Former Wisconsin Badgers guard Connor Essegian entered his name in the transfer portal a month ago. Essegian is planning to visit the Badgers’ BIG10 rival, the Indiana Hoosiers on Wednesday.
Last season with Wisconsin, Essegian averaged 3.1 PPG, 0.8 RPG, and 0.2 APG as a sophomore. He is looking for the right place to go to for next season and maybe beyond. Connor Essegian is from Fort Wayne, Indiana and it is possible that he might go play for the Hoosiers to return home.
Before facing the Hoosiers as a member of the Badgers in January of 2023, he told Dylan Sinn of The Journal Gazette by saying:
“I feel like at IU that could hit a little different, just being in a place I grew up knowing and everyone always wanted to play there. Walking out on that floor for the first time I feel like is going to be a great opportunity and experience. It’s definitely something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time.”
He is 6’4″ and weighs 195 lbs. Essegian did play in 33 games a season ago for the Badgers but only averaged 7.3 minutes per game after averaging 27.4 minutes per game as a freshman with Wisconsin’s basketball program under head coach Greg Gard.
Wisconsin Badgers Connor Essegian Going Home To the Indiana Hoosiers Would Not Be a Bad Thing For Him
Essegian wants to play for the team that he grew up rooting for and there is no shame in that whatsoever. Head coach Mike Woodson has made some moves for this basketball program already after missing the NCAA Tournament a season ago.
The Indiana Hoosiers already landed Arizona Wildcats transfer Oumar Ballo earlier in the week. The Hoosiers have made other moves in the transfer portal to improve the basketball program for next season. Indiana has done better up to this point in the transfer portal than the Badgers have and that is not a secret.
Connor Essegian and A.J. Storr are two of Wisconsin’s players to have entered the portal this offseason. If no one also wants to commit to the Badgers basketball program, what does that say about Greg Gard as head coach? No one should blame Essegian for wanting to play for the Indiana Hoosiers because that is where he wants to be and it is interesting also as to why he just didn’t commit there in the first place when coming out of high school.