Badger fans rejoice as Andrew Rohde commits to Wisconsin and Greg Gard

Greg Gard and the Wisconsin Badgers picked up their first transfer commitment of the offseason in Wisconsin native and former Virginia sharpshooter Andrew Rohde. The commitment brought a lot of excitement from Badger fans as not only is he a local player, but he has also developed into a really effective scorer and distributor of the basketball.

Last season at Virginia, he averaged 9.3 points and an impressive 4.3 assists from the wing position. He knows how to score and how to set up his teammates. He shoots the three at a 41.3% rate, and his free-throw percentage is Greg Gard-approved at 77.3% on the season. It's this ability and this fit that made Wisconsin fans react with pure elation when it was announced that he's coming to Madison.

Andrew Rohde fits Wisconsin basketball really well on both ends of the floor

There's a lot to like about the pickup for Badger fans, but there's also excitement because Greg Gard was able to find a diamond in the rough last year with John Tonje. When everyone thought the Wisconsin team was going to struggle with AJ Storr, Chucky Hepburn, and some other losses due to graduation, Gard went into the portal and pulled out John Tonje. Can he do it again?

While Rohde doesn't fit the John Tonje type, he can be a really strong presence on the defensive and offensive ends of the floor. He brings veteran ability and has played under a great coach for one season, Tony Bennett. He currently slots into the starting lineup, and while he isn't the same type of player as Max Klesmit, that's about where Badger fans can expect to see him.

Greg Gard isn't done in the transfer portal and plans to add a few more strong leaders, role players, and bucket getters. Stay tuned.