The University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team has started rebuilding a roster that lost six seniors and three transfers thus far. Andrew Rohde, a 6-foot-6 guard, will join the Badgers for his senior year, he announced on social media.
Rohde, who is from Wisconsin and played at Brookfield Central High School, will return to his home state for his final year of eligibility. He spent his freshman year at St. Thomas and the past two seasons at Virginia. This past season he averaged 9.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists. He also shot 41.3% on 3-pointers.
A big guard who shoots the 3-pointer at a high clip is a perfect fit in a Wisconsin offense that wants to take and make a lot of 3-pointers. Rohde’s playmaking, though, may end up helping the Badgers more than his shooting. Having a pass-first player on the court could allow John Blackwell to spend some time playing without the ball in his hands, a role he had success in as a freshman.
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Nolan Winter is another player who will benefit from Rohde’s presence. This season at Virginia, Rohde helped generate easy looks for big men on post-entry passes and in the pick-and-roll. Winter, with the help of Rohde, will hopefully get some easy looks down low, which makes him even harder to defend given his 3-point shooting ability.
Rohde may end up starting in the hole left on the wing by John Tonje, but is a completely different player than the beloved senior. It is impossible to expect anyone to replicate what Tonje accomplished in his lone season at Wisconsin, but Badger fans can anticipate Rohde to make 3-pointers and generate good looks for his teammates.
Greg Gard and his staff are not done in the transfer portal, but landing Rohde is certainly a victory in the early stages of the offseason.