Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Wisconsin Basketball Announces Key Jack Janicki Decision

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Kedrick Stumbris | Last updated Apr 5, 2025 10:14 PM ET

Madison, WI - With a consequential decision by Jack Janicki looming, the Wisconsin basketball backcourt was getting thinner by the hour this week. Departures by guards have come from every typical reason you can think of.

This year, Max Klesmit, John Tonje, and Kamari McGee exhausted their NCAA eligibility. Those three veterans combined for over 44% of the Badgers' scoring this season.

After the seniors' departures, John Blackwell is slated for a huge step forward. While he may return to UW, he declared for the NBA Draft after leading Wisconsin with 31.2 minutes per game.

Add in Daniel Freitag, Camren Hunter, and Aidan Konop's departures via the transfer portal, and the question of Janicki's return to Madison loomed large.

That is, until the White Bear Lake, Minnesota native answered that question on Instagram.

Jack Janicki Announces His Return to Wisconsin Basketball

After a redshirt year, Janicki broke out for the Badgers this season. In his Big Ten conference play debut, he only played five minutes against the Michigan Wolverines. However, by the end of the regular season, Janicki had earned his keep. The guard earned double-digit minutes in UW's final seven regular season contests.

Not only did Janicki take a redshirt season before his time came, he also entered the program as a preferred walk-on. In the era of NIL and the transfer portal, he may have sought a more lucrative opportunity elsewhere, but Janicki announced Friday that he was staying in Madison.

Jack Janicki has gone the Instagram route to announce his return to the #Badgers. pic.twitter.com/blNCShDYwh
— Kedrick Stumbris (@KedrickStumbris) April 4, 2025

Janicki captioned an Instagram post, "Grass is greener where you water it," alongside an image of himself in a Wisconsin basketball uniform overlayed with text reading "I'm back."

At 6-foot-5, Janicki averaged 1.9 points, 0.8 assists, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.4 steals in 11.4 minutes per game. Although his shooting numbers left something to be desired in his first season of college basketball action, Janicki looks forward to further developing his game.

The White Bear Lake High School product is committed to "continue development every day, every game, every practice, being focused," and that "usually takes care of everything," he told AllBadgers at the NCAA Tournament.

"As I continue to play here and be a Badger, and develop as a sophomore, junior senior, those things will continue to apply in terms of everyday effort, and coachability, and natural improvement."

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: