The Badgers have gained and lost players in recent days.
The Wisconsin Badgers continued to add in the transfer portal, landing San Diego State Aztecs guard Nick Boyd late on Sunday night. That was their third addition in a big week, joining Portland’s Austin Rapp and Virginia’s Andrew Rohde.
Wisconsin has quickly looked to retool its roster in the portal this offseason after losing six scholarship seniors, adding three potential starters with room for more in the portal.
But, it hasn’t all been positive, as the Badgers have lost a few scholarship transfers this offseason as well. Guards Camren Hunter and Daniel Freitag entered the portal first and were followed by forwards Chris Hodges and Xavier Amos.
As a result, there is still work to do and scholarship spots to fill in the transfer portal. Where do the Badgers stand now, and what are their next steps?
Boyd addition
Wisconsin arguably landed its biggest transfer over the weekend with the addition of Nick Boyd. Boyd provides the Badgers with valuable starting experience at winning programs, making the tournament both at San Diego State and at FAU, where he went to a Final Four.
Fit-wise, though, Boyd is a great addition to the roster. He thrives in pick-and-roll situations, which Wisconsin’s perimeter offense is predicated on, can shoot the ball, and is a good playmaker at the point guard position.
Moreover, Boyd’s veteran presence should fill the void left by leaders Max Klesmit and Kamari McGee.
With the senior in the fold, Wisconsin has a strong backcourt for next season with Boyd and Blackwell, who can both play on and off the ball. If Boyd assumes more of a point guard role, it could put Blackwell more off the ball, which could be beneficial for his game as a slasher, cutter, and shooter.
Blackwell was a better shooter on catch-and-shoots, which was seen during his freshman year, and those opportunities should increase as he moves to his more natural position.
Wisconsin’s guard group is solid now with the two starting guards, Jack Janicki, and incoming freshman Zach Kinziger, as the top players as of now.
Amos transfer
The unfortunate news on Monday was the transfer of forward Xavier Amos, who came in from Northern Illinois a season ago.
While Amos didn’t meet the high expectations that he had coming in, the forward progressed as the year went on, getting better and more confident on both sides of the floor.
With the improvements, it was expected that Amos would take on a bigger role in 2025, although it wasn’t clear what that would be, given Nolan Winter’s stronghold on the power forward position.
Then, Wisconsin added Portland forward Austin Rapp in the transfer portal, providing them with a strong stretch four option with three more years of eligibility. Now, Amos is in the portal.
Ultimately, I don’t think the move is too big of a detriment to Wisconsin, although it does hurt that the Badgers will lose two of their longer-term transfers from a season ago with Amos and Camren Hunter.
The Rapp addition opened up the pathway for Amos’s move, so it’s essentially a 1-for-1 as the Portland transfer should take Amos’s spot in the rotation.
To me, Rapp is the higher potential player, but possibly also the player with the higher floor. His skillset is a perfect fit for Wisconsin’s offense. He shoots the three well at a high rate, works off the catch-and-shoot, and is an underrated playmaker at the power forward position.
He’ll have to add more physicality and strength to his game for the Big Ten, specifically on the defensive side, but it’s a good addition for the Badgers, both for next year and the future.
With Rapp in the fold, Amos’s picture was getting cloudy. I assumed that if he returned, it would be in a more versatile role as a hybrid 3/4, given his athleticism. But, his departure clears up minutes and creates a transparent plan at the position.
Next up
Wisconsin isn’t done yet in the portal.
The biggest need still on the board is a starting center. Wisconsin needs more size, but, more importantly, they need a rim-protector that pairs well with Nolan Winter.
The Badgers have been connected to Samford center Riley Allenspach, who averaged 7.8 points and 3.0 rebounds in just 13.7 minutes this past year, shooting 57.5 percent from the field and 48 percent from three (albeit on lower volume).
A floor-spacer would be ideal for Wisconsin’s offense, but they need someone with size to step into a bigger role as the starting five. Now, the minutes equation is still there if their addition doesn’t play 30 minutes per contest, so it could mean more Nolan Winter center minutes or even a Will Garlock/Riccardo Greppi stepping into five to 10 minutes a night.
But, a starting center is still a need.
With Amos in the transfer portal, the idea of another forward now becomes a realistic possibility. Wisconsin doesn’t have much experience in the frontcourt on their roster currently, with Nolan Winter and Austin Rapp being the lone players who have seen meaningful minutes.
Now, this could be either a versatile 3/4 or it could be another center, although the latter usually has a heftier price in the transfer portal. As mentioned above, Wisconsin may need to rely on one of their younger guys, but a scholarship spot (and some money) has now opened up for the Badgers to add to their depth.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if Wisconsin went after another guard/wing. The Badgers have a solid core of Nick Boyd, John Blackwell, Andrew Rohde, and Jack Janicki, but there could be another ready-now piece to add to that equation.
Janicki should see an uptick in minutes, but the Badgers thrived on depth last year, and adding a piece that could rotate with Rohde as a wing would make sense.
Freshman Zach Kinziger could be asked to play a bigger role, coming in as a heralded recruit. But, Gard hasn’t depended on true freshmen much if they can’t match the physicality aspects of Big Ten basketball, so Kinziger may need a year to develop.
Ultimately, it matters on the money and the fit, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Wisconsin adds another wing to the roster.
Here’s what a possible rotation would look like then:
Starters
John Blackwell
Nick Boyd
Andrew Rohde
Nolan Winter
Transfer center
Bench
Austin Rapp
Jack Janicki
Transfer forward
Transfer wing/Zach Kinziger
Will Garlock/Riccardo Greppi
The Badgers have already done well in the transfer portal early. But, there is still some work to be done to round out the rotation after the number of departures this offseason.