There was an interesting contrast in both outcomes and styles on Tuesday when Nolan Winter announced his return to the Wisconsin Badgers via a heartfelt statement at around the same time John Blackwell told the world he was leaving for Duke in what can charitably be described as a slightly awkward revisionist narrative about his desire to play point guard for the Blue Devils, a position he manned for a full season for the Badgers in ’24-25.
But whether or not Blackwell did Wisconsin dirty is a question
for another day, and I’d rather focus on the positives of retaining Winter, a hugely important win for Greg Gard and his program for three important reasons.
Massively Helps the ’26-27 Team
Strictly from a basketball perspective, Winter’s return is gigantic for the Badgers.
Winter’s 13.1-point, 8.5-rebound stat line tells a large part of the story of how he was a steady and, dare I say, underrated cog in the Badgers’ successful campaign this past season.
I’d argue that his full potential hasn’t been tapped, as Blackwell and Nick Boyd’s usage rates and iso plays were both off the charts, so Winter had to be icily efficient with his touches to reach his stat line for this past season, shooting a preposterous 56.9 percent from the floor.
Having him back in the middle of Wisconsin’s offense and defense (he averaged over a block per game and was often responsible for his opponent’s most talented big) is wildly important. Replacing him in the portal would have been impossible.
Makes a Big Statement
Beyond the Xs and Os, Winter’s return speaks loudly and clearly about his belief in and love of the Wisconsin program. I can guarantee that Winter, while surely being well compensated, could have made more on the open market like Blackwell did.
But he chose to remain with the Badgers for a fourth season, an increasingly rare instance of loyalty in the portal era. This is a vitally important example of the fact that a player doesn’t have some implicit directive to always chase the bag.
While I can’t begrudge a guy like Blackwell for bolting for a life-changing raise, I can give kudos to someone who takes a different path borne of loyalty.
Said Winter, “Badger Nation I’m Back. At the end of the day, I couldn’t picture myself anywhere other than with the Wisconsin Badgers.”
Same for us, Nolan. Same for us.
Gives Me Even More Confidence in Gard
A lot has been made about the difficult situation Wisconsin’s less-than-sterling basketball NIL coffers has put Greg Gard in. And if you believe the whispers, his deep frustration with it wasn’t kept to himself internally. But it’s hard to argue that Gard hasn’t, yet again, deftly navigated the razor’s edge and left himself with what should again be a highly competitive squad.
Adding Nolan Foxwell, Trey Autry, Victory Onuetu, and Eian Elmer has been a masterclass as far as a coach maximizing his budget to keep things humming. Bringing back Winter was an impressive capper (or close, as there could be another portal add), and has me believing that the Badgers will be a really solid team next year even without Blackwell.
Will this mean March success? That’s a fair question, but it is one, fortunately, that doesn’t have to be answered anytime soon.
