Impact Badgers: Big 6-Foot-10 Wisconsin Basketball Addition Set to Fill Stretch Role

Austin Rapp, a native of Melbourne, Australia, spent this past season with the Portland Pilots while making the move over to the United States. Rapp is an experienced player who stands in at 6-feet-10-inches, and roughly 235-pounds which creates a potentially formidable frame to build upon.

Now, the Badgers are aiming to push Rapp to take another leap with a hefty role and even stronger competition within the Big Ten Conference.

The first step for the Wisconsin basketball staff has been getting Rapp in Madison shape, which can be seen with current and former players such as Nolan Winter and Kamari McGee. Winter and McGee both drastically altered their frames to coincide with the role each player had on the court. Rapp is certainly a weigh gain candidate as the Badgers want the big-man to keep his speed and agility while becoming stronger on the court.

What Could Austin Rapp Offer the Wisconsin Basketball Team on the Court?

On the court, Rapp is an intriguing player who is still rather raw but a great player for the Wisconsin basketball staff to mold moving forward.

Last season, Rapp shot 39.7% from the floor while averaging 13.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game. The big-man is a three-point specialist, however, averaging 7.6 attempts per game while shooting 35.2% from downtown. Rapp averaged 3.4 two-point shots per game and did the majority of his two-point work in the paint for the Pilots.

On defense, the talented big-man is a capable defender who makes up for a lack of skill with high energy play. Rapp is still developing and adjusting and defense is an area that often takes players longer to adjust to, but Rapp already has a great base. The big-man recorded impressive blocks last season and could blossom further on defense with the right positioning practice.

Rapp might not be the most accomplished long-range shooter on the court, but what the big-man lacks in accuracy he makes up for in confidence and skill. Rapp is a versatile three-point shooter who can throw up a shot off-dribble, off the catch/inbound, and even in roll and pop scenarios. The big-man struggles with finding the bottom of the net at times, but when Rapp is confident the center is difficult to stop.

Outside of his shooting capabilities and tendencies, Rapp can add a certain level of versatility to the offense that matches what Crowl had previously achieved.

Many Wisconsin basketball fans have long eyed having a physical big-man that hammers home vicious dunks, but the reality is that the Badgers offense does not call for such a player. Rather, the offense requires a flexible big-man who can pass, score at all three levels, and rebound effectively.

Rapp is a capable passer who has both impressive vision with or without the basketball, leading to some sneaky plays that catch the opposing defense off-guard. For the Pilots, Rapp was the premier outside scoring option which led to an inflated amount of attempts that almost certainly will go down with Wisconsin. Moving forward, the center will still find himself around the perimeter but likely as a distributor and a backup scoring option.