Greg Gard is getting publicly slammed online for his miss of 4-star Donovan Davis, one of the top players in the state of Wisconsin. Davis, like many in-state players, decided to leave to play for TJ Otzelberger and Iowa State. It's another blow for Gard, and the internet is bringing up the receipts.
The tough part for Gard is it's something that Luke Fickell was getting clowned on a season ago. Fickell also struggled to retain in-state talent. He then flipped the script in the 2026 recruiting cycle and has built a literal wall around the state, keeping basically every top football recruit home. So, now, Gard, who's genuinely more respected than Fickell, is getting outperformed by his colleague at retaining top in-state talent.
Wisconsin has now missed out on the last 17 in-state prospects ranked in the top-100 nationally by 247 https://t.co/3pkBQuqRsD
— Nick Whalen (@wha1en) May 7, 2026
Iowa State has signed the consensus top player in Wisconsin three of the last four years, and now lands the consensus No. 2 player in the state in the 2027 class. https://t.co/Bd2GY1XKT0
— Michael McCleary (@MikeJMcCleary) May 7, 2026
Freedom (Wis.) four-star 2027 prospect Donovan Davis commits to Iowa State.
— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) May 7, 2026
Tough blow for Wisconsin.
Hard to believe but Iowa State is better at recruiting Wisconsin players than the Badgers or Marquette
Greg Gard has to find a way to fix the in-state recruiting pipeline
Related: What Badger basketball fans can expect from the incoming freshman class
The reality is, Gard misses on in-state kids every year, which has become a common practice. Yet because Gard still finds a way to win without picking them up, he gets a pass (for the most part). It also helps that not every in-state player turns out to be a great college player. Some of these Iowa State pickups end up being buried and transferring elsewhere.
Therefore, Gard gets another pass because the damage has been mostly contained. However, the state of Wisconsin continues to produce elite basketball players year after year. Each recruiting class features multiple top-100 players, and the next few years look to have about as deep a class of basketball players as any state.
Gard has to find a way to lure a couple of them home. Keep them in the state and be proud to be a Badger. Whether it's financial or perception, something needs to change for the in-state recruiting. If Fickell can fix it, so can Gard.
We also need to have a little nuance. Gard has landed one of the top players in the last two classes from Wisconsin in LaTrevion Fenderson (2026) and Zach Kinziger (2025), but the perception feels like reality, especially with top-100 recruits.
This doesn't mean Gard needs to land every top player; basketball doesn't work like football. You only have a select number of spots, but constantly getting put in a locker by Otzelberger is also not the move.
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