The Wisconsin Badgers held their second open practice of the Fall on Monday, following their first last Thursday, as the media got to see an early glimpse of the new-look team.
Wisconsin is sporting nine
new faces this season, adding Nick Boyd, Andrew Rohde, Austin Rapp, Braeden Carrington, and Elijah Gray from the transfer portal, while bringing in Zach Kinziger, Will Garlock, Hayden Jones, and Aleksas Bieliauskas in its freshman class.
They join returners John Blackwell, Nolan Winter, Jack Janicki, Jack Robison, Riccardo Greppi, and Isaac Gard to form Wisconsin’s 15-man roster this season.
There’s still much to uncover from this group as the Badgers figure out their best five and rotational pieces, but here are three quick takeaways from Wisconsin’s first two practices of the fall.
Newcomers flash in different ways
In the team’s first practice, Austin Rapp was the top standout, as he hit four or five threes during the five-on-five scrimmages, showing off his range. Rapp was a 35 percent three-point shooter as a freshman at Portland, which was a big draw for the Badgers, and that should be a big asset in Wisconsin’s offensive scheme.
He also had some nice passes, including one to Nolan Winter for a lob from the top of the key. Later, he hit Winter for a dunk in transition. His shooting, though, took over the day.
Rapp has a willingness to fire away in several different situations. He hit a few catch-and-shoots, which are available to bigs in this offense, but also found range with a dribble pull-up three in transition.
Transfer point guard Nick Boyd was featured more during Wisconsin’s second practice as the Badgers had both four-on-four and five-on-five work in the halfcourt. Boyd’s speed with the ball was apparent, as was his ability to make some shifty passes. He does have a tendency to be a bit loose with the ball, but definitely has the confidence of a point guard.
He’s willing to let it rip from three, but also has the quickness for blow-bys to the rim and has a feel in pick-and-rolls, which was a big part of the fit coming from San Diego State. Boyd also has a competitiveness to him that can help if he’s consistent on the defensive end, and he was seen cheering up teammates after plays as a leader as well.
One early takeaway for Boyd is that he could be the X-Factor of this team. John Blackwell will be the top contributor, but Boyd will have the ball in his hands quite a bit this season. He’ll need to have consistent decision-making and more efficiency with shots, especially from deep. But, when he’s on, there definitely can be a different feel to this Badgers team.
Freshmen group
I don’t say this lightly, but the talent of this freshman group may be some of the best the Badgers have had in a while. Am I saying the impact will be more than in other classes in recent years? No. Wisconsin has a deep team, which will make it hard for the freshmen to hit the floor early.
Wisconsin’s 2023 class had John Blackwell and Nolan Winter, who are both stars for the team and had roles as freshmen.
But, the floor of this 2025 class is apparent. Zach Kinziger looks like he belongs, at least as an offensive microwave. He’s got a good three-point shot with the confidence to let it fly, hitting a few corner threes off the catch on Monday. His release is especially impressive, getting the ball off quickly on his shot. He’s also quick and not one-dimensional offensively.
The size and defense will have to come, but Kinziger is looking more and more like a player who can contribute this year, unlike some freshmen we’ve seen in the past.
Additionally, Hayden Jones is looking like an underrated piece of the class. A New Zealand native, Jones seems to have the size and length Wisconsin covets on the wing. He also seems to have the trust of the coaching staff early. Head coach Greg Gard spoke highly of him in the first few sessions with the media, and Jones has been a part of the first 10 Wisconsin has put on the court in five-on-five scrimmages so far (take with a grain of salt this early).
Jones has a quality shot (though Wisconsin may tinker a little with his form), and is coming off a strong offseason on the international scene. He also seems capable defensively, which is important for freshmen to see the court under Gard.
There are the rookie mistakes, such as forcing a few passes, but he’s competitive and has a quality IQ coming from the international scene.
Will Garlock’s talent is still developing, but he looks the part of a college player at 7’0, 250 pounds. At worst, he’s an athletic rim-protecting backup center for the Badgers. Garlock provides the Badgers with something different at center with his athleticism, and he seems to be another high-floor player who may be ready earlier than expected.
Offensively, it’s unclear how much he’ll provide yet. He still has to grow with decision-making in the post, but at the very least, there is value there defensively and as a rim-runner to match opposing teams’ athleticism in the frontcourt.
Now, I’m not sure that all three freshmen will see the court consistently this year. As I said, the Badgers are deep with veteran experience, and the rotation shortens as the season goes on. But, this group has a high floor and are set to be quality rotational players for the Badgers in the future.
Three-point shooting
Wisconsin had one of its best offensive years in program history last year, developing a new offensive style predicated on pick-and-roll actions, getting to the rim, and hitting threes.
That system seems to be sustainable with a brand-new team, as the Badgers are looking to play in a similar way early on in practice. Several of the newcomers are comfortable with threes, looking to fire away.
As mentioned above, Nick Boyd and Austin Rapp were among the group shooting quite a few threes through two days of practice. John Blackwell’s three-point rates could improve as he works more with catch-and-shoots from deep this year, like he did as a freshman. Andrew Rohde hit over 40 percent from deep at Virginia last year and has shot a few corner threes so far as well.
But, it feels like, up and down the roster, the Badgers can shoot threes everywhere. Braeden Carrington had a couple of catch-and-shoots on Monday, catching fire early in practice. Kinziger and Jones are both capable from three. Nolan Winter is ideal for the system as a three-point shooting big. And even Jack Janicki has looked to fire in catch-and-shoots.
Wisconsin could be less streaky from deep this year (although that’s always harder to predict) and they’ll look to present challenges up and down the roster from deep.
