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Jane Laitinen's avatar

The backgrounds, the profiles, and the potential are far more than impressive. Gard and his stellar staff continue to build this team. Top-shelf article, Dillon. Thank you!!

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Dillon Graff's avatar

Thank you so much! I really appreciate you reading and taking the time to talk Badgers with me. Couldn’t agree more — Greg Gard and his staff have put in serious work adapting to this era of basketball, and it’s going to be exciting to see how it all comes together. While high school recruiting still matters a ton, I think there is a world where this transfer era could actually benefit Wisconsin and Gard if they're able to do it the right way. Time will tell, but I'm optimistic.

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37459 W Frascati Ave's avatar

This was a great read, AS an Arizona Transplant i dont see a lot of news, it looks like Wis will be back on its winning ways, i was worried with Tonje and the senior class leaving, if we could replentish from with in but with the addition of what I just read about, i am excited for the season to begain, I will be in San Diego for the Thanks giving tourney for a first hand look

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Dillon Graff's avatar

Thanks so much for reading and for the kind words! I know exactly what you mean — losing guys like John Tonje and that senior class was no small thing, and I had some of those same questions myself about whether they could replenish the talent pool. But the way this staff navigated the portal while keeping their top guys intact has me feeling optimistic. Enjoy that Thanksgiving tourney in San Diego — that’s going to be a great early look at what this group is capable of! Appreciate you following along.

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Sam's avatar

This feels like the new normal for Wisconsin sports - basketball can be competitive since it's cheaper and they can fund enough NIL to cover the roster with good depth pieces, whereas they don't seem to have the resources to be able to do that in football.

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Dillon Graff's avatar

Appreciate you reading and sharing your thoughts! You’re right — it really does feel like basketball is in a spot where they can be competitive by being smart with NIL and roster construction, even if they’re not at the top of the spending charts. Football’s definitely a different animal with the resources it takes, but in hoops, it seems like Wisconsin’s finding a formula that works. Hopefully the NCAA House Settlement brings some competitive balance once they iron out all the details.

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