Yes, you read that right, basketball season is right around the corner. On Oct. 20, the Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team is back in the Kohl Center for their annual Red and White scrimmage.
The Badgers finished last season with an overall record of 22-14, going 11-9 in conference play. This put them in fifth in Big Ten rankings. A few standout games include huge wins against No.11 Marquette and National Champion Runner-Up Purdue.
These two wins, along with many others, helped them earn a fifth seed in the NCAA tournament. But the Badgers didn’t make it past the first round, suffering a heartbreaking 72-61 loss to 12-seeded James Madison.
AJ Storr — who averaged 16.8 points per game — led the Badgers in scoring. He was followed by Steven Crowl with 11.2 points per game, Tyler Wahl with 10.6 and Max Klesmit with 9.9.
However, Storr transferred to Kansas and Wahl finished his last collegiate season. Now, the Badgers are left without two of their four top scorers.
Additionally, the Badgers have also lost a few other key components of their team. Chucky Hepburn left for Louisville, Connor Essegian left to be a Nebraska Cornhusker, and Issac Lindsey left for South Dakota State.
What does this all mean for this season?
There is a lot of room for new leaders to step up and to see the potential of the new additions to the team. Head coach Greg Gard and staff spent the majority of this offseason searching for players that would help to fill the gap of those who have left the program. Gard wanted players that would help contribute to a competitive environment for this season’s team.
In an interview for the Blue-Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, Gard told reporters he has a good team, but “we’re not getting talked about a lot, which is fine.”
“I like what I see here. And we’ve got a group that’s ego-less and committed to winning. That’s really, at the end of the day, what matters. We don’t hang any banners in July, you know?” he said.
There will be plenty of key players to watch out for this upcoming season, whether they are returning to the team or are brand new additions. Some returning players to watch out for this season include fifth-year guard Max Klesmit (9.9 PPG, 39.8 3PT%), sophomore guard John Blackwell (8.0 PPG, 82.1 FT%) and Steven Crowl (11.2 PPG, 7.3 RPG).
New faces to the team to watch out for include Missouri transfer guard John Tonje, Central Arkansas transfer guard Camren Hunter and true freshman Daniel Freitag, a four-star recruit from Bloomington, Minnesota.
The Badgers are set to tip off the regular season on Nov. 10 against Appalachian State.
