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Wisconsin Basketball Teammates React to Yalden Entering Portal

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Wisconsin Badgers basketball forward Gus Yalden
Wisconsin freshman forward Gus Yalden (34) seen during media day Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. Ebony Cox / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

It is college basketball transfer portal season. A handful of Wisconsin Badgers have opted to explore their options in the portal. Some former Wisconsin basketball walk-ons are likely pursuing scholarship opportunities. Others, more playing time. Gus Yalden, however, likely needs a fresh start. 

The former four-star big man had a rocky season in Madison. After his redshirt season, the Appleton, Wisconsin native has gone portaling. His former teammates do not seem to hold the decision against him.

Wisconsin Basketball Freshmen Bid Gus Yalden Farewell

In an alternate timeline, Nolan Winter and Yalden would become the Badgers’ starting frontcourt together. The pairing, in theory, could have been dangerous. With Big Ten-level size and skill, plus some outside shooting, head coach Greg Gard may have had a team that paired his desire to play through the paint with impressive versatility. Unfortunately, that will always be a what-if.

Winter clearly holds no ill will as the Lakeville, Minnesota native said, “go get em’ [sic] Gus!”

The third 2023 Wisconsin basketball freshman recruiting class member chimed in to support Yalden as well. John Blackwell’s recruitment may have gone under the radar, but that did not last long. The Michigan native arguably had the biggest first-year impact on the roster of his three classmates. Although he and Yalden will never share the floor, Blackwell hopes Yalden can be successful elsewhere. “Go be great brother,” Blackwell posted on the website formerly known as Twitter.

Other Wisconsin Badgers Headed to the Transfer Portal Send Off the Gus Bus

No one made a bigger splash in Madison this season than AJ Storr. After his one season with the Badgers, the Illinois native appears bound for other other pastures. With the NBA Draft or a transfer destination in sight, Storr’s time in Madison is coming to an end, but he has his fingers crossed for his former Wisconsin teammate.

Connor Essegian and Yalden did not expect the 2023-24 Wisconsin basketball season to go this way for either of them. After Essegian’s playing time slipped, he is headed to the transfer portal. The would-be Badgers teammates will not have the potential inside-out game that could have been. As Essegian seeks his own opportunities elsewhere, he hopes Yalden finds the right fit for himself, saying, “Go live your dream kid.”

 

 

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BadgerNotes' resident college basketball sicko, Kedrick Stumbris covers Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball and women's hockey teams unlike anyone else. He received his B.A. with economics and political science majors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2018 and has had his work published on Bleacher Report and Verbal Commits.

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