One of the best transfer pickups this offseason for Wisconsin was Austin Rapp. He not only is a top-notch player out of Portland, but he fits the mold of how Greg Gard likes to use his big men. This is one of the reasons that Rapp chose the Badgers out of the transfer portal. His earliest basketball memories are of Frank Kaminsky dominating in the red and white with "Wisconsin" on the chest.
In a recent interview with Matt Michaels (available on YouTube), Rapp shares how he remembers watching Kaminsky growing up and being impressed with his ability to dominate the low block and shoot the three. That image cemented in his head enough that eventually, Rapp's own game would be modeled after Kaminsky, which gave Kaminsky a role in recruiting Rapp, whether Frank knew it or not.
"Frank Kaminsky plays similar to me; tall guy, shoots threes, he was also dominate in the low block too. [He's a guy] that I look up to. I definitely remember watching him back in the day. "Austin Rapp
Greg Gard's ability to use and develop big men played a significant role in Austin Rapp picking UW
Rapp went on to share how Wisconsin uses bigs and how that enticed him. He shows he knows the Badgers well as he talks about not just Kaminsky but Ethan Happ, Steven Crowl, and Nolan Winter. He said the way that Wisconsin plays the stretch-4 and stretch-5 is what he wants to play and why he likes Wisconsin. "These guys that are kind of similar to me have succeeded at Wisconsin."
Austin Rapp is projected to be a starter for the Wisconsin Badgers and help fill a role vacated by Steven Crowl. Rapp will come in with a year of college experience, during which time he was one of the best big men in the country at shooting the three. Gard will find a way to put that skill in motion to pair up with Nolan Winter.