The Wisconsin Badgers hit the transfer portal hard this offseason, landing point guard Nick Boyd, wing Andrew Rohde, and forward Austin Rapp.
The need for experience in the starting lineup was clear after
Wisconsin lost six seniors this offseason. Boyd was a clear fit and a top priority for the team, as they needed an experienced point guard to complement John Blackwell in the backcourt. Boyd was also a great fit with the team’s style of play offensively.
Rohde had the Wisconsin connection, giving the Badgers staff both experience and in-state familiarity, which has been important for the team and was lost with the departures of key cogs like Kamari McGee and Carter Gilmore.
But, Rapp was a very different type of player, being a freshman in the West Coast Conference at Portland last year. He provided youth to the Badgers frontcourt and gave Wisconsin a three-point shooter at the four, which was a big part of the offense last year.
Rapp was a 35 percent shooter from deep last year, but was under 40 percent from the field, as nearly 70 percent of his shots came from deep for Portland a season ago. While the shooting was an important addition for Wisconsin, the forward was going to need to be more versatile offensively to be a good fit in the Badgers offense.
His passing was a plus, having averaged 2.5 assists for Portland as a freshman. We saw glimpses of that in the offseason, as Rapp was a willing passer both in the perimeter and even off pick-and-roll actions as the roller. But, where he needed growth was being a multi-dimensional scorer.
Well, after two exhibition games (Red-White scrimmage and vs. Oklahoma), Rapp is really starting to show the aggressiveness inside the paint, which has been a pleasant addition for the Badgers offense. And head coach Greg Gard is taking note.
“One thing that we have talked about with him is he’s got to be more than just a three-point shooter,” Gard said about Rapp after the Oklahoma game. “Teams are going to try to take that away from him, and how can he add other parts to his game? He drove the ball a little bit tonight. He was able to slip out of some of the switches and play at the rim, and his partner was able to find him, and they threw over the top to him a couple of times.
“So, that is a good evolution and addition to his game, to be able to play physically around the rim, and understanding he has got to add that. That will make the perimeter game even easier for him if he can continue to be a threat driving, rolling, and posting like he did. The biggest thing for him has been: he has to take a jump defensively. I thought he was a little bit better late. Early, you could tell he hasn’t been in a lot of those situations where you are required to guard like we need him to guard. So, the one way for him to get there is to go through it. It’s not always easy and not always fun, but this will help him along with everybody else.”
If Rapp can establish himself as a threat both inside and outside the arc, that makes Wisconsin’s offense even more dangerous. Nolan Winter didn’t have a great day on Friday, but he established himself as a threat off pick-and-rolls at the rim last year, leading to him nearly shooting 60 percent from the field.
With both bigs having the capability to score inside, it provides even more of a threat to opposing defenses, who have to account for all the movement in the offense.
The best part is that Rapp is only a sophomore with a ton of room to grow on both sides of the floor. He’s been the biggest riser for the Badgers this offseason.
