Tag: wisconsin basketball news

Wisconsin lands a commitment from 2023 three-star PF Nolan Winter

Greg Gard earns a commitment from one of Wisconsin’s top-of-the-board prospects in the 2023 recruiting class:

Madison, Wisc. โ€“ย As a fan of the Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball program, you can count on three things in this life: death, taxes, and prep players from Minnesota committing to play for UW.

On Friday, that statement held true once again when Greg Gard and his coaching staff received a verbal commitment from three-star power forward Nolan Winter out of Lakeville, Minnesota.

Per the 247sports Composite, Winter is the No. 176 overall prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, the No. 38 PF in the country, and the No. 2 player in Minnesota.

If Lakeville sounds familiar, it’s because Wisconsin has recently created a pipeline at Lakeville North High School โ€“ producing Badger forward’s Nate Reuvers, Tyler Wahl, and now Nolan Winter.

“I love all the coaches from top to bottom,” Winter told BadgersWire. “The campus is beautiful, and the entire city is awesome with a really supportive fanbase. The players are all really cool and are dudes I can get along with for four years. They know how to win.”

Winter, a 6-foot-11, 210-pound forward who plays AAU with Howard Pulley, chose Wisconsin over scholarship opportunities from Minnesota, Stanford, Xavier, Oregon State, St. Thomas, Wake Forest, and Xavier.

“The staff sees me thriving at the four spot and, over the years, transitioning into the three,” Winter explained. “They compared me a lot to Sam Dekker and Jon Leuer. They also said they want me to have a big impact early on in my career.”

It’s easy to see Winter’s potential fit within a program like UW, given their success utilizing inside-out big men with similar skill sets.

The Lakeville North High School standout is a lanky, stretch big man that excels in the pick and pop, is a good passer from the high post, and has a budding low-post game. He also moves well for his size and flashes the ability to take defenders off the dribble and use his height to score over the top.

Winter, who fills Wisconsin’s last remaining scholarship in the 2023 recruiting cycle, joins combo-guard John Blackwell, forward Gus Yalden, and walk-on shooting guard Jack Janicki.

The Minnesota native announced his commitment to the University of Wisconsin via his Twitter account:

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2023 Three-Star F Nolan Winter Announces Commitment Date

2023 three-star forward Nolan Winter will announce his commitment this week:

Down to just the Wisconsin Badgers and Minnesota Gophers, three-star forward Nolan Winter out of Lakeville, Minnesota, announced that he’ll be committing this coming Friday, September 23, at 4 PM on Twitter.

Per the 247Sports composite, Winter is the No. 208 overall prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, the No. 40 PF in the country, and the No. 2 player in Minnesota.

The 6-foot-11, 210-pound forward, also held offers from Stanford, Xavier, Oregon State, St. Thomas, Wake Forest, and Xavier.

โ€œI love all the coaches [at UW] from top to bottom,โ€ Winter told Badgers Wire. โ€œThe campus is beautiful, and the entire city is awesome with a really supportive fa nbase. The players are all really cool and are dudes I can get along with for four years. They know how to win.โ€

For Greg Gard, this is a must-win recruitment for the Wisconsin Badgers, who essentially have no backup plan for the position should they miss.

Winter has long been the top target of the Badgers coaching staff and would be a perfect fit with the program.

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Former Badgers C Micah Potter signs a two-way contract with NBA team

Former Badgers big man Micah Potter has found a new home in the NBA:

According to a report from Shams Charania, former Wisconsin Badgers big man Micah Potter has agreed to a two-way deal with the Utah Jazz on Tuesday.

The Utah Jazz have undergone a total rebuild after trading star players Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert this offseason, thus opening the door for several young, affordable players to earn minutes.

Last season, Potter averaged 17.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per game for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, landing him on the G-League All-Rookie team.

A two-way contract represents an opportunity for NBA teams to sign two players who will spend the bulk of the season in the G-League and 45 or fewer days with the NBA franchise.

For Potter, this is an ideal situation, and it will allow him to continue developing his game in the G-League while earning sporadic minutes in the association.

