John Blackwell is listed as the second-best transfer portal player behind Flory Bidunga by multiple places. So replacing him is taking all the headlines for Wisconsin, but it's actually not Greg Gard's biggest task in the transfer portal. In fact, he may bring in only one player who plays a position similar to Blackwell's, and it may not even be a high-flier. Though finding diamonds in the rough of the transfer portal is Gard's specialty.
The problem for Gard is that he has only three bigs on the roster this season, but six last season. Gard actually tried to get seven before the season but the nonsense with Elijah Gray and sports betting caused Wisconsin to dismiss the seventh big (Gray).
The current roster for Wisconsin features six guards: Jack Janicki, Hayden Jones, Zach Kinziger, Owen Foxwell, Jackson Ball, and LaTrevion Fenderson. Last season, Wisconsin only had seven scholarship guards, so really, Gard is only one away. Though he could go eight deep if he wants.
Greg Gard has to use the transfer portal to find big men more than guards
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On the other hand, Wisconsin only has three bigs on the current roster: Nolan Winter, Will Garlock, and Austin Rapp. The much bigger need for Gard's roster is multiple big men. One or two that can suck up minutes, as Rapp doesn't really fit the normal downlow big boy role. A rim-protector that can clog up the paint, and then a few role players.
Wisconsin should be looking to add 3-4 big men in the portal, and that's a huge task. While the Badgers only need one guard. So, replacing John Blackwell isn't the highest need and may not even be where Greg Gard focuses in the transfer portal.
There's a thought that he may even be happy with the guard set he has coming in. He loved Hayden Jones last year, and he's due for a bigger role. There's also Kinziger, who spent the year developing. Does he have some juice to slide into a spotlight? What about one of the freshmen: Ball or Fenderson? Gard doesn't care about known commodities like the rest of the college basketball world. He pulled Blackwell out of nowhere. Don't be shocked if he does it again.
The biggest need is big men, and at least a couple of them capable of playing a ton of minutes. Sure, take a big swing at a guard in the portal, but Gard may only take one swing.