Tag: Wisconsin basketball

Former Wisconsin assistant, son of Badgers program legend surprisingly announces retirement

Former Wisconsin assistant, championship-winning coach surprisingly announces retirement

Former Wisconsin basketball assistant and longtime Virginia head coach Tony Bennett is announcing his retirement from coaching at a press conference on Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

Tony Bennett, who is the son of former Wisconsin head coach Dick Bennett, coached with the Badgers from 1999-2003. He began on his father’s staff in 1999 — a year that saw Wisconsin’s first Final Four run in over 50 years — before staying on after Bo Ryan took over in 2001.

Related: Big Ten basketball power rankings entering 2024-25 season: A first look at the expanded conference

Bennett surprisingly announces his retirement after 15 years as head coach at Virginia. His resume includes a 433-169 overall record, four ACC Coach of the Year awards, two Naismith Coach of the Year honors, eight ACC titles and a national championship in 2019.

He is the latest college basketball coach to retire far before their career twilight — Villanova’s Jay Wright being the other prominent example.

Bennett was 3-2 against the Badgers in his Virginia career — the latest a 65-41 Wisconsin victory in last year’s Fort Myers Tip-Off.

https://twitter.com/UVAMensHoops/status/1847012207684366683

From a Wisconsin perspective: Bennett was always a popular name brought up by fans when discussing a potential move off of Greg Gard. That move obviously has not happened, and I wouldn’t predict it to in the coming years.

But Bennett’s retirement does take one primary replacement candidate off the board for whenever the Badgers are next searching for a head coach.

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First look at former Wisconsin star Chucky Hepburn in Louisville uniform

First look at former Wisconsin star Chucky Hepburn in Louisville uniform

This story was updated to correct a misspelling/typo.

Former Wisconsin point guard Chucky Hepburn was pictured in Louisville’s team photo on Wednesday.

Hepburn is set to start at point guard for the Cardinals in 2024-25 after transferring from Wisconsin this offseason.

He elected to transfer after three seasons as Wisconsin’s starting point guard. He averaged 9,8 points, 2,8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals in over 32 minutes per game during that span on 42% shooting from the field and 36% from three.

During his last season with the Badgers, Hepburn earned a 2024 All-Big Ten honorable mention distinction, a Big Ten All-Defensive team nod and a Big Ten All-Tournament team honor.

Here’s how Hepburn looks in Louisville Cardinals threads in the official team photo for the 2024-25 slate.

https://twitter.com/LouisvilleMBB/status/1846605720005071314

The star point guard wasn’t the only Badger to transfer following the 2023-24 season. Sharpshooter Connor Essegian made the move to Nebraska and star wing A.J. Storr elected to sign with the Kansas Jayhawks.

Hepburn’s shoes will likely be filled by a committee of point guards this season. Veteran point guard Kamari McGee, top 2024 recruit Daniel Freitag and Central Arkansas transfer Camren Hunter figure to lead the rotation.

The Badgers will open their season on Nov. 4 at the Kohl Center against Holy Cross.

Surprising candidate in contention for Wisconsin basketball starting point guard job

Surprising candidate emerging as Wisconsin basketball starting point guard

This story was updated to add new information

Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard met with the media on Tuesday after the Badgers’ open practice.

One surprising note from his comments came regarding the team’s ongoing battle for the starting point guard role. Gard said Kamari McGee has “consistently separated himself” at practice and has “played the best [of the point guards] over the two and a half weeks so far.”

Related: Big Ten basketball power rankings entering 2024-25 season based on KenPom rating

Gard was asked to specify if the job is McGee’s to lose at this stage of the preseason. His response: “We’re still a ways away from Nov. 4. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

The comments point toward McGee possibly leading a point guard group that includes top 2024 recruit Daniel Freitag and Central Arkansas transfer Camren Hunter.

Freitag joined the program this offseason as 247Sports’ No. 127 player, No. 11 point guard and No. 2 recruit in Minnesota in the class of 2024. Hunter  missed all of the 2023-24 season with an injury. He previously averaged 16.9 points in 34 minutes per game as a sophomore in 2022-23. The two projected to be the team’s primary options at the position.

