'Just been hatched': Nolan Winter starting to emerge for Wisconsin basketball
Wisconsin Badgers big man Nolan Winter is starting to come into his own during his sophomore season in the program.
The Wisconsin basketball team is heading into Big Ten play with a 10-3 record, thanks in part to the emergence of sophomore forward Nolan Winter, who has become a key contributor for the Badgers.
Winter has been on a tear in recent weeks, showing flashes of why head coach Greg Gard believes the best is yet to come for the 7-foot forward.
In the Badgers 75-57 win over Detroit Mercy, Winter posted his second career double-double, finishing with a team-high 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting and a career-high 11 rebounds, including five that came on the offensive glass.
The performance marked his third consecutive game with 15 or more points, a stretch in which he’s averaging 17.7 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting an impressive 60.4% from the field.
Winter’s growth has been one of the season’s most encouraging developments for Wisconsin. The sophomore is tied for third on the team in scoring, averaging 11.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game, shooting 60.4% from the floor and 34.4% from beyond the arc.
Thus far, Winter's scoring average is up by 8.4 points from last season, the fifth-largest jump among Big Ten players.
“He’s just been hatched, so to speak,” Gard told reporters. “He’s so young in terms of where he can be and what he can do. At that size and the skill level that he has, the athleticism he has, and he has a motor.
"I don’t know if he realizes how impactful and how good he can be, and it’s our job to help keep pushing that bar higher for him.”
Winter’s improvement is also evident in his efficiency. He leads the Big Ten in two-point shooting at 74.6% (44-for-59) and has been reliable from the free-throw line, hitting 82.8% of his attempts this season.
Notably, the Minnesota native ranks second on the team in PRPG (points above replacement per game) at 4.2—trailing only John Tonje—and has a 141.5 offensive rating, the highest among rotation regulars. That level of production is beyond anything anyone could’ve reasonably expected.
According to Synergy, Winter ranks in the 96th percentile nationally in points per play, averaging 1.247. He’s also in the 84th percentile in perimeter defense—addressing a legitimate concern I had entering the season. I wasn’t sure if Winter would have the lateral quickness to defend athletic fours, but so far, he’s held his own starting next to Steven Crowl in the frontcourt.
To coach Gard's credit, he’s managed the rotation effectively, staggering Winter and Crowl’s minutes to maximize their impact and keep them fresh. Instead of consistently sharing the floor, both big men are getting opportunities to play alongside forwards like Carter Gilmore and Xavier Amos, whose styles complement them better on both ends of the floor.
KenPom data shows that Winter and Crowl are sharing the court on only 18% of possessions—a calculated approach that’s paid clear dividends. Over the last five games, Winter has logged 42% of Wisconsin’s minutes at the five, further illustrating Gard’s commitment to mixing and matching his team's frontcourt combinations to match up against their opponents.
With Winter rounding into form, the Badgers have found another weapon defenses must account for in their balanced offense, which currently sits at No. 14 in KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency. If Winter continues to develop, he could position himself as a key difference-maker for Wisconsin’s NCAA Tournament push this season while also establishing himself as a foundational piece for the program moving forward.
The Badgers resume Big Ten play on Friday, Jan. 3, when they host Fran McCaffery and the Iowa Hawkeyes (10-3) at the Kohl Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on FS1.
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