Wisconsin Basketball Falls Short in Pursuit of 2025 Frontcourt Target

Greg Gard and the Wisconsin Badgers basketball program came up short in pursuit of a Plan A target in the 2025 recruiting class. 

On Friday, four-star forward E.J. Walker announced his commitment to Lamont Paris and the South Carolina Gamecocks over a group of finalists that included Ohio State, Purdue, and the Badgers. 

Wisconsin basketball has been all-in on Walker at forward ever since they offered him a scholarship back in May of 2023. Lead recruiter Sharif Chambliss helped get Walker on campus on three separate occasions, including an official visit to Madison towards the end of April. 

According to the composite, Walker was considered the No. 146 overall prospect in his class and the No. 29 power forward. 

Wisconsin Basketball Must Pivot at PF in 2025 Class 

While you could argue that high school recruiting has slightly less value than a few years ago due to the modern-day transfer portal, missing your top two forward targets in the class isn’t ideal. 

Wisconsin Basketball missed on in-state forward Xzavion Mitchell, who chose Iowa State, and now E.J. Walker, who will play for South Carolina. Those were the Badgers top-of-the-board options.

There is still time to make new offers to some late bloomers, build relationships, and get them on campus, but the live evaluation periods are when everyone is active.

The Wisconsin Badgers basketball coaching staff has monitored a few names at forward, including Jonah Funk out of El Paso, Illinois—who visited during a home game against Rutgers—and in-state product Gavin Gores from Cumberland.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Wisconsin men’s basketball coaching staff pivots. 

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