McGee, on the other hand, played in 25 games for the Badgers in 2023-24. He finished with per-game averages of 8.2 minutes, 2.1 points, 0.8 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 0.5 steals on 54% shooting. His six-week absence in January and February directly coincided with the Badgers’ losing skid. While McGee’s numbers don’t jump off the page, Wisconsin seemed to consistently win with him in the lineup and lose with him out of it.

This is the biggest story surrounding the Wisconsin program with less than three weeks remaining before the opener against Holy Cross.

Freitag figures to play a big role immediately as a true freshman. But his role, and Wisconsin’s entire lineup, is somewhat up in the air. The team does not lack talent or experience — but it is set to look extremely different from last year’s group after the offseason departures of Chucky Hepburn, A.J. Storr and Tyler Wahl.

Gard and his team continue their preseason preparation before opening the 2024-25 season at the Kohl Center on Nov. 4 against Holy Cross. All eyes should be focused on who is announced as the team’s starting point guard during the pregame introductions.

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Wisconsin basketball receives votes in Associated Press preseason rankings

Wisconsin basketball receives votes in Associated Press preseason rankings

Wisconsin’s men’s basketball program received five votes in the Associated Press’ preseason men’s college basketball rankings on Monday.

Just a few weeks after being awarded the No. 12 spot in the Big Ten men’s basketball preseason poll, the Badgers landed well outside the AP’s top 25 hierarchy ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.

The outlet placed Kansas in the No. 1 spot, Alabama at No. 2, defending national champion UConn at No. 3, Houston at No. 4 and Iowa State at No. 5.

Big Ten rivals Purdue (No. 14), Indiana (No. 17) and Rutgers (No. 25) landed within the AP’s initial list. Illinois received 92 votes, Michigan State and Ohio earned 29, Michigan pocketed 19, Oregon notched 12 and Maryland secured one. Wisconsin’s five votes were the 20th-most among unranked teams in this year’s installation of the preseason rankings.

Here is a full look at the AP’s preseason top 25.

Despite amassing a 22-14 mark a season ago and earning a No. 5 seed in the 2024 NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament, this marks the third consecutive season Wisconsin falls outside the preseason top 25.

This year’s team will welcome a cohort of new faces. True freshman point guard Daniel Freitag will immediately join the rotation alongside transfers John Tonje, Xavier Amos and Camren Hunter. Former point guard Chucky Hepburn (transfer), scoring machine AJ Storr (transfer) and mainstay Tyler Wahl (graduation) will not return to the Kohl Center this season.

Wisconsin will begin its 2024 season against Holy Cross on Nov. 4 at the Kohl Center.

Where Wisconsin basketball lands in KenPom 2024-25 preseason rankings

Where Wisconsin basketball lands in KenPom 2024-25 preseason rankings

Wisconsin basketball was ranked No. 46 in the first installation of the 2024-25 Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings on Sunday.

The first version lists Houston as the No. 1 team in the country, Duke at No. 2, Auburn at No. 3, Alabama at No. 4 and Connecticut at No. 5. Purdue was the sole Big Ten team to crack KenPom’s top 10 ahead of the 2024-25 season at No. 10.

Wisconsin landed as the No. 11 team in the Big Ten on the hierarchy. Illinois (No. 23), UCLA (No. 26), Oregon (No. 29), Ohio State (No. 31), Iowa (No. 33), Michigan State (No. 35), Michigan (No. 36), Maryland (No. 37), Indiana (No. 39) and Northwestern (No. 50) rounded out conference teams in the top 50.

Unlike other rankings, the KenPom rankings measure college basketball teams based on metrics including offensive efficiency, defensive efficiency, net rating, tempo and strength of schedule. For context, Monday’s AP Top 25 poll listed Kansas as the No. 1 team in the nation, a difference of five spots when compared to KenPom’s No. 6 ranking for the Jayhawks.

Wisconsin is no stranger to receiving subpar positions in preseason rankings. UW earned the No. 12 spot in the Big Ten’s preseason hierarchy a few weeks ago before being placed well outside the AP Top 25 on Monday.

The placement adds up. Wisconsin will enter the 2024-25 season without veteran point guard Chucky Hepburn (transfer), athletic wing A.J. Storr (transfer) and mainstay forward Tyler Wahl (graduation). The team’s top options include Max Klesmit, John Blackwell and Steven Crowl, a far cry from the glory days with Frank Kaminsky, Nigel Hayes and Sam Dekker.

