The Wisconsin Badgers were one of the teams mentioned as ‘hurt by the transfer portal’ by ESPN’s Jeff Borzello in his recent discrimination of the winners and losers of the 2024 college basketball offseason.
Wisconsin was stuck in the ‘injured’ category due to the loss of point guard Chucky Hepburn, shooting guard AJ Storr and sharpshooter Connor Essegian to the portal.
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These consequences also caused the destinations of Hepburn and Storr (Louisville and Kansas, respectively) to be listed as big winners, thanks to the achievement of these stars.
In total, Wisconsin’s portal losses were Hepburn, Storr, Essegian and freshman forward Gus Yalden. The additions, then, were from the Arkansas center guard Camren HunterMissouri guard John Tonje and Northern Illinois forward Xavier Amos – three players expected to play a significant role for the Badgers during the 2024-25 season.
The Badgers were by no means winners during this off-season portal cycle. But the team hopes to be competitive again with the new transfer class, plus returning contributors including Max Klesmit, Steven Crowl and John Blackwell, and freshmen Daniel Freitag, Jack Robison and Andrija Vukovic.
But when comparing Wisconsin’s current situation with Hepburn’s potential return alternative and the program landing transfer guard Frankie Fidler, it’s hard to say the program hasn’t been hurt by this portal cycle.
Here’s what Borzello had to say about the Badgers’ offseason:
The Badgers took punch after punch through the portal. Top scorer AJ Storr joined and ended up at Kansas. Connor Essegian’s departure was predictable, but it happened. The same goes for Gus Yalden. And then the loss of point guard Chucky Hepburn was devastating. He started 103 games in three years with Gard.
I agree that this transfer cycle was negative. But the program’s future remains bright with the development of players like Blackwell and the potential stardom of incoming freshman Freitag.
Wisconsin should hold its own in 2024-25 with the return production and incoming transfers. But things line up favorably for 2025-26 and beyond as the young talent hits its stride.
First, the Badgers prepare to open the 2024-25 season with challenging non-conference games against Arizona, Marquette and Butler before a Big Ten challenge. The biggest key to Wisconsin having a successful season is the high-level contributions of all of the offseason additions.
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