Thanks to the transfer portal, Wisconsin basketball will have a whole new look in the 2024-2025 season.
After making it to the Big Ten Tournament Championship and falling just short of the title, it looked like Wisconsin had all the momentum they needed heading into the NCAA Tournament. However, Greg Gard is still Greg Gard and the Badgers were a first-round upset by the James Madison Dukes.
After the tough loss in the NCAA Tournament, seven Badgers entered into the transfer portal leaving Gard with a thin roster. Normally, that is when a head coach hits the portal even harder to bring in replacements, but Gard must feel like his recruitment class will suffice as he has only brought in three players so far from the portal.
Here is every player Greg Gard was able to recruit to Wisconsin from the transfer portal.
John Tonje was the biggest pickup for Gard in the transfer portal. Tonje comes from a Missouri Tigers team that had their worst season in program history in 2023-2024. Tonje did not have a lot of numbers from 2023-2024 due to injury keeping him out for most of the season.
However, his numbers in 2022-2023 jump off the sheet as he averaged 14.5 points per game,1.3 assists, and 4.7 rebounds. The numbers that impress the most are that he shot 42.3% from the floor and 38.9% from beyond the arc. Tonje will add a veteran presence to what looks like a very young Wisconsin team.
Xavier Amos comes as a 4-star transfer from Nothern Illinois. The 6-foot-8 power forward adds height to this Wisconsin roster that they desperately need. Amos had a solid season this past year averaging 13.8 points per game, 1.2 assists and 5.8 rebounds. He shot 49.6% from the floor which is great and it looks like he can be a big presence in the paint for the Badgers.
Camren Hunter comes to Wisconsin as a shooting guard who will help the loss of AJ Storr and Connor Essegian. It would have been ideal if Gard could have gotten another shooting guard to pair with Hunter, but one shooting guard is better than none.
Hunter had a great career at Central Arkansas averaging 14.1 points per game in year one and 16.9 in year two. He also rebounds the ball well averaging 5 in 2023-2024 and 3.9 assists per game. Hunter did well at Central Arkansas, but the question will be if he can translate it to a bigger school and conference like Wisconsin and the Big Ten.