The Wisconsin men’s basketball program officially announced its tip for the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge:
Earlier this week, the Wisconsin men’s basketball program officially announced its tip for the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Wisconsin will host the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at the Kohl Center on November 29, with a tip time of 8 PM CT.
This game is, of course, being dubbed as the unofficial Jahcobi Neath revenge game (there has never appeared to be any bad blood whatsoever, but I digress).
Neath, who transferred to UW the last offseason, averaged 4.7 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 50 games for the Deacons.
The change of scenery had more to do with a coaching change that transpired between his first and second seasons with the program.
Nevertheless, I’d love to see Neath have a memorable game against his former program.
Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion, and analysis. You can also follow Dillon Graff on Twitter @DillonGraff.
Wake Forest transfer Jahcobi Neath is becoming a valued member of Greg Gard’s rotation due to the vast amount of experience he brings to this young badgers team.
During the off-season, Greg Gard made it a priority to add some experienced players via the transfer portal capable of providing meaningful minutes right away.
One of those players he felt could help the team was Wake Forest transfer – Jahcobi Neath. According to 247, Neath was a three-star prospect (No. 284) in 2019 out of Crestwood Prep in Canada.
In two seasons at Wake Forest, Neath averaged 4.7 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 2 assists in 50 games of action for the Deacons.
Nov 9, 2021; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard Jahcobi Neath (0) works the ball against St. Francis Terriers guard Michael Cubbage (11) at the Kohl Center. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports
Jahcobi Neath at Wisconsin:
So far this season, Neath has only appeared in just 5 games, missing 6 of due to a lower body injury and illness. So, Badger fans have been patiently waiting to see what exactly the Wake Forest transfer can add to the rotation.
Against Nicholls State, Neath was called upon to start in place of the teams leading scorer – Jonathan Davis who was out due to an illness of his own.
Just his second game playing double digit minutes, Neath found a way to make a noticeable impact in the teams 71-68 victory over Nicholls State.
In 27 minutes, Neath totaled 9 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists on 3-6 shooting – all of which were season highs. More impressive than the stat line, was the fact he impacted the game in a plethora of different ways.
Now that he’s back on the court, Neath is slowly working himself back into playing shape and trying to find his niche in Greg Gard’s rotation.
Physically, Neath looks the part: he’s big, strong and incredibly athletic. However, it’s hard to pigeon hole him when trying to describe what kind of player he is.
I don’t think there is any one specific thing he does great, but he does a myriad of things well. I will say this though, his size/versatility will certainly come in handy off the bench this season. Neath rebounds well for a guard, and should prove to be a mismatch nightmare for smaller guards down on the low block.
Jahcobi Neath still has a long way to go defensively, that much is evident. The physical tools are there for Jahcobi Neath to be a good defender – he just needs time to acclimate to coach Gard’s defensive system, and become more cohesive playing alongside his teammates.
Don’t be surprised if you start seeing Jahcobi Neath become a fixture in the rotation moving forward. His experience will be leaned upon more and more as the season progresses.
Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion and analysis.
The Badgers officially bring in the Wake Forest transfer
This morning, the Wisconsin Badgers officially announced the signing of Wake Forest transfer Jahcobi Neath.
The Badgers are landing a 6-foot-3 guard who averaged 5.3 points and 2.2 assists per game his first season in the ACC, while shooting 42.2 percent from the floor, including 48 percent from 3-point range.
The Toronto, Ontario native and Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard had this to say about the move courtesy of the UW press release:
“I’m extremely excited to join Wisconsin,” Neath said. “I want to thank the coaches for giving me this opportunity. I can’t wait to start my journey as a Badger and compete with my new teammates at a high level!”
“We were looking to add another guard to our roster and Jahcobi checked a lot of the boxes for what we were looking for,” Gard said. “Jahcobi brings experience to our backcourt, as he has played two years in the ACC with some impressive games already in his young career. He has good size and athleticism that we need on both ends of the floor. I think Jahcobi is coming in with a little bit of chip on his shoulder and will be ready to compete.
“We have seen that the college game is moving more and more towards using more versatile lineups. Having backcourt depth is essential in today’s game, and Jahcobi can give us not only more depth at the point guard position, but he is also versatile enough to play off of the ball and allow us to play multiple guards.
“Jahcobi has a strong academic profile as well, and everyone we talked with raved about his character and the type of person that he is. We are looking forward to welcoming Jahcobi and his family to Madison in June.”
