What Wisconsin men’s basketball needs to target in the transfer portal this offseason
A look at Wisconsin basketball's biggest transfer portal needs, from scoring and shot creation to defensive upgrades and veteran experience.
There’s no good way to move on from a loss like the Wisconsin Badgers had in Round 1 against High Point, but in today’s college basketball landscape, you don’t really get the luxury of sitting idle for very long.
The offseason starts the moment the clock hits zero — and if we’re being honest, it typically begins well before that. And for Wisconsin’s front office, that means balancing two things at once — acknowledging the frustration of another early NCAA Tournament exit while also recognizing that this program is still operating from a position of strength.
Because both can be true.
Greg Gard and his staff built a team this year that could score with anyone in the country. That wasn’t accidental. It was a conscious shift made over the last few years as they leaned into spacing, tempo, and offensive efficiency.
The result? A group that averaged 83.0 points per game, the program’s highest scoring output in more than five decades, and one of the most efficient offenses Wisconsin has had in the modern era.
They knew what they were building. And they’re owning it.
But the trade-off was real, too. Defensively, this wasn’t up to the standard Wisconsin has historically set. The balance wasn’t quite there. And in March, when possessions tighten and margins shrink, that showed up.
So now the question becomes simple. How do you maintain what made you dangerous as a team — while fixing what held you back?
That’s the puzzle this offseason.
And it starts, as it always does now, with retention.
There’s a strong belief internally that if Wisconsin can keep the right core pieces in place, they’ll once again be in position to go out and add impact talent through the portal. This staff has earned that benefit of the doubt.
They’ve adapted to this era as well as anyone — identifying fits, developing them, and, more often than not, hitting on key additions. You don’t have to look far for proof. AJ Storr. John Tonje. Nick Boyd. It’s not hard to sell that track record to players on the open market when you can point to what those guys were able to do in this system.
And it’s why there’s confidence they can do it again. With the transfer portal officially opening on April 7, what this staff targets this time around matters — because the needs are pretty clearly defined.
