At the start of the season I wrote a story on the incoming transfers. Let’s look at how they have done so far.
John Tonje, ‘Mr All-American’
Head coach Greg Gard and his staff have an ability to find and develop players from the transfer portal. Last year it was AJ Storr, and this year it’s John Tonje.
Tonje has undoubtedly been the Badgers' best player this year. He averages 19.5 points (48 FG%, 38.9% from three on 5.8 attempts per game and 91.3% FT%), 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists a game. Tonje scored back-to-back 30-point games against seventh-ranked Purdue and Illinois a few weeks ago, he was the first Badger to do that since Michael Finley in 1994.
Following these performances, he was named Naismith and Big Ten Player of the Week.
He’s a big reason why the Badgers have received national media attention, and you could argue he’s the best transfer in the country and the best in Wisconsin’s history.
Tonje is a major reason why this Badgers team is so fun to watch as he gets the Kohl Center on their feet with his athleticism, offering great dunks to add to the highlight reel. His ability to shoot the three from anywhere no matter how close a defender guards him has been a weapon for the Badgers’ offense this season. One of his best tools is his physicality, which allows him to attack the rim, draw fouls and get to the line. He is one of the best free throw shooters in the Big Ten.
Tonje has had an excellent season overall, and one could argue he’s the Badgers’ best player since Johnny Davis. Tonje is the frontrunner in the Big Ten Player of the Year race and is a strong candidate for first-team All-American.
Greg Gard and his staff will have the tough task of finding a replacement for the sixth-year senior this offseason.
Xavier Amos, ‘the X factor’
Northern Illinois transfer Xavier Amos has struggled to find his rhythm offensively. His game is definitely more raw than initially thought, but with time and development Amos can surely become a weapon for the Badgers because of his physical tools. Standing at 6-foot, 7-inches, Amos has shown flashes offensively.
But where Amos distinguishes himself is on defense. He’s often asked to guard good athletic bigs. His shooting from beyond the arc has been what is holding him back (33.3 3PT%). Nonetheless, he’s still a solid rotation piece for the Badgers averaging 10 minutes a game.
In Wisconsin’s most recent Big Ten matchup against Washington, Amos scored 12 points shooting ⅘ from the field and ¾ from three in only 15 minutes played.
We always knew Amos could shoot, but it was a question of whether he could get in rhythm and find good looks. Wisconsin unlocking Amos’ potential late in the season can be a game-changer come March. All of a sudden the Badgers have another versatile weapon that can defend but can also knock down threes, which fits Wisconsin’s offensive philosophy. Amos has the potential of being a double-figure scorer, which many Badgers fans thought he would be coming into this year.
Camren Hunter
Central Arkansas transfer Camren Hunter has been facing injuries and physical problems all year long, which has stopped him from getting playing time. Unfortunately, he’s only appeared in six games for minimal minutes. Hunter came in for two minutes against Iowa a couple of weeks ago and hit a 3-pointer but hasn’t had much playing time since then.
After Chucky Hepburn transferred, the question of who would start at point guard loomed. As we've seen, Kamari McGee and Blackwell have endorsed that role now, and Hunter hasn’t been able to crack the rotation. With McGee in his last year of eligibility, there might be an opening for Hunter.
Depending on how you view this, Gard hit on two of the three transfers, one of them in Tonje being a homerun and Amos being a rotation piece. Gard has proven that he’s been able to adapt in this new era of college basketball where you can’t rely solely on recruiting but also have to find guys in the portal that fit your scheme.
True freshmen
The true freshmen this year have had less of an impact than what we had last year from Big Ten All-Freshman players John Blackwell and Nolan Winter. This is not a knock on the talent of these freshmen which we haven’t really had the chance to see — this just shows how good and deep this nine-man rotation is.
With Wisconsin bringing in new players this season, they had players leave through the transfer portal following their early March Madness exit. Let’s take a quick look at how former Badgers are doing in their new programs.
Chucky Hepburn
Louisville hoops are back, and Chucky Hepburn is a big reason for that. Head coach Pat Kelsey has completely turned this team around, and having an experienced point guard like Hepburn helps a lot.
Hepburn can score but also defend at a high level and has made this Louisville squad a tournament team, which they haven’t been since 2018. Louisville is currently sitting in second in the ACC with a 15-2 conference record.
Hepburn is arguably Louisville’s best player this season and has lived up to the hype as one of the most coveted players in the transfer portal. He averages 15.6 points a game, shooting 43.8 % from the field, 33.3% from three and 85.7% from the line. He also averages six assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.4 steals a game. The Omaha native had a 26-point game over Kentucky, a 26-point game against UNC and recently a 29-point game against Florida State.
Many Badgers fans felt Hepburn’s effort on defense wasn’t strong last year and felt betrayed when the news broke that he would be transferring. Having McGee performing this year as a sixth man, the Badgers could be even stronger if they had a true point guard to accompany Blackwell in the backcourt.
AJ Storr
Kansas offered AJ Storr a $ 1 million deal to play for them this year. Unfortunately for Bill Self, Storr hasn’t been performing close to the level he showcased at Wisconsin last year. Collectively, Kansas is having an underwhelming year, as they are 10-7 in conference play and not ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time since February 2021.
This team still has the potential to heat up come March, and they are going to need Storr to up his level of production if they hope to make a deep run in the tournament. The junior is currently averaging a career-low six points a game, shooting a poor 26.5% from the 3-point line and 37.2% from the field.
Efficiency hasn’t been the only issue, as Storr has also struggled to get on the court. The former Badger has only started four games and averages 16 minutes per game. The inconsistency he has seen in playing time has been the main reason for Storr’s struggle, especially offensively as he was one of the best in the Big Ten last year on that side of the ball. Storr was used to having the green light, took a lot of shots and had the ball a lot at Wisconsin.
Storr made the third-team All-Big Ten, averaging 16.8 points and 3.9 rebounds a game. This year it’s different. Kansas has good players at every position, and Storr’s role has diminished.
Unfortunately, Storr’s case isn’t the same as Hepburn’s in the sense that Wisconsin profited from him leaving. His replacement, Tonje, is arguably one of the best transfers in college basketball.
Connor Essegian
Having left Wisconsin at the end of the 2023-24 season, Essegian made his comeback to the Kohl Center a few weeks ago when Nebraska came into town and wasn’t greeted too well by the fans.
The junior averages 10.5 points (40.9 FG%, 39% from three on six attempts per game and 82.6% from the line), one assist and 2.6 rebounds a game for the Cornhuskers. He found a role in the rotation as he always was a 3-point specialist, playing 22 minutes a game. Essegian had a great game earlier this year when Nebraska took down then-No. 14 Creighton, in an in-state rivalry game. Essegian scored 16 that game, going 4-for-6 from the field.
The main critique of Essegian’s game last year was always his lackluster defense. From the looks of the Wisconsin-Nebraska game, that didn’t really change. Connor went on to score eight points, making two out of seven 3s that day.