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Wisconsin Basketball Makes the Final Two For 2023 Three-Star F Nolan Winter

With a big decision looming, #Badgers top target Nolan Winter is down to two schools:

With Gus Yalden, John Blackwell, and Jack Janicki already in the fold, the Wisconsin men’s basketball program wants to take one more player in the 2023 recruiting cycle before shifting its focus to 2024.

Greg Gard and his coaching staff have also made it abundantly clear they want that last scholarship to go to three-star power forward Nolan Winter out of Lakeville, Minnesota.

Per the 247sports Composite, Winter is the No. 208 overall prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, the No. 40 PF in the country, and the No. 2 player in Minnesota.

Many have viewed Winter’s recruitment as a three-horse race between Minnesota, Stanford, and Wisconsin.

However, after speaking to the Lakeville North standout, he informed BadgersWire that he’d be announcing his commitment in the next two weeks and has narrowed his list of schools down to Wisconsin and Minnesota.

The 6-foot-11, 210-pound forward also held offers from Stanford, Xavier, Oregon State, St. Thomas, Wake Forest, and Xavier.

Here is what Winter had to say about his two finalists:

Wisconsin Basketball offers 2024 F Jackson McAndrew

Wisconsin basketball makes a new offer in the 2024 recruiting class:

This past Sunday, Greg Gard and his coaching staff extended a scholarship offer to 2024 forward Jackson McAndrew out of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The 6-foot-8, 190-pound forward who runs with Howard Pulley on the Nike EYBL circuit currently holds offers from St. Thomas, Nebraska, and Northern Iowa. He’s also heard from Minnesota, Creighton, Indiana State, Belmont, South Dakota, and North Dakota State.

McAndrew, a fast-rising forward, averaged 5.4 points per game as a sophomore, reaching double figures four times while coming off the bench for Wayzata High School.

“I’d say there is interest in UW for sure. I have watched the Badgers a lot growing up and even more so recently. I really like their style of play as it fits mine very well. I also really like the coaching staff,” McAndrew told BadgersWire.

Currently unranked by all reputable recruiting services, McAndrew has decent handles for his size and can flat-out shoot the ball. He’s a sniper from beyond the arc with a quick, repeatable release making him a weapon in any system.

Also worth mentioning, Coach Gard has already offered McAndrew’s Howard Pulley 16U teammates, Andrew Freitag and Jack Robison, in the 2024 recruiting class.

The Minnesota native announced his scholarship offer from the University of Wisconsin via his Twitter account:

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WATCH: Greg Gard discusses his takeaways from Wisconsin’s trip overseas

WATCH: Greg Gard sat down with Andy Katz, who covers the Big Ten, to discuss the team’s overseas trip that wrapped up in August:

Earlier this week, Wisconsin Badgers head coach Greg Gard sat down with Andy Katz, who covers the Big Ten, to discuss the team’s overseas trip that wrapped up in mid-August.

During the trip to France, the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball program finished with a 4-0 record, playing multiple professional teams throughout 10-days.

“It got really physical, which is good,” said Gard in a postgame video posted by UW’s Twitter account. “I think it exposed things our younger guys maybe weren’t accustomed to with college basketball. It won’t be quite this physical, but it’s still good for us.”

Citing the “bonding component” as the most important takeaway from the trip, coach Gard had plenty of things to be excited about on the court.

Related: Five takeaways from Wisconsin basketballโ€™s French exhibition tour.

You can watch coach Gard’s full interview with Andy Katz in video below:

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A Look at 247Sports 2023 Big Ten Basketball Recruiting Rankings

Here is a look at where each Big Ten team currently stands in the updated 247Sports basketball recruiting rankings:

Under the leadership of Greg Gard, the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball program has historically made a name for itself by identifying recruits early and forging relationships with them, hoping to secure a verbal commitment before their recruitments take off.

As it pertains to the 2023 recruiting class, the narrative is no different.

Although Wisconsin got highly regarded wing prospects Gehrig Normand and Jamie Kaiser on campus before they blew up this summer, they could not close on either four-star prospect, losing out to Big Ten rivals Michigan State and Maryland, respectively.

However, UW currently has three players committed in its 2023 recruiting cycle, two of which are scholarship players.