Still, Wisconsin finished last season at 22-14 and earned a No. 5 seed in the 2024 NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament. The crew also welcomed transfers John Tonje, Xavier Amos and Camren Hunter to the fold this offseason.

The Badgers will begin their 2024 season against Holy Cross on Nov. 4 at the Kohl Center.

PHOTOS: Wisconsin basketball legend Bo Ryan through the years

A look at Bo Ryan’s career with the Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin basketball legend Bo Ryan was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Sunday.

The longtime Badger coach received his induction back in April. Sunday’s event made his enshrinement official, as he and the rest of the Naismith Hall of Fame Class of 2024 received their jackets and were immortalized among the sport’s all-time greats. Other members of that class include NBA greats Vince Carter, Chauncey Billups and Walter Davis.

“I’m still pinching myself,” the Wisconsin Badgers legend said before the ceremony. “When I got the word, all the memories, all the players, all the camaraderie of the teams that were cohesive…those are the things that flashed into my head. Boy, do I have a lot of people to thank.”

Here is a clip from Ryan’s speech, specifically about his players and program at Wisconsin:

Ryan coached for the Badgers from 2001-2015. His Hall of Fame tenure with the program included four Big Ten Coach of the Year awards (2002, 2003, 2013, 2015), four Big Ten titles, two Final Four appearances and a final record of 364-130.

To say that there are Wisconsin program ‘greats’ discounts Ryan’s substantial individual impact and importance. He is the embodiment of Wisconsin basketball and is a significant reason the program is where it is today.

As Ryan’s coaching career is celebrated by the basketball world, here is a look at his time at Wisconsin, through photos:

Wisconsin legend officially enshrined into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Wisconsin legend officially enshrined into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Wisconsin legend Bo Ryan was officially enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Sunday.

Ryan, who coached for the Badgers’ men’s basketball program from 2001-15, was among 13 basketball luminaries to represent the Hall of Fame’s class of ’24. 2004 NBA Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, 22-year NBA veteran Vince Carter, five-time NBA champion Michael Cooper and 1978 NBA Rookie of the Year Walter Davis were among the legends recognized. 

Ryan first received word of his place on the ballot as a finalist on April 6. Roughly seven months later, the moment he’d been waiting for came to fruition.

“I’m still pinching myself,” Ryan told NCAA reporter Andy Katz on Sunday. “When I got the word, all the memories, all the players, all the camaraderie of the teams that were cohesive… those are the things that flashed into my head. Boy, do I have a lot of people to thank.”

The Badger legend retired from manning the sidelines in 2015 after serving as head coach for 15 years in Madison. He captained UW to a a 364-130 overall record, 15 NCAA Tournament appearances, two Final Fours and one national championship game during his tenure.

Oct 13, 2024; Uncasville, Conn, USA; Class of 2024 inductee Bo Ryan speaks during the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement at Symphony Hall Springfield. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images

Ryan was a four-time Big Ten Coach of the Year (2002, 2003, 2013, 2015) and established Wisconsin as one of the NCAA’s most respected programs across the nation. He was also inducted into the Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.

Greg Gard: Badgers freshman PG Daniel Freitag ‘has some things physically that you can’t teach’

Greg Gard has high praise for freshman PG Daniel Freitag

Wisconsin basketball head coach Gard Gard had high praise for true freshman point guard Daniel Freitag earlier this week.

His comments come as the Badgers prepare to start their 2024-25 season in less than four weeks. Freitag, who joined the program this offseason as a four-star point guard recruit in the class of 2024, has been one of the early camp standouts.

Related: Big Ten basketball power rankings entering 2024-25 season: A first look at the expanded conference

“Probably there’s nobody that had a better week of practice than [Freitag],” Gard told reporters in a video shared by 247Sports. “I think the game is, I don’t want to say slowed down, but mentally he’s slowed down a little bit. He’s still playing as aggressive and I think his decision-making. He has some things physically that you can’t teach — does some things physically with his burst. He brings an electricity to us on both ends of the floor.”

Freitag figures to compete for the starting point guard job after Chucky Hepburn’s surprising departure after the 2023-24 season. He, transfer Camren Hunter and veteran Kamari McGee are the primary contenders for the spot.

But regardless of whether he starts each game on the floor, Freitag guarantees to play a significant role immediately.

