Why Wisconsin men's basketball won’t abandon high school recruiting in the portal era
Wisconsin men’s basketball is betting on development, culture, and a blend of local and global recruiting efforts to build a lasting foundation.
In today’s college basketball landscape, most programs have all but scrapped the idea of traditional high school recruiting as the foundation.
The transfer portal era, paired with the unregulated NIL arms race happening behind the scenes, has turned roster building into something more transactional, more short-term, and, in many ways, more cutthroat.
Why invest multiple years developing a relationship with a high school recruit with long-term upside, knowing they might not pan out — or worse, bolt the moment a bigger offer or more money rolls in — when you can pull a 21-year-old ready-made contributor from the portal?
That’s the question a lot of head coaches are asking themselves. And in an era where athletic departments and fanbases have little patience for rebuilds, it can feel like every season is a must-win in the Power 5.
But the Wisconsin men's basketball staff? That’s not how they’re wired. At least not philosophically. They’ve embraced the portal where it makes sense, but they haven’t sold out on it or completely abandoned the long game of development and high school recruiting.
Greg Gard and his staff still believe high school recruiting matters — not just as an occasional add-on, but as a real part of their identity. And Associate Head Coach Joe Krabbenhoft couldn’t have been clearer about why.
“I think it’s fair to say that it’s changed,” Krabbenhoft admitted on The Swing. “I don’t think there’s a negative light to that by any stretch of the imagination because it’s important that we continue to get the right guys."
Look at the players that they prioritized keeping this offseason: John Blackwell out of Bloomfield Hills (MI), Nolan Winter from Lakeville North (MN), and Jack Janicki from White Bear Lake (MN). All were key targets in the Badgers’ 2023 recruiting class, all developed in the program, and now all of them are expected to be major pillars of the 2025–26 team.
“That’s no different than what we’ve been trying to do for a long time,” Krabbenhoft said. “You’re not going to bat a thousand. I think our percentages over the course of decades, even before I came here, have been really, really good. That’s because the first box you check is: What kind of person are you? What kind of teammate are you? How about that academic piece? How important is that? Because here, to Coach Gard, our staff, our administration, and our school, it’s a very important piece.”
In other words, Wisconsin’s philosophy isn’t about chasing the flashiest four or five-star name on a ranking sheet. It’s about finding the guys who fit the Badgers' culture, not just as players, but as people, too.
“You’re going to strike out sometimes, but you’re going to hit more often than not,” said Krabbenhoft. “I think when you look at who we brought in this year, Will Garlock and Zack Kinziger, they checked those boxes.”
Garlock, a promising big man from Middleton, and Kinziger, a four-star combo guard from De Pere, have been on the staff’s radar for years and were both considered impressive in-state recruiting wins.
“We knew those names by the time they were 12 or 13 years old. We knew those families really well. Got to talk to those teachers and coaches. Those boxes were checked early,” Krabbenhoft explained. “Then you start watching a guy like Will develop, he’s going to surprise some people. He’s pretty good. He fits in this system and the way we’re playing really well.”
As for Kinziger, the staff sees a potential long-term building block.
“Zack, the pedigree he comes from up in De Pere, his brothers, is just a really mature player that I think is going to have an opportunity to be a guy, a year or two from now, that we’re talking about as a key piece to this program’s success.”
Kinziger was one of the nation’s top shooters in his class and a gritty, high-floor guard who fits Wisconsin’s system perfectly, bringing combo-guard versatility and the toughness to impact winning on both ends. While he has some physical limitations, his ability to heat up quickly and stretch the floor with his 3-point shooting gives him some legitimate long-term scoring upside. The staff sees him as a multi-year contributor who could grow into one of the team’s most important offensive pieces over time.
And when it comes to Garlock, Krabbenhoft didn’t hold back on just how high the ceiling could be if everything clicks.
"I mentioned Will Garlock being something we haven’t seen around here in a long time," Krabbenhoft said. "His size, speed, and athletic ability are as good as I’ve seen, running to the rim and finishing above the rim.
"We use the phrase: ‘He makes it look like a Nerf hoop.’ We’ve played against a lot of guys who make it look like a Nerf hoop, Zach Edey, Kofi Cockburn. I’m not saying Will Garlock’s there yet, but in some of these workouts, it’s exciting. But the potential is there."
At 7 feet tall, Garlock brings a rare combination of mobility and physicality for his size, giving Wisconsin a much-needed rim-protecting presence. But what sets him apart from a lot of the bigs the Badgers have recruited in the past is his ability to run the floor and finish above the rim. Garlock's athleticism makes him a potential weapon in transition as a rim-runner or lob threat, adding another layer to his value. While he may not project as a multi-year starter, his post defense and motor could earn him rotational minutes. If he’s able to expand his offensive game over time, that’s just going to be viewed as an added bonus to an already valuable skill set.
And Wisconsin’s staff has been casting a net overseas, too, viewing recruiting as more of a global effort than ever before. They’re leaning on relationships to help open doors and get their foot in with certain recruits.
"It’s no secret. The agencies, the agents involved in all these players, both here in Wisconsin, in the States, and abroad, are now playing a big role in this," Krabbenhoft explained. "AAU coaches, high school coaches, agents, parents, everybody’s got their own version of who they lean on the most. But in Europe, they’re in some ways ahead of where I think this is going to continue to go, and it’s agents that drive this thing."
Hayden Jones, a versatile big guard from New Zealand, joins the fold after suiting up for the New Zealand U19 national team at the World Cup. He arrives through a familiar connection, with special assistant Kirk Penney, himself a New Zealand basketball legend, helping drive the process.
