A top of the board prospect in the 2023 class gives an update on his Badgers recruitment:
Greg Gard and his coaching staff have had a knack for quickly identifying culture fits that play their specific brand of basketball, and establishing relationships that they’re able to maintain throughout the entire recruiting process.
One of the prospects Wisconsin was able to identify early in the recruiting process was 2023 three-star forward Nolan Winter out of Lakeville, Minnesota, who Wisconsin offered back in June of 2021.
If Lakeville sounds familiar, it’s because UW has created a bit of a pipeline at Lakeville North High School in recent years – producing Badger forward’s Nate Reuvers and Tyler Wahl.
Per 247Sports, Winter is the No. 140 overall prospect in the 2023 class, the No. 23 SF in the country, and the No. 2 player in the state of Minnesota.
The 6-foot-11, 190-pound forward currently holds offers from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Stanford, Xavier, Oregon State, St. Thomas, and Wake Forest.
Additionally, he’s heard from Virginia Tech, UCLA, Illinois, Notre Dame, Virginia, Utah, Creighton, and Oklahoma State.
At the moment, assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft is acting as the lead recruiter for the stretch forward’s services. “We talk very often, and he’s been able to make it to a lot of my games this spring so far,” said Winter. “The thing that stands out about Wisconsin is how early they started to recruit me, and from that day on we’ve been in constant contact. The staff and I are very comfortable, and we frequently will have calls or shoot texts back and forth. It’s a great college and program with awesome people controlling it.”
“The staff at Wisconsin sees me in a stretch-four type of role. They often compare me to Jon Leuer back in the day. Someone who can shoot from the outside, along with getting into the paint and using my size to my advantage in multiple ways. I think I could have a big role from the beginning” said Winter.
Along with strong academics, the 6-foot-11 forward is looking for a competitive program with an established culture, winning tradition, and a great relationship with the coaching staff.
When asked if Wisconsin is a serious contender for his services, Winter had this to say:
“For sure. Wisconsin has, and will be towards the top of my list. It’s a great college and I have a ton of respect for the school,” Winter told BadgersWire. “They just got two huge recruits and I feel like if I were to go there, we could all complement each other’s games really well.”
Right now, the talented junior doesn’t have a timeline for his commitment, but it’s worth noting that he’s already taken several visits to Madison.
It’s easy to see the Minnesota native’s potential fit within a program like UW given the success they’ve had utilizing big men with similar skill-sets.
Winter is an obvious top of the board recruit for Greg Gard and his coaching staff, so this will be an intriguing recruitment to follow moving forward.
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