Previewing the 2023-24 Wisconsin Basketball Season
In the month of October, The Floor Slap will be launching our College Basketball Preview. We will be previewing all 14 Big Ten Teams, making predictions, covering the biggest storylines across the country and more! Follow @thefloorslap to stay up to date on all our Basketball coverage before the season tips off on November 5th.
by Jordan Beckley
Can’t win them all
Wisconsin had a little bit of a hangover last season.
After winning a share of the Big Ten regular season Title in 2021-22, the Badgers lost Big Ten Player of the Year Johnny Davis and elder statesman Brad Davison had reached his term limit.
Greg Gard struggled to replace that production this past season.
Wisconsin scored just 65.3 ppg, good for 331st out of 363 D1 teams in 2022-23. Wisconsin’s struggles putting the basketball through the hoop lead to them scraping by opponents.
Wisconsin went 14-8 (63.63%) in games decided by 5 points or fewer. 22 of their 35 games were closely contested battles. The Badgers just didn’t have enough.
In comparison, Wisconsin went 12-3 (80%) in 2021-22 in close games. A more talented Wisconsin team won more close games and had fewer close games by being able to put away more teams.
Those razor thin margins of victory or defeat are critical. Wisconsin finished 11th in the conference this past season, but if they had pulled out two more close wins they would have tied for 5th.
The cardiac Badgers didn’t get what they needed from their roster last season. Chucky Hepburn didn’t become an All-Big Ten guard. Steven Crowl only made a mini leap. Side note, Crowl went from 1.4 FTA two seasons ago to only 2.3 FTA (in 30 mpg) and went from 80% to 63.4% from the line. Zach Edey averaged over 7, TJD averaged over 6.5, even Zed Key averaged 3.4 in just 24 minutes. I am not a Steven Crowl guy if you didn’t know.
Most importantly, an injury disrupted Tyler Wahl’s breakout season.
Wahl scored in double figures in 9 of the first 12 games averaging 14 points a game. The Senior forward then missed the next 3 games (all losses) after getting injured in the Minnesota game. Wahl’s breakout stalled as he recovered, only scoring in double digits in 6 of the next 13 games and only scoring 14 or more once.
Greg Gard hopes that they have enough this season. An infusion of a couple young players could give the Badgers that extra oomph in crunch time.
AJ Storr is a transfer from St. Johns who began to break out at the end of his freshman season last year. Storr scored in double figures in 11 of his last 16 games averaging 12.25 ppg. After Mike Anderson was let go, Storr (originally from Rockford, Illinois) found his way closer to home in Madison.
Wisconsin brings in three freshmen too.
Gus Yalden is a prototypical Wisconsin forward. He has the skill to stretch the floor by hitting open threes and has the ability to back down smaller players in the post. If Yalden is a Tyler Wahl in training, Nolan Winter could be a Steven Crowl in training. If you saw the tall Minnesotan native on the street you might guess he is a Wisconsin basketball player. Additionally, John Blackwell adds another option in the backcourt who could bring some much needed action heading towards the rim.
Greg Gard’s team fell just short of the mark too often last year. By bringing back all 5 starters and a new reloaded bench, Gard will attempt to correct the course for Wisconsin.
Roster Breakdown
Guards: Chucky Hepburn, Connor Essegian, Max Klesmit, AJ Storr, Kamari McGee, John Blackwell, Isaac Lindsey
Normally my previews have three categories, but Wisconsin doesn’t have any wings. The Badgers just have guards and forwards.
In the backcourt, Wisconsin has a rock solid rotation. Chucky Hepburn is one of the most experienced points in the Big Ten with 68 starts. Essegian was one of the best freshmen in the conference last season. Klesmit has plenty of experience and will be in year 2 of the Wisconsin system. AJ Storr transfers in from St. Johns where he started to shine down the stretch.
Greg Gard will have a tough start/sit decision between Klesmit and Storr for the 3rd guard spot.
Behind that group, McGee and Lindsey are stable backups while freshman John Blackwell could push for the backup point minutes. I would expect the four of Hepburn, Essegian, Klesmit and Storr to eat up 105 or so of the 120 minutes at the three guard spots.
