As many were expecting, star guard John Blackwell has left the Wisconsin Badgers for the transfer portal, which opened on Tuesday.
I held out some hope that Greg Gard could convince Blackwell to return to Madison for year four, but reports are already circulating about the wild riches awaiting him in the portal, with some saying that his price tag will be in the $4 million (or more) range.
This is rarefied air that the Badgers were never going to approach. But all is not lost, and here are three reasons
why this is tough but not a debacle for the Badgers.
Greg Gard is a Portal Ace
AJ Storr. John Tonje. Nick Boyd.
What do these players all have in common besides transferring to Madison as non-elite prospects and ending up legit stars in year one? I’ll say it: Greg Gard.
Whatever the Wisconsin coach has lacked in normal recruiting prowess, he’s been a ringer in the portal, locking up three consecutive classes with real stars. It’s probably time to stop saying Gard is lucky and start admitting he knows what he’s doing.
The Badgers Still Have Quality Pieces
Yes, Boyd is gone, too, but pretending like Wisconsin doesn’t have returning talent on its roster is wild. Besides the young, untested guys like former composite four-star shooting guard Zach Kinziger, there are quality dudes who’ve shown they belong, like Austin Rapp, and new pieces already coming in, such as Aussie point guard Owen Foxwell.
Of course, Gard needs to land a portal ringer or two still (and hang on to Nolan Winter, this is really important), but I don’t buy that the roster is in shambles. Talk to me in a month after all the ins and outs are over.
Sadly, This is College Basketball Now
It’s more subtle, but this one focuses on the fact that losing big-time players is happening to a lot of teams besides the Badgers. And if Wisconsin’s NIL money had been close to what Blackwell is seeking, my guess is that he stays in Madison.
This begs other questions, like Badger hoops badly needing to beef up its NIL funding. But treating Blackwell leaving as if it’s some odd anomaly limited to Bucky is preposterous.
