The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s men’s basketball team played in front of Badger fans for the first time in the 2025-26 season at the annual Red-White Scrimmage on Sunday at the Kohl Center.
A roster full of new faces was divided into two teams that faced off in a game that featured two 16-minute halves.
Juniors John Blackwell and Nolan Winter showcased the value of sticking with one program in the transfer portal era, scoring 13 and 11 points, respectively. Wisconsin will look for the pair to take another step forward both on the court and from a leadership standpoint, and they showed signs of development in both areas Sunday.
It was the newcomers, however, that stole the show. It seems likely that San Diego State transfer Nick Boyd, Portland transfer Austin Rapp and Virginia transfer Andrew Rohde will start alongside Blackwell and Winter this season. Each of the three showed what they add to this Wisconsin team.
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For Boyd, speed has been the talking point all off–season, and it lived up to the hype Sunday. It felt like any time he wanted to get to the rim, he did, and the defense’s only option to stop him was to foul him. He finished with 21 points and shot a perfect 10-10 from the free-throw line, including two to win the game for the Red team in the closing seconds.
Boyd looked comfortable at the point guard spot, initiating offense for himself and his teammates, and he looked like he can be the go-to guy for stretches this season.
“I think I got up and down really well today,” Boyd said after the scrimmage. “The more reps I get, the more comfortable I’m going to get out there, and I’m going to be able to pick defenses apart.”
With 15 points, it was Rapp who led the scoring for the White team. His smooth jump shot as a big is typically what stands out, but he scored a majority of his points at the rim Sunday. Rapp finished around the hoop on the receiving end of passes in pick-and-roll action, but also showed the ability to score off the dribble. He knocked down one 3-point shot, but his overall versatility was what stood out.
Rohde had a quiet day on the stat sheet but still displayed his value to the team. He made a handful of passes in ball-screen actions with the Red team bigs. He generated a handful of good looks for the Red team frontcourt, opening up scoring opportunities for Winter and allowing freshman Will Garlock to flash his potential to Badger fans for the first time.
Garlock is one of four true freshmen on the Wisconsin roster and is likely competing for minutes at a backup-center spot that remains a bit of a question mark, making game-like action incredibly valuable.
His freshman counterpart, Hayden Jones of New Zealand, unveiled his potential. He hit a tough midrange jumper and picked up an assist early in the first half and continued to be impactful the rest of the way, racking up another score, an assist and two steals. Jones’ play earned praise from head coach Greg Gard postgame.
“He [Jones] doesn’t play like a freshman. He’s not afraid of physicality, his vision and feel for the game are good,” Gard said. “A ball handler with size and vision is a heck of a weapon, specifically with how we play.”
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Gard and his staff will have a handful of decisions to make before the season officially begins, but seeing his team in an environment that stimulates a real game should make those decisions easier.
“There’s a lot of good things, obviously,” Gard said. “And then, as there should be, there’s a lot of things to work on.”
His group will have its first opportunity to work things out against a true opponent Oct. 24 in an exhibition game against Oklahoma at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. The team will also play an exhibition game Oct. 29 at the Kohl Center against Division III UW-Plateville.
The highly-anticipated 2025-26 campaign will officially commence Nov. 3 when the Badgers welcome the Campbell Fighting Camels of the Big South Conference to the Kohl Center for a season-opening matchup.