Wisconsin star guard John Blackwell announced on Wednesday afternoon that he will be returning to Madison for his junior season, officially withdrawing his name from the NBA draft. This is major news for the Badgers, who couldn’t afford to lose such an important rotation piece this late in the year.
Blackwell returns to anchor a backcourt that also features former Florida Atlantic and San Diego State guard Nick Boyd. Boyd joins the program with tons of NCAA Tournament experience, including a Final Four run with the FAU Owls in 2023. In addition to those two, Wisconsin added the likes of Virginia guard Andrew Rohde, who returns to his home state for his final year of college basketball, and Austin Rapp, a big man with a ton of potential and a high ceiling from beyond the arc. These major additions, along with Tulsa transfer Braeden Carrington and Lithuanian forward Aleksas Bieliauskas, have fans excited for Wisconsin’s 2025-26 team.
With Blackwell’s return official, here are the three biggest takeaways from the news.
Blackwell had less urgency to enter the draft, thanks to NIL
John Blackwell will be making a large sum of money next season as compensation for returning and playing for the Badgers. In fact, there is a good chance that the salary he will be making as a Badger is higher than the salary he could’ve made as a late second-round draft pick in the NBA draft. This proves that NIL, among other factors such as the transfer portal, are convincing college stars to return to school both to continue their collegiate legacies, but also because there is no reason to rush the draft process. Amateurs are allowed to make money while attending college, which makes players less urgent to declare for the draft and begin their professional careers.
Expect this trend to continue for the next couple of years and for it to positively benefit teams like Wisconsin, which thrive on multi-year talents rather than one-year additions.
Wisconsin’s backcourt will be much deeper in 2025-26
Wisconsin’s backcourt last season featured its two star players in John Tonje and John Blackwell. However, it was a top-heavy rotation. There seemed to be a fair amount of stagnation on offense when both of those players were off the floor.
Thanks to an increased budget for NIL and aggressiveness in the portal, head coach Greg Gard and his staff will have a surplus of talent at guard in 2025-2026, with Blackwell, Boyd, Rohde, Janicki, Carrington, and even freshman four-star Zach Kinziger, forming the rotation. That group is a lot deeper than the past few seasons and can help the Badgers find success later in March — a stage during which the team has struggled dating back to 2017. It’s a common thought that good guard play wins in March. The Badgers can certainly enforce that sentiment during this upcoming season.
Expect big seasons from juniors John Blackwell and Nolan Winter
Wisconsin’s many transfer portal additions have benefited two players above all others: John Blackwell and Nolan Winter. Blackwell can return to a traditional shooting guard role thanks to the addition of point guard Nick Boyd, who slots in as the starting point guard. That will allow Blackwell to focus on becoming a better offensive player and an improved defender.
Nolan Winter will also benefit from the additions of Boyd, Rapp, and Rohde, as a big man like Rapp can help take pressure off him on the defensive end. Meanwhile, strong facilitators in Rohde and Boyd will help Winter establish himself as a larger threat in the paint. If all goes according to plan, Blackwell and Winter are both due for big junior seasons in Madison.
Wisconsin is trending towards being one of the best teams in both the Big Ten and the nation next season. A big year for both the players and the coaching staff would set the program up well for the future, hopefully first with a deep NCAA Tournament run.
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