Projecting Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball rotation after busy offseason of transfers

The frontcourt of Rapp and Winter oozes offensive potential, but they will still need to figure out their individual roles on offense, and they bring some concerns about how well they'll hold up on defense.

Assuming they maintain a comparable offensive scheme to last season, it would make sense to use Winter in Steven Crowl’s role. Crowl served as the primary screener and a high-post distributor.

Winter likely won’t match Crowl’s passing ability, but he should fare better than Rapp as a roller and downhill threat. The Portland transfer should also provide a quality catch-and-shoot option who can beat over-aggressive closeouts off the dribble.

On defense, neither possesses an idea frame to guard Big Ten centers. Winter has been frequently displaced by opposing bigs over the last two seasons. While he occasionally overcame poor positioning with his length, it’s not something Wisconsin should be relying upon.

Rapp, although shorter, may have a better frame to wall up in back-to-basket situations. Winter is the front runner to guard the five position, but it’ll be an interesting storyline to watch early in the season.

Bench (in order):

Jack Janicki
Braeden Carrington
Elijah Gray
Riccardo Greppi
Zach Kinziger

Janicki is the only non-starter on the team who played consistent minutes last year for the Badgers. That pencils him in as the sixth man. His hustle, defense and enthusiasm quickly made him a fan favorite. The problem is that Janicki shot 27 percent from deep and 33 percent on free throws with occasional lapses as an on-ball defender.

Carrington has a similar skill set. The Tulsa transfer is the more proven of the two, and he could eat into Janicki’s minutes in a sizable bench role. 

Frontcourt depth is a big question mark. Greppi didn’t play as a true freshman, but he has an excellent frame and ball skills, which should be enough to carve out a rotation spot.

Like Carrington, Gray is a veteran who proved to be a solid rotation player at the mid-major level. His expectations shouldn't be too high, but his experience and physical development make him the best of the few options.

It will be difficult for any of the four incoming freshmen to be a regular in the rotation, but Kinziger is in the best position. He is an elite shooting prospect with good feel for the game and a developed-enough frame to compete on Day 1. 

Reserves

Aleksas Bieliauskas
Hayden Jones
Will Garlock
Isaac Gard
Jack Robison

Bieliauskas and Jones have each put together some impressive performances while playing for their respective national teams in FIBA events, but they both have clear weaknesses that could prevent them from seeing the floor as freshmen.

A year focused on skill development and processing speed would benefit Garlock as well, although he recently drew praise from assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft for his size and athleticism.

Robison didn’t seem physically ready for action last season. With Janicki and Carrington ahead of him, minutes will be hard to come by for the second-year wing. As for Isaac Gard, he should remain a reserve who could knock down some shots when games are out of reach.

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