Wisconsin Badgers coach Greg Gard and his team returned to the court on Monday, marking UW’s first official practice for the 2022-23 college basketball season.
UW, the reigning Big Ten regular season champs, enters the new season without many of the faces that helped bring that title to light. Gone are Johnny Davis (NBA), Brad Davison (Graduation), and the team’s top three reserves, most notably Chris Vogt.
Wisconsin went portaling in the offseason to combat those losses, bringing in Wofford guard Max Klesmit and UW-Green Bay point guard Kamari McGee to help rebuild some of the lost depth.
Fortunately, UW returns a solid core to build around, consisting of Chucky Hepburn, Tyler Wahl, and Steven Crowl, all of which were starters last season.
The coaching staff is also counting on players like Jordan Davis, Jahcobi Neath, Chris Hodges, Markus Ilver, Isaac Linsey, and Carter Gilmore to take noticeable steps forward after an entire offseason of development.
Connor Essegian, Wisconsin’s lone scholarship recruit in the 2022 cycle, made some noise during the team’s overseas trip and is an exciting young sharpshooter to keep an eye on.
Day one of practice for the Wisconsin men’s basketball program is officially in the books.
Go get it. Day 1… ✅#OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/MlQyHP3hv5
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) September 26, 2022
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