John Blackwell was the second best player for Wisconsin Badgers basketball last season, next to now Utah Jazz guard John Tonje. He is expected to be the top guy now for the team and good thing for him and the Badgers, the summer of uncertainty paid off.
The shooting guard put up his name on the 2025 NBA draft but dropped out a week before. Returning to the Badgers has always been the plan for him and head coach Greg Gard supported it.
Although the offseason was spent chasing a dream and then deciding against it, he believes he gained valuable learnings during the short time he spent with other aspirants, coaches, and other mentors.
“It was a great experience — one of the best experiences of my life,” Blackwell shared in an interview with Badger Notes.
“I just want to continue to grow and learn from it. I feel like I did. I definitely got better. That was the goal.”
He is returning to Wisconsin with greater determination.
“I feel like there are things I haven’t accomplished in college yet,” he added.
Greg Gard says John Blackwell has become more dominant
Bigger things are expected from Blackwell in his third year. Gard already said that he and Nolan Winter will be the main guys now with the departure of their seniors from 2024 season.
The young player is ready for the challenge and Gard sees right that first hand.
The head coach talked to reporters on Thursday and dropped some hint on the improvement Blackwell has made since the end of the last season. He especially mentioned his player’s improved confidence level.
“Whether that NBA experience was what brought that to him or just going into year three, crossing across the half-time of his career,” he said.
Blackwell also hones his physique and mentality according to the coach.
“You can see his bigger physically and leaner and really trimmed off. He’s cut in some areas where he didn’t have a definition before,” he added.
“He’s come with a more dominant mentality, as you can see when we play. He has the ability to takeover and really dominate games.”
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