Returning to Wisconsin Badgers has always been the plan for John Blackwell when he announced that he will enter the NBA draft.
He already dropped his professional league aspirations and although he would not see it materialize today, he thinks there is something he can take with him once he is back in college basketball hardwood.
Blackwell is an incoming junior and is being groomed and projected as the team’s main star for the 2025-26 season following the departure of their top scorer John Tonje.
He knew he had a fall back in case he got drafted but he insisted that he did not put his name on the draft half-heartedly.
“Yeah, when I entered, I was all in,” Blackwell in an interview with Zach Schumaker.
“Whatever I heard from the scouts, from GMs — it’s all in. Because if you’re not all in for something, then you’re not trying to expect results. I was all in trying to get better and compete with whoever was in the workouts.”
John Blackwell loved the experience
The shooting guard had two months to play with a bigger competition and he believes that part made him better.
“It was a great experience — one of the best experiences of my life,” he shared.
“I just want to continue to grow and learn from it. I feel like I did. I definitely got better. That was the goal.”
Blackwell played all 37 games for head coach Greg Gard last year and he had Tonje to carry much of the scoring load.
This time, he enters the season as the main star but he will be complemented by equally great players including fellow junior Nolan Winter, transfer portal acquisitions Nick Boyd, Andrew Rohde, and Austin Rapp.
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