Wisconsin is starting to bear the fruit of a strong 2023 recruiting class.
The Wisconsin Badgers underwent a major overhaul this offseason, bringing in five transfers and four freshmen to replace the amount of outgoing talent.
However, the core of the team will be top returners John Blackwell and Nolan Winter, who elected to remain at Wisconsin despite fielding interest from other schools.
Both Blackwell and Winter were a part of the team’s 2023 recruiting class and carved out roles quickly as freshmen before ascending to the starting lineup as sophomores.
Now, they’ll be tasked with bigger responsibilities. Blackwell is moving into the lead role, looking to take over after the departure of John Tonje, while Winter is moving back to center with the addition of stretch-four Austin Rapp.
Winter has already started to draw some NBA buzz, with ESPN placing him at No. 53 on their way-too-early Big Board for the 2026 NBA Draft. And the Badgers coaches know that potential.
“With Nolan Winter, you’re still watching the development of a young big right in front of our eyes,” assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft said on The Swing podcast earlier in July. “We’ve all watched it here for decades and [there’s been] so many good players, and Nolan’s carving out room for his name amongst some of the really good ones over the years.
“We’ll see what he decides to do. It depends on how many steak dinners and good protein that [strength and conditioning coach] Jim Schneider and our strength staff can put on him because the bigger and stronger he gets, the more production you’re going to see.
“He’s just so talented, it’s just getting his body and his strength up to speed with his ability, because there is no ceiling for him. He can be a really, really good player. In this time of month in a year or two, you’ll be hearing his name called because I think he’s got that kind of talent.”
There aren’t many players like Winter who can shoot the ball as a seven-footer while having the ability to block shots on the defensive side of the ball. The rising junior has also naturally improved his IQ, becoming a strong pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop option with good cutting skills that often lead to easy baskets at the rim.
Winter’s efficiency was stellar in 2024, as he shot 56.4 percent from the field and 35.8 percent from deep (2.6 attempts per game). He also improved his free-throw percentage to 76.9 percent.
For Winter, it’s all about the physicality now, as he’ll be playing a demanding position in one of the toughest conferences in the nation. If he can show he belongs as a center, that would continue to improve his stock ahead of the 2026 NBA Draft.