An Offseason Blueprint for Greg Gard and the Wisconsin Basketball Team
What does Greg Gard and the Wisconsin basketball program need to do to build a team that can make a deep run in the 2027 NCAA Tournament?
The 2025-26 Wisconsin Badgers season was a 34-game paradox.
For four months, we watched the most explosive offensive team of the Greg Gard era. We saw John Blackwell evolve into a superstar, Nick Boyd provide veteran ice in his veins, and Nolan Winter stretch opposing defenses to their breaking point. This was a team that dropped 96 on Marquette and walked into Mackey Arena to beat Purdue in a high-speed shootout.
But then came the Round of 64.
The 83-82 loss to #12-seeded High Point was a cold shower for a program that thought it had finally modernized its way into a deep March run. The “Five-Out” offense that made the Badgers elite also made them thin. A team that let it fly from deep all season long attempted just 23 threes, hitting just nine.
As we head into the 2026 offseason, here is a blueprint for Greg Gard and the Wisconsin basketball program.
1. The Retention Priority: Keeping the Core
The transfer portal ‘officially’ opens on A pril 7th. Rest assured, there is plenty of tampering being done before that. Wisconsin’s first win of the offseason must happen in the locker room, not the portal. Retention will be the name of the game; lock up the core nucleus of the remaining players.
John Blackwell: After another solid season for Blackwell, where he averaged 19.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game, he is a candidate for high-level NIL poaching. If Blackwell opts to stay in college another year, keeping him in Madison for his final year is the #1 priority to run it back for his senior campaign.
Nolan Winter: Winter has become a 7-foot unicorn. The double-double machine was an underrated part of the Badgers this season because he wasn’t scoring 20+ points like Nick Boyd or John Blackwell on any given night. The staff must ensure he sees the Kohl Center as the best place to finalize his NBA resume.
The Freshmen Core: Freshmen Zach Kinziger, Hayden Jones, and Will Garlock showed enough flash this year to suggest they will likely be a part of the rotation next season. In the age of the portal, you cannot afford to lose your homegrown developmental wins.
2. Transfer Portal Strategy
In the full article below, we dive into the Badgers need in the transfe portal and 2027 recruiting targets that Greg Gard MUST land to secure the program’s future, plus a look at the “Legacy” recruit gaining national steam.
