Wisconsin Basketball: Transfer Portal Report Card
Let’s look at how coach Gard and the Badgers fared in the transfer portal this offseason.
Madison, Wis. – The college basketball offseason has become the wild wild west in the wake of the NCAA’s one-time transfer rule. On average, every division one basketball program lost three players to the transfer portal, which is precisely what happened to Wisconsin men’s basketball program.
UW, coming off its second Big Ten regular season championship in the past three seasons, suffered several key departures this offseason.
The Badgers saw combo-guard Lorne Bowman, plus forwards Ben Carlson and Matthew Mors, enter the transfer portal, finding new homes with Oakland, Utah, and South Dakota State, respectively.
Greg Gard has made it clear that the program will never become reliant on the transfer portal, but he’s also acknowledged that it can be a helpful team-building tool to help plug gaps on the roster.
In many cases, it can help blend experience and youth in a way that benefits everybody involved.
Let’s look at how coach Gard and the Badgers fared in the transfer portal this offseason.
Adding experience
UW desperately needed some plug-and-play options – so, like everyone else, they went portaling.
Ultimately the Badgers coaching staff whiffed on their top two known targets, Ben Vander Plas and Grant Basile, but they didn't throw in the towel.
Wisconsin killed two birds with one stone and brought Wofford shooting guard Max Klesmit and UW-Green Bay point guard Kamari McGee into the fold – both of whom had in-state ties. Their additions filled immediate needs for the program – with multi-year eligibility, no less.
Klesmit, a native of Neenah, Wisconsin, gives the Badgers a plug-and-play starting shooting guard. His experience, toughness, and three-point shooting acumen will help replace some of Brad Davison's production and give the team a much-needed floor spacer out on the wing.
Coach Gard also added Horizon League All-Freshman team member Kamari McGee to give the program a solid backup point guard behind Chucky Hepburn.
The need for another primary ball handler became evident after UW's NCAA Tournament exit in the round of 32. Without Hepburn, Wisconsin was forced to play without a true point guard, and it exposed some of the Badger's most prominent warts.
McGee is a hard-nosed, team-first player that gives UW a true point guard that can provide the team a spark on both ends of the floor in limited minutes.