgers get set to open the 2024-25 season with challenging out of conference games against Arizona, Marquette and Butler before a gauntlet Big Ten slate. The biggest key to Wisconsin having a successful season is top-end contributions from all of its offseason additions.
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