It’s been quite a tenure for Greg Gard as head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers. After taking over for Bo Ryan in the middle of the 2015 season, Gard has won two Big Ten regular season titles and has been the coach of the year in the Big Ten. However, one of his biggest knocks from fans is his recruiting classes haven’t always been the best. With the transfer portal bigger than ever, I think Gard would be the first to tell you he hasn’t done the best in the portal either. It was important for Greg Gard to have good recruiting classes in 2023 and 2024. He has done that and then some to this point.
2023 Class
Greg Gard will be adding four new players for the 2023 season. He will be adding Gus Yalden, Nolan Winter, and John Blackwell on scholarship. Jack Janicki will be on as a redshirt, but I would not count him out as being an eventual scholarship player. Janicki can be a lethal shooter, a part of the game Wisconsin has consistently struggled with.
Gus Yalden is the highlight of the class and rightfully so. He has the nickname “Baby Jokic” for a reason. He is a big forward with great footwork that can shoot from any part of the court. He also has great vision and is comfortable with the ball in his hands. Yalden should be playing at least 15 minutes a game this coming season and potentially more. He has the ability to be a match-up nightmare for Big Ten forwards.
Nolan Winter has the chance to be the best player in this class by the time careers are done. It was thought for awhile Winter would redshirt to gain some weight. However, Winter previously stated in an interview he is around 220 pounds. That is a big difference from the 190 pounds you will see on most websites. Winter has been compared to former Wisconsin Badger Jon Leuer. Leuer had a solid Wisconsin career and made a career in the NBA as well. There is a ton of potential with this 2023 class and potential to contribute right away.
2024 Class
With the addition of four star point guard Daniel Freitag on Friday, Gard is off to a great start in his 2024 class. Freitag was a player Gard had to get and he put a ton of effort into getting him. Wisconsin has also received a commitment from Jack Robison. Robison is a three star recruit from Lakeville, MN, Lakeville has produced players such as Tyler Wahl, Nate Reuvers, and Nolan Winter.
The best part is a recruiting class like this could give Wisconsin momentum to get top prospect Kon Knueppel. Right now, it seems like a two man race between Wisconsin and Virginia to land the Wisconsin Lutheran High School small forward. I also like the Badgers chances to land Jackson McAndrew who is a 6’8 forward out of Minneapolis.
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