“We all know the story of Kirk and his ability to help get him here,” he said. “Another young player, a high school player, that’s going to help this program continue to stay where we need it to be and take that next step.”
Jones remains a bit of a mystery, but the staff is intrigued about his upside as a 6-foot-7 playmaking point forward who can handle and defend across multiple positions. He has impressive court vision, length, and a high basketball IQ, while also showing a nose for the ball. He’s viewed as a project for now, but the Badgers are optimistic about what the future might hold. His rare blend of size, versatility, and feel makes him one of the more intriguing long-term bets on Wisconsin's roster.
And Wisconsin’s international reach didn’t stop with Jones.
The staff also added Lithuanian big man Aleksas Bieliauskas, a 19-year-old forward from Zalgiris II, the developmental team of one of Europe’s most respected clubs. Bieliauskas brings an inside-out skill set that pairs physicality and rebounding, which checked a lot of boxes for Wisconsin.
“We had some connections. Kirk played for Zalgiris, one of the best clubs in all of Europe, and a guy named Nigel Hayes played for Zalgiris a few years back,” Krabbenhoft said. “As we got connected with this agent, saying we need some size, this is the skill set — they said, ‘Hey, we’ve got a guy here in Lithuania,’ and Kirk’s ears popped up: ‘Who’s he play for?’ Zalgiris. ‘Which club?’ The Arvydas club. Okay, let’s talk more.
“You watch the film, do Zoom calls, get to know him, make sure he’s a good person and student, which is complicated. There are hoops you have to jump through, and getting a visa wasn’t easy. We’ll learn more as soon as we get our hands on him for the first time and see him live. But everything we’ve learned from trusted sources is that he’s going to be a really, really nice player. He’s tough. He’s got that kind of pedigree with those Lithuanian bigs. They talk about him being the next in line. I’m excited to see what Aleksas brings to Wisconsin. I think he’s going to be able to help this team with his experience."
Bieliauskas isn’t expected to step onto campus as a finished product or become a plug-and-play starter. Still, with meaningful bench minutes up for grabs in the Badgers' frontcourt, his addition fits Wisconsin’s shift toward a more modern, European-influenced ball-screen offense, where spacing, shooting, and decision-making matter more than ever.
Taken together, it’s clear this staff is casting a wide net — but it’s not random. International recruiting isn't new for Wisconsin, but it’s quickly becoming a much bigger piece of the puzzle. The process moves faster overseas. At the same time, locking down in-state talent remains the heartbeat of this program because that’s where you find guys who get what it means to wear the jersey. Neither path is perfect, but together, they give Wisconsin the best shot at continuity and building around players who want to be part of something bigger than themselves.
That approach is already showing up in the next wave of recruiting.
Wisconsin has commits in the 2026 class from in-state wing LaTrevion Fenderson and New Zealand guard Jackson Ball, blending local and international talent. They’re also actively evaluating big men on the AAU circuit and have sent out several offers to in-state prospects in the 2027 cycle that they’re hoping to build around. It’s a sign the staff is looking ahead — staying aggressive at home while keeping a sharp eye abroad.
In an era of uncertainty, the right high school recruits give you something the transfer portal often can’t: stability. They allow a program to look ahead, build around its core, and make targeted portal moves instead of trying to overhaul everything every offseason and start anew.
Of course, that foundation hinges on one critical piece: retaining those players. As we’ve seen, that’s not always guaranteed. Wisconsin spent multiple years recruiting Chucky Hepburn out of high school, developed him into a three-year starter at point guard, and still lost him last offseason when a more substantial payday lured him away. But the program learned from that. This time around, they were better prepared.
It’s clear that when Wisconsin has core guys who have paid their dues and improved, keeping them in the fold becomes a top priority. Why? Because they know what they have. They know the person. And that familiarity helps mitigate risk, allowing the staff to be surgical in the portal, going after exactly what they need to complement the roster and run their system, rather than scrambling to replace the entire backbone.
And for a staff like Wisconsin’s, this philosophy isn’t just about roster construction — it’s personal.
"You can never count out really, really good high school players. And there are some really good young ones coming up in this state, in the Midwest, and all over the world now," Krabbenhoft said. “High school recruiting, it’s important. It’s important to this state and to our fans. And the people who’ve been a part of this program, which is our entire staff, that’s how we all got here. It’s neat because you’ve got a guy like Sharif Chambliss who grew up in this state, went to Penn State, and came back.
"So we’re able to kind of draw upon a lot of our own experiences here and continue to grow and keep this program at a high level.”
This is the right approach. Wisconsin isn’t ignoring the portal — the additions of guys like Nick Boyd, Andrew Rohde, Austin Rapp, Braeden Carrington, and Elijah Gray prove they’re very much in the mix and know they need to fill gaps — but they’re not letting it define who they are.
Wisconsin men's basketball is still betting on development. They’re still betting on culture. And they’re still betting that when you get the right young pieces in place, those are the guys who will bleed for your program and give you a foundation to build on year after year.
In the portal-NIL world, that’s becoming rare. And maybe it’s the very thing that will help Wisconsin stand out and continue to sustain success.
With the NCAA House settlement now passed and the sport inching toward having a clearer set of rules, the hope is that one day, relationships and long-term program building will carry the same weight they used to in college basketball. But for now, the way this Badgers staff is operating feels like the best path forward, staying true to who they’ve always been, without closing their eyes to the realities of the sport.
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