Wisconsin men’s basketball spent Saturday building relationships with several of the state’s most intriguing young prospects.
The Badgers hosted four in-state recruits on unofficial visits: 2029 prospects Max McMullen, Jayden Jackson, and Gibran Spector, along with 2031 guard Braylin Calhoun (yes, an 8th grader).
All four are still incredibly early in their recruitments. Even so, each has already emerged as a player worth tracking closely as Greg Gard and his staff continue to identify talent several classes down the road.
McMullen, a 6-foot point guard from Brookfield East, is considered one of the top prospects in Wisconsin’s 2029 class and already holds a Division I offer from Milwaukee.
As a freshman, McMullen averaged 17.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game, according to GoBound — while helping Brookfield East finish 22-6 and reach the sectional finals. He shot 51% from the field and 37% from three, showing an intriguing combination of scoring ability and playmaking at a young age.
McMullen also plays for Team Herro on the EYBL circuit, where his quickness and ability to create off the dribble have stood out.
“Thank you @BadgerMBB for hosting me on a great unofficial visit,” McMullen wrote.
Wisconsin also hosted Jackson, a 6-foot-8 forward from Monona Grove who plays alongside McMullen with Team Herro.
Jackson’s size immediately separates him in the 2029 in-state class, but there is more to his game than being a bigger body. He has shown the mobility to run the floor, attack the basket, and defend around the rim while continuing to develop his perimeter skill set.
As a freshman at Monona Grove, Jackson averaged 6.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting 43% from the field and 32% from beyond the arc. His recruitment remains in its early stages, although Wisconsin and Marquette are among the programs that have already shown interest.
Jackson also spent time around the Badgers previously at Wisconsin’s advanced camp.
“Thank you @BadgerMBB for hosting an amazing unofficial visit,” Jackson wrote.
Another 2029 prospect on campus was Wauwatosa East wing Gibran Spector, who was pictured alongside the other visitors.
The 6-foot-4 Team Herro standout is ranked among the top five players in Wisconsin’s 2029 class by Prep Hoops. Spector has already built a reputation as a high-energy defender and passer with good size and length for a guard, while his offensive game continues to develop.
The youngest visitor of the group was Calhoun, a 2031 guard from Milwaukee Academy of Science.
Calhoun is already 6-foot-4 despite being several years away from making any college-related decisions, and he recently picked up his first Division I offer from Incarnate Word. He originally played in Michigan before moving to Wisconsin, where he now competes for Milwaukee Academy of Science and KL Power 5 on the Adidas 3SSB circuit.
His athleticism has helped him stand out against older competition, but Calhoun has also shown the ability to create off the dribble, finish through contact, and knock down shots from the perimeter. He earned Co-MVP honors at the Junior Pangos All-American Camp and was also one of the youngest players to participate in Wisconsin’s advanced camp.
“Thank you, BadgerMBB, for a great unofficial visit today,” Calhoun wrote.
None of these recruitments are anywhere close to reaching their final stages, particularly with Calhoun still in the 2031 class. That makes these visits more about relationship-building than anything else.
Wisconsin has made a point of getting the state’s best young prospects on campus early, allowing the staff to evaluate them in person while beginning relationships well before scholarship decisions become urgent.
McMullen, Jackson, Spector and Calhoun all fit that mold.
Each still has a long way to go in their respective development, and that distinction matters. Identifying a young player, bringing him to campus, and even eventually offering a scholarship are all very different from deciding, years from now, to commit real roster and financial resources to him over a more proven option from the transfer portal.
Wisconsin still wants to recruit and develop as much of its roster as it can. But in the current version of college basketball, those decisions are more complicated than they used to be.
For now, this is exactly what it should be: get talented in-state players into the building early, build the relationship, and keep evaluating. With all of these players, anything beyond that is still a long way off.
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