Wisconsin Badgers new forward Eian Elmer spoke this week after practice about being a first-round pick out of Wisconsin. He created a lot of buzz among Badger fans with this quote, and many are fired up about how he can be the next great transfer portal pickup for Greg Gard. Elmer even said himself that he sees himself as the next John Tonje or AJ Storr coming in this season. That quote was good and all, but it's what he said after the "first-round pick" that is lost in the news.
Elmer said, "To be a first-round pick, that's my goal. To be that, you have to be a dog on the court, offense and defense. That's the vision they gave me, and that's what we are trying to do." Wisconsin having another first-round pick in Elmer would go a long way, but to really be the next great transfer, it's to be a "dog" on both ends of the court. Yet, buried in the lede is the vision that was laid out for Elmer.
#Badgers forward Eian Elmer on the "vision" of him becoming one of the next great wings to play at Wisconsin. Elmer met former UW All-American guard John Tonje when he visited practice recently. pic.twitter.com/lT3BjDt02q
— Michael McCleary (@MikeJMcCleary) July 22, 2026
Wisconsin has developed a transfer portal strategy that has led to high-level play
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Elmer isn't shy about his goal, and he wants to be that first-round NBA pick. That's awesome, and it's really the next step in the progression of Wisconsin's strategy. Elmer said that it was Wisconsin and Greg Gard who laid out this vision for him to come to Madison and do exactly this. They have a clear strategy of turning underrated portal players into college stars. It seems like Gard is getting better at it each season.
It started with AJ Storr when Storr came from St. John's scoring 8.8 points a game, and he turned into a star at Wisconsin going for 16.8 (which he's never seen again). Then John Tonje came along, unheralded from Missouri (though really Colorado State) as an injured player who only saw eight games. He was scoring 14.6 at Colorado State and jumped to 19.6 for Wisconsin. He became a second-round pick.
Then it was Nick Boyd, who came from San Diego State, scoring 13.4 points a game; he went off for 20.7 points per game for the Badgers. He became known as a player who "all he does is win." While his measurements and age weren't quite what the NBA was looking for in the draft, he still signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Golden State Warriors.
Now the next step up could be Elmer and a first-round pick. He scored 12.7 points per game last year for an undefeated regular-season Miami (OH). You can almost bet to see a similar jump in his production under Greg Gard. He also has the NBA measurements and age that Boyd didn't have. He's 6'6" and 215 pounds at only 21 years old. If he truly does have a huge season at Wisconsin this year, a first-round pick is not crazy to imagine.
Wisconsin fans would love to see it and find it helpful to make this jump, as it would also elevate the entire Badgers team. Maybe even getting them out of the first weekend in the NCAA Tournament.
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