Wisconsin basketball grad transfer named to Oscar Robertson award watch list
Wisconsin Badgers' senior guard John Tonje has earned a spot on the Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List.
The University of Wisconsin basketball team's leading scorer is officially in the conversation for the nation’s top player, earning a spot on a prestigious shortlist.
Badgers grad transfer John Tonje was named to the U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s 2024-25 Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List on Monday, recognizing him as one of 50 players in Division I vying for the honor.
"Oh, he's on the watch list? Yeah, okay. I didn't even see all—my head's in the sand watching Indiana film,” Greg Gard told reporters. “He's played really well, that's an understatement obviously, and he's done it in a pretty efficient way, and he's been pretty consistent."
The award, given annually since 1959, is the oldest National Player of the Year award in college basketball and will be announced during the NCAA Final Four.
In his first season with Wisconsin, Tonje has emerged as one of the top scorers in the Big Ten, leading the team with 18.6 points per game. He ranks in the top 10 nationally in both free throws made and free throw percentage (92.1%) while also sitting third in the Big Ten in three-point shooting during conference play, hitting 45.6% from beyond the arc.
"Happy for John because he's been a delight to coach and I've said that several times. Coming in as a sixth year, you could be coming in with all the answers, but he's completely the opposite," Gard said.
"He's been really good to coach, fun to be around, he asks really good questions, he doesn't have all the answers, he's very coachable, and it's very refreshing."
The 6-foot-5 transfer, who previously played at Colorado State and Missouri, has been one of the top additions from the portal this season, seamlessly stepping into the role left by AJ Storr, who transferred to Kansas. And he's done so while coming at a fraction of the cost in NIL funds for Wisconsin.
Tonje has been on fire as of late, scoring 20 or more points in each of his last four games while averaging 25.3 points per contest during that stretch. The Nebraska native has also reached double figures in 20 of the team's 22 games and 15 or more points in 15 of those outings.
"For him to have that type of honor, great, that means, eyes are on our program and we're obviously winning games, so that's important too," Gard noted.
Since Jan. 21, he’s tied for the most three-pointers made in the country (21) and ranks second nationally in scoring (25.3 ppg). He’s also become the first Badgers player since at least 2004-05 to hit five or more three’s in four straight games.
Earlier this season, Tonje delivered a career-best performance in the Badgers win over No. 9 Arizona, pouring in 41 points—the fourth-most in program history. His 21 made free throws in that game also set a new Wisconsin men's basketball program record.
A Wisconsin player has previously taken home the Oscar Robertson Trophy once before, with Frank Kaminsky winning the award in 2015 after leading Wisconsin to the national championship game. Now, with a strong finish, Tonje has a chance to push for the prestigious honor.
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