“Whatever role I get, I’m happy with,” Freitag said. “Although I’m striving to have the biggest role possible. Every team I’ve been on, I haven’t wanted to be the fourth, fifth option. Or even second option. I’ve always wanted to be the guy. And not even the guy that scores the most or gets the most attention. But the guy that people can lean on in big moments…So I want that No. 1 [point guard] spot, kind of like how Anthony Edwards wanted on Team USA. He was probably cool with what he got, but I want to be the guy.”

The Minneapolis, Minnesota native was 247Sports’ No. 127 player in the class of 2024, No. 11 point guard and No. 2 recruit from his home state. He appears on track to surpass what his initial recruiting ranking projected.

Freitag hopes to lead a Wisconsin basketball program in need of a resurgent stretch. The program has not reached the Sweet 16 since 2017, and only has two NCAA Tournament wins in that span. It is fresh off a first-round exit in 2024 at the hands of 12-seed James Madison.

With Hepburn, A.J. Storr and Tyler Wahl all gone from the 2023-24 team, Freitag’s arrival hopes to mark the start of a new era of Badger basketball. That era will begin at the Kohl Center on Nov. 4 against Holy Cross.

It will be worth monitoring whether Freitag is introduced as the Badgers’ starting point guard on that date.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion.

Wisconsin basketball 2024-25 full schedule with tipoff times, TV networks

Wisconsin basketball 2024-25 full schedule with tipoff times, TV networks

Wisconsin’s men’s basketball program announced its tip times and television networks for the 2024-25 schedule on Wednesday.

It total, the Badgers’ games will be featured on six different channels, including five contests on network television stations.

UW’s first four home games against UW-River Falls, Holy Cross, Montana and Appalachian State will be aired on Big Ten Plus before its Nov. 15 clash against Arizona on Peacock. Peacock will air a total of nine Badger games this season.

The Badgers’ Nov. 18 game against UT-Rio Grande Valley will be aired on Big Ten Network, and CBS Sports Network will carry every contest during the 2024 Greenbrier Tip-Off on Nov. 22 and 24.

Other notable designations include Wisconsin’s I-94 rivalry game against Marquette on Dec. 7 on FOX and its Feb. 8 showdown vs. Iowa on NBC.

For more information on the entire TV schedule this season, click here.

https://twitter.com/BadgerMBB/status/1844091511052595681

Wisconsin will enter the season tied with Nebraska at No. 12 in the 2024-25 Big Ten Media Preseason poll. The team will welcome transfers John Tonje (Missouri), Camren Hunter (Central Arkansas) and Xavier Amos (Northern Illinois), alongside talented freshman point guard Daniel Freitag.

UW went 22-14 a season ago and lost in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. After the departures of point guard Chucky Hepburn, athletic wing A.J. Storr and veteran forward Tyler Wahl, the team will lean on big man Steven Crowl and sophomore John Blackwell for offensive boosts throughout the campaign.

Greg Gard compares mindset of Wisconsin sophomore wing to former Badgers star

Greg Gard compares mindset of Wisconsin sophomore to former Badger star

Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard praised sophomore wing John Blackwell during his media availability on Monday.

With just a few weeks until its 2024-25 slate commences, Wisconsin has returned to the hardwood for a series of preseason practices. It’s safe to say Gard has appreciated the outlook of his second-year 6-foot-4-inch playmaker.

Gard reportedly compared Blackwell’s mindset ahead of his sophomore campaign to that of former Wisconsin star Johnny Davis before his second year in Madison. Davis, who now represents the NBA’s Washington Wizards, earned the 2022 Big Ten Player of the Year nod after averaging 19.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game as a sophomore.

Considering his seven-point per-game clip as a freshman, Davis’ jump was substantial. Suppose Blackwell can come anywhere close to emulating what the future lottery pick did during his second college season. In that case, the Badgers will unlock an entirely new dynamic ahead of this season.

Blackwell’s freshman season was one of the most notable in the program’s last decade. The Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, native averaged 8.0 points per game off 45.1% from the field, 45.% from outside and 82.1% from the charity stripe en route to Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors. He was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week four times, a feat no Badger had achieved since Nigel Hayes in 2013-14.

The dynamic wing will play a much larger role in Gard’s system this season following the departures of Chucky Hepburn, AJ Storr and Tyler Wahl. The team will open the season against Holy Cross on Monday, Nov. 4.