How Wisconsin Basketball is Navigating Recruiting in the Transfer Portal Era

Madison, Wis. — It’s no secret that almost everything about how the NCAA conducts its business has changed with the implementation of the modern-day transfer portal. Wisconsin basketball head coach Greg Gard has been forced to reevaluate his team-building approach, knowing the blueprint for constructing a championship roster looks much different than when he entered the profession. 

Many attribute Wisconsin’s long-standing success to its ability to recruit and develop prospects throughout their careers — getting the most juice for the squeeze once players become upperclassmen. 

But in the transfer portal era, a blue-collar program like UW that hangs its hat on player development must adapt to the transfer portal culture or risk getting left behind. 

So today, I evaluate how blue bloods have shifted their recruiting focus — and dissect whether or not high school recruiting is as suitable of an investment for Wisconsin men’s basketball as it used to be — along with how the Badgers might be able to take advantage of these new trends. 

Let’s begin. 

How High School Recruiting Has Been Affected by the Transfer Portal 

It goes without saying that culture and continuity within the Wisconsin men’s basketball program comes from high school recruiting. It’s the lifeblood of any program, and the player development angle with always be crucial.  

However, in a what have you done for me lately coaching world, it is challenging for some Power 5 programs to put a lot of resources into pursuing players that are unlikely to make an immediate impact. In many cases, young recruits who fail to see the court early in their careers don’t stick around long enough to develop — making them a risky investment. 

Often, coaches put two full years or more into pursuing a recruit — and if everything goes according to plan, they land a commitment. But there is no guarantee that the player will pan out or that they’ll even stay — which makes the offseason transfer portal all the more enticing for schools with the necessary resources to land the big fish. 

In the portal, coaches can land a proven, experienced, and physically developed player that’s done it at the division one level — in a matter of days — with a higher probability of impacting your program immediately. 

Talk about getting the most bang for your buck. 

How Can Wisconsin Basketball Capitalize on These Recruiting Trends?

In the case of Greg Gard — most of his big recruiting wins have come from identifying and offering recruits early — and building a relationship with them over several years, hoping to land them despite the blue-blood scholarship offers that tend to roll in late in the process. 

The most recent example of this involves coach Gard’s long-standing relationship with 2024 four-star point guard Daniel Freitag — which ultimately led to the Badgers earning his commitment. UW never offered another point guard — and always made him feel like a priority. 

But the Badgers would have been left scrambling if that recruitment had gone another way — that’s why some big-time programs quit going all in on recruits they don’t view as guaranteed upgrades. 

You see, the blue blood programs will continue pursuing five-star talents like they always have. But after that — their offseason attention turns to scouring the transfer portal for immediate upgrades that can log minutes from day one.

That puts the four-star and upper three-star recruits on the back burner.

With upper-tier high school recruits getting pushed down the totem poll by blue bloods — Wisconsin basketball might be in a unique position to capitalize — and close on a higher caliber recruit than they usually do.

Badgers fans know all too well that those are the types of players Wisconsin has developed into foundational pieces and all conference-caliber players. The proverbial “sweet spot” in college basketball recruiting. More often than not, these recruits aren’t one-and-done’s or two-and-throughs.

There’s also a clear-cut advantage to having players deeply engrained in your culture. They help maintain continuity and sustained success, which is more challenging with a roster full of transfers.

Coach Gard would always prefer to have four years to develop a player. And while he still needs to use the portal to add talent each year — and fill gaps — this could work in their favor.

Everyone wants to be a priority — and Wisconsin basketball is in a position where they can continue putting in the hours on the margins where the big-time programs decidedly aren’t.

Final Thoughts on Wisconsin Basketball + Transfer Portal Culture 

I understand that the transfer portal isn’t going away — but any coach would tell you they’d prefer to follow the ole Wisconsin basketball mantra “Get old and stay old.”

But accomplishing that is going to be much harder nowadays. More points are projected to be scored by transfer players at the division one level this season than by players who committed to their program out of high school (that’s insane to me). 

Wisconsin’s coaching staff will continue to focus on recruiting high school players with unrealized potential and give them enough time to develop. But the Badgers will also need to accentuate the strengths of their roster by filling immediate needs through the transfer portal — even if it means leap-frogging a younger player who paid their dues. 

In a perfect world — the NCAA finds a way to regulate the NIL world in some capacity or stand behind their transfer rules — but you have to play the hand you get dealt. I’ll be fascinated to see if Greg Gard can win a handful of recruitments he wouldn’t have in the past because of other programs’ insistence on building through the portal. 

Only time will tell. 

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