Tag: nolan winter

Badgers MBB set for challenging early schedule

Badgers face early gauntlet on the court

The Badgers men’s basketball team is just a few weeks away from their season opener versus UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 1 and their early schedule is not easy, on paper that is.

Wisconsin will square off with four ranked programs within their first 10 matchups of the 2023-2024 campaign, including in-state rival Marquette on Dec. 2.

Greg Gard’s squad just had their Red-White scrimmage on Sunday with the White team winning 69-51. Most notably, new additions transfer forward AJ Storr (St. John’s) and freshman big man Nolan Winter scored 15 and 13 points respectively.

The Badgers will look to get off to hot start in 2023 to leave their disappointing 2022-2023 campaign in the dust.

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ESPN expects the Badgers to be back in March Madness this year

Can Wisconsin return to the National Tournament?

The 2023-2024 college basketball season is still a couple months away, but ESPN dropped their latest bracketology, listing the Badgers as a seven seed in their projections.

Greg Gard and his squad missed the National Tournament last year for the second time in five campaigns, finishing with a 17-14 regular season record. The team struggled in close games, dropping six contests decided by three or less points.

They went on to advance to the semifinals of the NIT, losing to North Texas 56-54. It was a positive end to a difficult year, though the final loss was another close one that they let get away.

Now operating with their entire starting lineup back in Madison, the Badgers have added transfer guard A.J. Storr and a trio of impressive freshmen (Gus Yalden, Nolan Winter and John Blackwell), amongst others.

The familiar Wisconsin squad seems to be expected to return to their winning ways again in 2023.

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WATCH: Which Badgers’ shot was better?

The 2023-2024 MBB season is still a few months away, but two of the athletes filmed each other making some trick shots in the Kohl Center.

The 2023-2024 men’s basketball season is still a few months away, but two of the athletes filmed each other making some trick shots in the Kohl Center. Entering his second season in Madison, Connor Essegian along with freshman forward Nolan Winter both made shots from the bleachers.

Essegian averaged 11.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game in his freshman season in 2022-2023, making a Badger freshman record 69 three-pointers over 35 contests. He’s quickly become a fan-favorite and his Twitter presence has certainly allowed him to gain popularity.

Winter on the other hand will be entering his first year in Madison, entering the program as a three-star recruit from Lakeville, Minnesota. The 6-foot-10 athlete won the 2022 Gatorade Player of the Year award and will look to become the next Wisconsin star from his home state.

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LOOK: Badger MBB season tickets for sale

The return of Badger men’s basketball is still a few months away, but fans of Greg Gard and his squad now have the chance to buy tickets.

The return of Badger men’s basketball is still a few months away, but the team’s season tickets are for sale on Wisconsin’s website. Fans of Greg Gard and his squad now have the chance to secure their seats for 2023-2024.

All five of the Badgers’ starters from last season are returning again this year, as well as transfer guard AJ Storr (St. John’s) and freshmen Gus Yalden (forward), Nolan Winter (forward) and John Blackwell (guard).

Gard and his players will look to rebound after missing the NCAA Tournament last year, ultimately losing to North Texas 56-54 in the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament in Las Vegas.

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Greg Gard ranked in Top 25 of CBB coaches list

The 2022-2023 MBB season was a disappointing one for the Badgers, but their head coach Greg Gard was listed in the top 25 coaches.

The 2022-2023 men’s basketball season was a disappointing one for the Badgers, but their head coach Greg Gard was listed in the top 25 coaches by the College Basketball Report. Coming in at 25th overall on the 40-coach list, Gard remains highly regarded entering his ninth season at the helm.

In 2023, all five of the Badgers’ starters (Chucky Hepburn, Max Klesmit, Connor Essegian, Tyler Wahl, Steven Crowl) will be returning to Madison as well as the additions of four-star big man Gus Yalden, three-star forward Nolan Winter and three-star guard John Blackwell.

Over his previous eight campaigns, Gard’s squad has produced a 164-93 overall record while winning two Big Ten regular season titles and making the NCAA Tournament six times (counting 2020 when tournament was cancelled).

They missed March Madness for the second time in six years last season, finishing the campaign with a 20-15 record while losing in the semifinals of NIT to North Texas 56-54.

