As the NCAA men's basketball offseason begins, the Badgers are looking to fill several major roster holes with three starters — John Tonje, Steven Crowl and Max Klesmit — graduating.
Nonetheless, major contributors John Blackwell, who is exploring NBA draft waters, and Nolan Winter are looking to return. With that in mind, head coach Greg Gard has already found three pieces to build around them.
Nick Boyd
Nick Boyd is a 6-foot-3 point guard from Garnerville, New York, who officially committed to Wisconsin on Sunday. Boyd played a key role on Florida Atlantic University’s Final Four team in 2023, averaging 8.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists a game for the Owls.
Last season, Boyd transferred to San Diego State and averaged a career-high 13.4 points and 3.9 assists a game. Boyd also played efficiently, shooting 41.1% from the field, 35.1% from beyond the arc on high volume and 74.6% from the line.
Boyd chose Wisconsin over many top programs, including the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, which had high interest in the guard.
This past season, the Badgers lacked a true point guard following Chucky Hepburn’s departure. Blackwell, Klesmit and McGee alternated that role, but the gap in the roster needed to be addressed.
Boyd is the answer to that problem as he could be the primary ball handler. In turn, given Blackwell’s return, the Badger would profit if Gard plays him at shooting guard — his natural position.
One of Boyd’s strengths is his playmaking, with a career assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.1. He also has Final Four experience that the Badgers could use if they hope to make a deep tournament run next season.
Andrew Rohde
Wisconsin announced Andrew Rohde’s official commitment to the program on April 6. Rohde, a 6-foot-6 guard from Milwaukee, played his freshman year for St. Thomas, where he averaged 17.1 points (44.8 FG%), 3.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists a game.
Rohde then transferred to Virginia where he went on to appear in 63 games for the Cavaliers. This past year, he averaged 9.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists a game for Virginia. Rohde’s strength is his 3-point shooting, as he averaged 41.3% from deep on 3.5 attempts a game.
Rohde is also a great passer (29.7 AST%) and the only Division I player 6-foot-5 or taller to have an AST% of 25 and shoot over 40% from three on at least 100 attempts this season. With the Badgers second in the Big Ten in 3-point attempts per game, averaging 28.4, and converting close to 35% of those, it’s evident Gard values shooting.
Rohde may not be a great defender, but Gard has the ability to develop his players' defensive game. If Rohde improves on that end and manages to shoot consistently and playmake the way he did this past year, this Badgers offense could be dangerous.
Austin Rapp
Wisconsin’s first official recruit from the portal on Saturday, Austin Rapp is a 6-foot-10 forward from Melbourne, Australia. He averaged 13.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game this season for the Portland Pilots.
Rapp separates himself through his shooting. He averaged 35.2% from 3 on 7.6 attempts per game, which are some staggering numbers for someone his size. He’s a great shooter, whether off the dribble, a catch-and-shoot or coming off screens. Rapp was named WCC Freshman of the Year and Second Team All-WCC.
Rapp recorded an impressive 24-point game against Oregon State and a 16-point game against Gonzaga earlier this year. He’s arguably one of the best shooters available at his size in the transfer portal. Nevertheless, he’s not a great defender, which is the only flaw in his game.
Questions have arisen on where he would fit in this Badgers frontcourt. Would he play alongside Winter or would he come off the bench?
Rapp visited Madison this past weekend and chose Wisconsin over Iowa, Michigan, Clemson and Oregon.
Overall, all three of these signings are tremendous for the Badgers and will fill in holes left by the departures of Tonje, Klesmit and Crowl, even if their productivity will be tough to match.
With the Badgers beating out top programs like North Carolina, Iowa State and other Power 5 schools, the Badgers have enough NIL to challenge these top schools, which wasn’t the case in previous years.
This is encouraging for the future of the program following a successful 27-win season, as the transfer portal era keeps growing.
