Wisconsin men’s basketball is still several weeks away from games that count, but the picture of this year’s team is starting to come into focus.
Assistant coach Lance Randall joined Brian Butch on Butchie’s Den and offered one of the clearest windows yet into how the Badgers are taking shape. There is still plenty to sort out, particularly on the perimeter, but a few themes are already becoming difficult to ignore.
Here are three takeaways from Randall’s conversation with Butch.
1. Wisconsin’s frontcourt could look very different
The first thing Randall emphasized was size.
“I think that we’re, hey, we’re looking more like a European team,” Randall said. “I think our front line is deep. We’re big, and we’re athletic on the front lines, skilled on the front line.”
Nolan Winter and Austin Rapp did not practice this summer while recovering from cleanup procedures, but Wisconsin already knows what it has in them. The more interesting development has been the depth behind them.
Randall specifically pointed to Will Garlock’s progress and Hofstra transfer Victory Onuetu’s ability to add athleticism, rim protection, and vertical pressure. That matters because Wisconsin may be able to create offense in ways it simply couldn’t last season.
“I think the Badger fans will see us a little differently,” Randall said. “I don’t think we know exactly what it’s going to look like yet, but I think one thing you’re going to notice is just our bigs. I think our bigs can do a lot of things.”
2. The offense should be much more balanced
Last season, Wisconsin had players like Nick Boyd and John Blackwell capable of taking over games, helping power an offense that finished 10th nationally in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency.
This group may be built differently.
“I think that perimeter play is going to look very different,” Randall admitted. “We’re not star power, ball dominant. It’s not going to be that way. We can’t be that way.”
That doesn’t mean Wisconsin lacks scoring. But it does mean the production may come from more places.
Randall described Owen Foxwell, who spent the past five seasons playing professionally in Australia’s NBL and averaged 10.8 points and 4.5 assists as a starting point guard last season, as a unique, pass-first playmaker who should keep the offense flowing rather than dominating possessions.
“He’s more Steve Nash-ish,” Randall said of Foxwell. “He’s a pass-first flowing guy, a great leader, can score, make the open three, but he has a good feel there for sure.”
Between Foxwell, Miami (OH) transfer Eian Elmer, Trey Autry from George Washington and Wisconsin’s returning guards, the Badgers believe they have several players capable of producing on any given night.
What remains unsettled is who becomes the secondary creator late in possessions.
Randall acknowledged that roles on the perimeter are still very much up for grabs, naming Hayden Jones, Jack Janicki and Zach Kinziger among the players Wisconsin needs to take another step before games start.
“Hayden Jones has made a huge jump,” Randall said. “He’s an interesting player. He’s not very prototypical. He’s kind of a no-position guy from a perimeter standpoint. I love his offensive rebounding. He plays at this strange pace.”
Another potential answer for the Badgers could come from Braeden Carrington, last season’s sixth man, although his pursuit of another year of eligibility due to the new 5-for-5 rules remains tied up in the courts.
“We’re trying to evaluate what we know to be true, where we are right now and what we definitely have,” Randall said. “We’re working within those initial parameters, but you also have to have an eye on the potential of just about anything.”
3. None of it matters unless the defense improves
This was probably Randall’s most important point.
Wisconsin’s offense was elite last season. Its defense wasn’t, finishing 56th nationally in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency and frequently struggled to generate stops when they mattered most.
“I think we’re going to need to take a jump defensively,” Randall admitted. “We just need to take a jump defensively and get back to old Badger basketball and get some stops more consistently.”
Randall believes the current personnel gives Wisconsin more flexibility against ball screens, particularly with its size up front. He also noted that this group has shown an ability to create deflections, generate steals, and rebound outside its area, which haven’t always been strengths.
Those extra possessions matter in a league like the Big Ten where so many games are decided late. Wisconsin’s roster appears deeper, bigger, and potentially more balanced than it was a year ago.
Now comes the important part.
The Badgers need to turn those traits and mold them into a defined identity when Greg Gard and company open the 2026-27 regular season against Denver at the Kohl Center on Nov. 2.
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