The Wisconsin Badgers basketball staff has been quite active in the transfer portal already. Following the completion of their season, freshman guard Jayden Epps announced he will enter his name into the transfer portal and leave Illinois. Epps has quickly been in contact with a handful of programs, including the Wisconsin Badgers who had the chance to play against the talented guard this past season.
Wisconsin Badgers Basketball Interested In Transfer Jayden Epps
Jayden Epps is a former top recruit for the Illinois Fighting Illini in their 2022 recruiting class. Epps was ranked as the second overall recruit in the state of North Carolina as a four-star combo guard. Epps chose Illinois over UConn, North Carolina State, and Kansas as the Fighting Illini compiled an impressive recruiting class that included Skyy Clark and Ty Rodgers. However, Epps found the most success this past season among the Illinois freshmen averaging 9.5 points per game and shooting 41.4% from the field.
Illinois managed to go 20-13 this past season and earned a nine seed in their NCAA Tournament appearance against Arkansas. Epps played six minutes and scored two points in the 73-63 loss to the Razorbacks. By far the best performance of the year for Epps came against Minnesota when the shifty guard scored 17 points in the win. Epps shot four of six from three point range and also recorded a steal against the Golden Gophers.
Coming in at six foot two inches, 190 pounds, Jayden Epps is an excellent finisher and contact initiator. Epps is a three level scorer and often takes the pull-up mid range shot when the defense allows it. The three point ability from the guard must be respected, but Epps is also great at attacking the rim and finishing. The guard also proved to be a capable defender and distributor this past season.
When Jayden Epps struggled to score for Illinois last season, the team struggled as well. Epps provided an excellent offensive boost off the bench and also started 11 games for the Fighting Illini after solid scoring performances. Shortly after entering the transfer portal Epps became a huge target for many schools given his tools. The Wisconsin Badgers certainly felt this way as they contacted the freshman shortly after he announced his entrance into the portal.
6’2” Jayden Epps @Jaydenepps_ , who was Illinois’ best freshman & started 11 games, has heard from:
Virginia
Georgetown
NC State
Minnesota
Wisconsin
DePaul
Georgia
Pitt
Texas A&M
Auburn
LSU
Arkansas pic.twitter.com/N1diBACKx8— 𝒜𝓃𝒹𝓇ℯ𝓌 𝒮𝓁𝒶𝓉ℯ𝓇 (@Andrew__Slater) March 29, 2023
The Wisconsin Badgers basketball team played against Epps twice this past season, where he scored 28 points and walked away with wins in each game. While the Badgers may have known they need to contact the guard after their games, other schools did as well. Virginia and Minnesota have both been in contact with Epps after playing against him this past season. North Carolina State, DePaul, Texas A&M, and Arkansas all offered Epps a scholarship a year ago during his recruitment and have re-opened it following his move to the portal.
If the Wisconsin Badgers are seriously interested in landing Epps, they will need to go through quite the battle. Epps has another three years of eligibility left after showcasing his skills all year long for the Fighting Illini. There will be many more additional teams that contact Epps in the upcoming weeks in hopes of landing the talented guard.
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