Coach Gard secured commitments from three-star combo-guard John Blackwell and four-star forward Gus Yalden before the July evaluation period, a significant feat for a program like Wisconsin.

UW also landed un-ranked wing Jack Janicki as a preferred walk-on, impressive considering he held offers from Wake Forest, Loyola (IL), Rice, Santa Clara, Colorado State, Vermont, Harvard, and St. Thomas.

The Badgers are expecting to take another scholarship player in the 2023 cycle. They are actively awaiting a decision from three-star forward Nolan Winter, who, by all accounts, is deciding between UW and Minnesota.

As it stands, Wisconsin has the No. 21 recruiting class in the country, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

Here is a look at where each Big Ten team currently stands in the updated 247Sports basketball recruiting rankings:

Five Takeaways from Wisconsin Basketballโ€™s French Exhibition Tour

Coach Gard and the #Badgers went a perfect 4-0 during their four-game exhibition tour overseas:

The University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team concluded its 10-day, four-game exhibition tour across France on Monday; finishing said tour with a 4-0 record.

“It got really physical, which is good,” said Gard in a post-game video. “I think it exposed things that our younger guys maybe weren’t accustomed to with college basketball. It won’t be quite this physical, but it’s still good for us.”

Still, in the early stages of mixing and matching lineup combinations, coach Gard essentially deployed two separate line changes that remained fluid and everchanging throughout the trip.

“I’m really not concerned about what the score says,” Gard explained. “I’m more concerned about making sure we get guys experience, specifically guys who are new to the program or haven’t played a lot in the past. That’s forcing me to play a lot of guys. I wanted to force myself specifically to give everyone a chance.”

Although the trip’s primary focus was geared toward bonding and growing as a team, there were also several notable takeaways on the court.

Here are my main takeaways from Wisconsin’s overseas trip:

See Where Wisconsin Basketball Ranks in Jon Rothstein’s Big Ten Power Rankings

See where Wisconsin lands in Jon Rothstein’s current Big Ten Power Rankings for the 2022-23 season:

Wisconsin, the reigning Big Ten regular season champions, enters the 2022-23 college basketball season needing to replace a large amount of production yet again and will work to outperform preseason expectations as coach Gard enters his eighth year at the helm.

Gone are Johnny Davis (NBA), Brad Davison (Graduation), and their top three reserves from last season โ€“ so minutes are seemingly up for grabs across the board.

UW returns 41.1% of its scoring, 46.5% of its rebounding, 50.1% of its assists, and 37.6% of its made threes from last season.

Thankfully, coach Gard returns a strong nucleus that includes Chucky Hepburn, Tyler Wahl, and Steven Crowl to build the team around and has several others who’ve waited patiently for their chance to make an impact.

Offseason transfer additions Max Klesmit and Kamari McGee both figure to slot into meaningful roles for the Badgers from day one, and newcomer Connor Essegian, who is a sharpshooter, hopes to work his way into the mix as a true freshman.

After playing sparingly last season, Jordan Davis, Jahcobi Neath, Carter Gilmore, Markus Ilver, and Isaac Lindsey are also pushing for expanded roles in 2022-23.

Jon Rothstein, who writes for College Hoops Today, recently published his Big Ten offseason breakdown, featuring his power rankings for the upcoming season.

See where Wisconsin lands in Rothstein’s current Big Ten Power Rankings for the 2022-23 season:

Former Badgers C Chris Vogt Inks Pro Deal in Austria

After just one year in Madison, Badgers big man Chris Vogt has signed his first professional deal overseas:

After transferring to the University of Wisconsin last offseason and making a significant impact off the bench, Chris Vogt has officially signed his first professional contract with the Vienna DC Timberwolves in Austria.

Founded in 1957, the DC Timberwolves are an Austrian basketball club playing in the Austrian Superliga, the country’s top-tiered league.

The 7-footer appeared in all 33 games last season, averaging 2.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks in just under 13 minutes per game.

Although Vogt played just one season at UW, his role for the Badgers was invaluable, and I’d argue Wisconsin wouldn’t have won a share of the Big Ten regular season title without him joining the program.

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