Wisconsin Basketball Flips Mountain West Commit in Transfer Portal

Greg Gard and the Wisconsin basketball program have successfully flipped the commitment of an impact wing from the transfer portal.

Former Colorado State and Missouri guard John Tonje, who initially verbally committed to play for New Mexico under former Gophers head coach Richard Pitino, will not play for the Lobos next season. Instead, he has flipped his commitment to the Wisconsin Badgers. 

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— John Tonje (@johntonje1) May 2, 2024

The 6-foot-6 Nebraska native also fielded interest from Virginia, Louisville, Iowa State, Iowa, DePaul, and Arizona State, among others. 

Due to an injury, Tonje appeared in just eight games for Missouri last season. In 2022-2023 with the Rams, he averaged 14.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game on an impressive 38.9% shooting from beyond the arc. 

Synergy data shows that during Tonje’s final season at Colorado State, he averaged 1.058 points per possession on all shot attempts, which placed him in the 90th percentile. Tonje also excelled as a spot-up shooter, averaging 1.240 points per possession (95th-percentile).

“We are thrilled to add John Tonje to our team for next season,” Gard said in a press release. “His five years of experience and production at a high level will be extremely valuable to our program. John has good positional size, strength, and the ability to help impact our team immediately on both ends of the floor. He is a multidimensional wing with the ability to shoot the 3, score off the bounce and get to the free throw line. Everything about John as a person, student and player is in line with who we want in our locker room. His presence will be noticeable from day one.”

Tonje has played 130 games with 50 starts and will have one season of eligibility remaining with the Wisconsin basketball program.

What John Tonje Brings to the Wisconsin Basketball Team 

With the offseason departures of Chucky Hepburn, AJ Storr, Tyler Wahl, and, to a lesser degree, Connor Essegian, the Wisconsin men’s basketball coaching staff had to bring in some bucket-getters from the transfer portal. 

The Badgers started addressing that void by bringing Central Arkansas point guard Camren Hunter into the fold. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound point guard averaged 16.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.9 assists as a sophomore.

Then, Wisconsin basketball brought in stretch forward Xavier Amos to fill a starting role. Last season, he averaged 13.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game. With Tonje rounding out the class, you can comfortably say Gard took care of the team’s need for scoring. 

The acquisition of John Tonje, who has plenty of experience and has been an accomplished scorer in the past, helps offset some of what the Badgers lost in Storr out on the wing. Next season, it might even alleviate some of the responsibilities being asked of combo guard John Blackwell, who seems well-positioned to take on a more prominent role for the Badgers. 

Tonje finished the 2022-23 season with a 106.1 offensive rating on a 23.5 usage percentage and 3.0 PRPG, per Barttorvik, which would have been the fifth-best among the Wisconsin basketball team’s rotation this past season.

Coach Gard has now put a bow on this class, filling all three vacant scholarship spots through the transfer portal with the additions of John Tonje, Xavier Amos, and Camren Hunter. 

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