Some wanted Gard to lose his job, but he ultimately retained his role in Madison, though he could be on the hot seat if the season goes south again in 2023-2024.

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WATCH: Carter Gilmore highlights from 2022-2023

The Wisconsin men’s basketball team dropped the highlight reel for third-year forward Carter Gilmore on Monday.

The Wisconsin men’s basketball team dropped the highlight reel for third-year forward Carter Gilmore on Monday. Although he may not be the flashiest player, he operates in that “glue guy” role for the Badgers.

During his junior year with Greg Gard’s squad, Gilmore averaged 2.6 points and 2.5 rebounds but he appeared in 35 games while shooting 40.7 percent from the field, which was 15 percent higher than his sophomore campaign.

With Wisconsin returning their entire core group of players in 2023-2024, Gilmore will continue to serve his role as a dynamic player that can provide top-notch effort on both ends of the court. Additionally, he’ll help mentor incoming big men Gus Yalden and Nolan Winter.

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2024 PG Daniel Freitag announces his college decision

Daniel Freitag, a four-star class of 2024 point guard from Jefferson, Minnesota announced that he has committed to join the Badgers.

Daniel Freitag, a four-star class of 2024 point guard from Jefferson, Minnesota announced that he has committed to join some of his fellow Minnesotans to play college basketball.

The 6-foot-2 athlete chose to head to Madison and play for Greg Gard and his Badger squad. Fellow Minnesota natives like Steven Crowl (Eagan, MN) and class of 2023 recruit Nolan Winter (Lakeville, MN) are amongst the players from his state that will likely be his teammates at Wisconsin.

Freitag is set to play for Southern California Academy for his final season of high school basketball in 2023 before joining the Badgers. He is the 10th ranked point guard in his class and could end up being the greatest recruit that Greg Gard has reeled in.

Additionally, he became the second player to commit to Wisconsin for the class of 2024, joining three-star Jack Robison (Lakeville, MN) in Madison.

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Watch: Chucky Hepburn sophomore season highlights

The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball season may not have gone to plan, but Chucky Hepburn took a step forward in year two at point guard.

The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball season may not have gone to plan, but Chucky Hepburn took a step forward in year two as the team’s starting point guard. His highlight reel for this sophomore season was released Wednesday.

Hepburn averaged 12.2 points, 2.8 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game while shooting 37.7 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from deep. Although the Badgers failed to make the NCAA Tournament, they did participate in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), losing to North Texas in the semifinals.

He will now enter his third season as the starting point guard in Madison, returning to a roster that will have all five of their starters from the 2022-2023 season on top of three incoming recruits in forward Gus Yalden, forward Nolan Winter and guard John Blackwell.

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Greg Gard listed in Top 50 of MBB head coaches

Greg Gard listed in Top 50 of MBB head coaches

After what was arguably the most disappointing season for Greg Gard as a head coach, the College Basketball Report gave him a little love Monday, listing him as a top 50 MBB coach. Gard came in as the 38th best men’s basketball head coach in the country.

In total, Greg has gone 164-93 (63.8%) over eight seasons as the head coach of the Badgers, but the 2022-2023 campaign stirred up some calls for his job. The fans didn’t take kindly to the Badgers missing the NCAA Tournament for the second time in five years and felt like Wisconsin could be better off with someone else at the helm.

At the end of the day, Gard kept his job after Wisconsin reached the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), losing to the eventual victors North Texas 56-54.

Moving forward, the head coach will get the benefit of having his entire starting lineup return in 2023, while also launching the careers of highly-touted recruits forward Gus Yalden, forward Nolan Winter and guard John Blackwell.

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Watch: Steven Crowl junior season highlights

The Badgers men’s basketball team released the highlights for their star big man Steven Crowl on Tuesday.

The Badgers men’s basketball team released the highlights for their star big man Steven Crowl on Tuesday. The 7-footer averaged 12.1 points and 6.9 rebounds while shooting 51 percent from the field.

Crowl and the Badgers failed to make the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the last five years, but they did make a deep run to semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). During that run, Crowl produced a career-high 36 points in the first round of the tournament against Bradley.

Moving forward, Crowl will look to mentor both incoming big men from the class of 2023, Gus Yalden and Nolan Winter. With Tyler Wahl also returning in 2023, Wisconsin’s frontcourt should be much deeper next season.

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