Bigs: Steven Crowl, Tyler Wahl, Gus Yalden, Nolan Winter, Carter Gilmore, Chris Hodges
Wisconsin’s big strength this season is their experience. That experience shines through with Crowl and Wahl. The Badger frontcourt will be have two of the more veteran bigs in the conference. While some of the other best bigs have left this offseason, Wisconsin still has both of theirs. Crowl and Wahl’s ability to hunt the mismatches and play back to the basket basketball off each other is something college teams just don’t see anymore.
Behind those two, Wisconsin has two paths. One path is the been-there done-that backups of Gilmore and Hodges. The other path is the exciting potential of Yalden and Winter.
Gus “Gusbus” Yalden appears to have slimmed down this offseason and might be more of a GusLimo. He is a 4-star recruit with all the talent in the world to be the next in line at the 4 spot as I mentioned.
Nolan Winter is a Top 150 recruit out of Minnesota. He’s a skinny 5 whose tape shows some shooting touch and could stretch the floor. How prepared will he be to guard Big Ten centers with his frame?
Both Yalden and Winter will likely get a good mentorship this season from Wahl and Crowl and take bigger roles next season. I expect the starters to get about 30 minutes a game. One fun lineup is a Wahl Yalden small ball lineup. I honestly don’t think it will work, but it would be fun to see them pick whoever has the smaller defender and go 4 out around him backing that guy down.
Overall, Wisconsin’s roster has that blend of experience and potential that coaches are always trying to get. Greg Gard will keep the minutes steady for the vets, but don’t be surprised if one of the wildcards breakout and shuffles the minutes around. I really like Storr. His athleticism could add a wrinkle that the Badgers have needed for years.
Everybody loves what Wisconsin is returning, but are those players returning going to improve?
If Wahl stays healthy can he make the jump this year to be an All-Big Ten player? Can Chucky Hepburn pick his spots better at the end of games and not play hero ball? Can Steven Crowl be more of a force in a softer interior in the Big Ten this year?
The Wildcards for Wisconsin can raise the Badgers ceiling for the Tournament, but the returning leaders will be the guys to lead Wisconsin back to the top 4 in the Big Ten. Wahl, Hepburn and Crowl know what it takes to win the conference. Can they play well enough to compete with Michigan State and Purdue?
Wisconsin has leaned on player development forever. Can Gard develop his guys class after class the same way that Bo Ryan did?
Back to Winning the Wisconsin Way
Time has flown by and somehow that first Bo Ryan Final Four with Frank Kaminsky, Nigel Hayes, & Bronson Koenig and co. was a decade ago.
This will be the 8th full season (and one partial season) of Greg Gard as head coach.
Gard has continued Bo Ryan’s success finishing in the Top 4 of the Big Ten 5 of those 9 seasons, made two Sweet 16s, and won the Big Ten Regular Season Championship twice.
This year’s pack of Badgers has enough talent to finish in the Top 4 once again.
Wisconsin has truly been a force in the Big ten under Ryan and now Gard. They have finished in the Top 4 of the conference 19 of the 22 seasons.
Wisconsin for better or worse has played its style of basketball for over two decades. The Badgers know what they’re good at and are good at what they know.
With this season’s edition, Gard has plenty of players with the experience to know what it means to play the Wisconsin way. There is also enough raw talent for that way to be a winning formula this season.
The new players add flavor to an experienced core. That infusion of new players along with the roster continuity pave the way for Wisconsin to reach the top again.
No other program has had the kind of sustained success Wisconsin has enjoyed in the conference. Despite the success, there are always fans who only see the negatives.
It is difficult to replicate that kind of consistent excellence year after year without stumbling. If the Badgers were to stumble instead of returning to the top of the league, there will be more rumblings on Gard’s future and maybe even action taken.
To an extent every year is the most important year to date for coaches, but this might be the most pivotal season in Gard’s tenure.
Last year, Wisconsin fell.
This year, Wisconsin hopes to be back in form.