Mailbag: Nick Boyd’s impact, Wisconsin basketball's defensive growth, and the 2027 recruiting class
Are we giving Nick Boyd enough credit for Wisconsin basketball’s turnaround? How has the defense improved? And which 2027 recruits are the Badgers prioritizing?
Not long ago, Wisconsin men’s basketball looked like a team trying to steady itself on the NCAA Tournament bubble. The résumé had holes. The consistency wasn’t there. And the version of the Badgers many were expecting in the offseason felt more like a projection than a reality.
Fast forward to mid-February, and the picture looks very different.
At 18–7 overall and 10–4 in Big Ten play, winners of 11 of their last 14 since the December loss to Villanova, Greg Gard has the Badgers starting to resemble the team many thought they could become before the season started. The offense has found rhythm. The defense has grown teeth. The rotation makes sense. Wisconsin’s trending upward. Wins over Michigan, Illinois, and Michigan State have reshaped the perception of this team.
This mailbag leans into that evolution.
We’ll talk about whether Nick Boyd is getting enough credit for driving the turnaround, what’s changed defensively, and how Wisconsin’s staff is balancing portal realities with early 2027 high school recruiting priorities.
Let’s get into it.
Q: Are we giving Nick Boyd enough credit? It feels like he’s become the engine behind this team finding its rhythm — how important has he really been to this turnaround?
-LakeshoreLarry
The honest answer is probably no — collectively, we’re still not giving Nick Boyd enough credit for what he’s meant to this team.
He’s averaging 20.6 points, 3.7 assists, and 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting 47.9% from the field and 37.4% from beyond the arc. He’s also posted 93 assists to just 42 turnovers while being the engine behind the fastest tempo Wisconsin has played in the modern era (86th nationally) while still helping the Badgers rank eighth in the country in turnover rate.
That’s not just good production. That’s high-level, winning production.
It did take some time early in the season for him to settle into the flow of Wisconsin’s offense. There were stretches where he pressed a bit, and it wasn’t always a seamless fit next to John Blackwell in the backcourt. At times, it felt like they were still figuring out how to coexist as scorers.
That phase feels long gone now.
What stands out most about Boyd’s current stretch is the control. He plays with fire, he can get the crowd involved, and he has that ability to flip a switch and start pouring in buckets in a hurry. At 6-foot-3, his ability to get downhill, stop on a dime, and attack the rim is impressive. Even though everyone in the building knows Boyd wants to get back to his left hand, it rarely matters. He still finds angles. He still finishes at the rim.
Statistically, this feels like a borderline All-American type of season. But beyond the numbers, it’s the growth within the system that’s impressive. Boyd’s adapted, he’s learned when to attack and when to facilitate, and he’s become the tone-setter for this group. Quite frankly, he’s been great.
“He is an exceptionally confident kid,” Gard said. “Ferociously competitive, very confident, and doesn’t think there is anything he can’t accomplish.”
And credit goes both ways. Boyd deserves recognition for the way he’s developed and embraced the role of being a primary ball handler. Gard’s staff deserves credit, too, for continuing to mine the transfer portal and identify players who can come in and deliver that level of production.
When you pair this version of Boyd with Blackwell in the backcourt, two guys capable of giving you a combined 40-plus points on any given night, that’s what makes this Wisconsin team so dangerous. That’s the kind of offensive firepower that gives you a chance to be dangerous in March.
Q: Beyond just better shooting, what areas of growth have you seen that explain why Wisconsin has improved and why they’ve been able to string together big wins?
-WhiskeySour608
I’d say it’s been about a lot more than just the shooting coming around.
