Wisconsin Basketball Mailbag: Hepburn’s Scoring, Storr’s NBA Prospects, More

Badgernotes.com received a variety of questions about the Wisconsin Badgers basketball program from our dedicated readers earlier this week.

So, without further adieu, Let’s jump into your mailbag questions…

Should the Badgers be concerned about Chucky Hepburn’s lack of scoring?

This question comes at a good time. I recently wrote a piece about the Wisconsin men’s basketball offense clicking on all cylinders, and the play of Chucky Hepburn at point guard being a big reason why. 

I get it; Hepburn led the Badgers in scoring last year at 12.2 points per game as a sophomore and is down to a career-low 7.5 points a night this season. But I’m not concerned whatsoever—and I’ll tell you why. 

If Greg Gard were asking the Nebraska native to be a primary scorer on this squad, then yes, I’d be concerned. But his lack of bucket-getting primarily comes from Hepburn embracing the role of being a facilitator for the Wisconsin Badgers this season. 

By leaning into his playmaking ability, he’s averaging a career-high 3.9 assists per game and sports the third-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the Big Ten. Not to mention, he’s averaging a career-high assist rate (20.7%). 

It’s no coincidence that almost everyone around Hepburn in the rotation is having the best season of their respective careers. 

On top of that, Wisconsin basketball is ranked No. 4 in adjusted offensive efficiency by KenPom, and the Badgers are also averaging 76 points a game. To put that feat in perspective, that’s the most since 1993-94. 

“He’s the consummate team player, and he’s a winner,” said Gard of Hepburn after the win over MSU. “The scoring is down, but the winning is up. That’s a good trade-off.”

Obviously, you’d love to see Hepburn’s shooting splits see an uptick, specifically from beyond the arc, where he’s proven to be a more capable 3-point shooter than he’s shown this year (27.7%). But if Wisconsin stays healthy, this team has enough ways to beat you offensively that Hepburn scoring is the least of my worries, given everything else he brings. 

Do you think AJ Storr will be the Wisconsin basketball team’s next NBA player? Things seem to be trending that way. 

I don’t want to be the guy who takes a victory lap before it’s warranted, but here I go anyway. Following Wisconsin MBB local media day, reporters had the chance to watch the Badgers practice, and even though it wasn’t necessarily the AJ Storr show that day, here’s what I wrote:  

“AJ Storr is the best athlete I’ve seen in the Wisconsin basketball program since Khalil Iverson — and the way he moves on the court/finishes around the rim is … special. The upside is immense. Call me crazy, but I think there’s a good chance he’ll be the program’s next NBA player.”

At this point, I’d like to double down on that statement. Storr is going to be the Wisconsin Badgers’ next NBA player. He’s the latest example of an athletic, prototype wing who thrived in Greg Gard’s system. 

The 6-foot-7 wing is leading the Badgers in scoring, averaging 15.9 points per game, 3.5 rebounds, and an assist on an efficient 1.006 PPP. Storr has shown the ability to score in transition, get into the lane at will, and score from all three levels with elite-level athleticism. 

All that to say, I think if Storr keeps up this level of play, he might get a sniff at the first round of the NBA Draft after this season. As Greg Gard has continued to say, Storr came here to improve the areas of his game he was lacking, and there’s no denying how far he’s come. 

Before people jump in my mentions and say how Storr could benefit from coming back and working on aspects of his game—if given the chance to be drafted in round one, he should go. If you want to make it to the NBA, it would be foolish not to take the life-changing guaranteed money that comes with being drafted and developing alongside the best coaches and trainers in the world. 

Regardless of when it happens, I think AJ Storr will be the Wisconsin basketball team’s next draft pick, so enjoy him while he’s here. 

What’s going on with Gus Yalden’s redshirt situation, and should we be worried about him being a bust? 

Wisconsin basketball head coach Greg Gard was asked whether he envisioned freshman forward Gus Yalden redshirting this season and said, “Probably not, but we’ll see,” back in November. 

But at this point, we’re 20 games into the season, so I think it’s safe to say Yalden isn’t suddenly going to join the Badgers frontcourt rotation in the thick of a Big Ten title race. Especially when you consider that Carter Gilmore and Nolan Winter have done a nice job in their respective roles behind Steven Crowl and Tyler Wahl. 

Unfortunately, college basketball doesn’t have a set number of games athletes can appear in before they burn their redshirt like football does (that needs to change), so unless a series of injuries take place, Yalden is essentially a redshirt candidate who is a break in case of emergency. 

I’m in the group of people who were wrong about the former four-star recruit from La Lumiere Prep. I thought that Yalden would factor into the rotation right away this season due to his advanced offensive low-post skill set. However, an off-court injury, a leave of absence, and some non-basketball-related issues were a setback for the 6-foot-9 big man. 

Big men tend to take longer to develop, and it feels like this season has been a learning curve for Yalden in more ways than one. 

I wouldn’t write off Yalden’s future with the Wisconsin basketball program. I’ve seen him play, and the offensive game is really intriguing for the Badgers if the defense can catch up. 

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