Wisconsin men's basketball adds second transfer in two days
MADISON – Wisconsin coach Greg Gard and his assistants continue to use the transfer portal to retool the roster, which lost five scholarship players after last season.
Xavier Amos, a sweet-shooting forward who played two seasons at Northern Illinois, announced Monday he is transferring to UW.
That announcement came one day after Central Arkansas guard Camren Hunter committed to UW. Amos took visits to Virginia and UW.
Amos, 6-foot-8 and 215 pounds, should help fill the void created by the departure of Tyler Wahl, who played five seasons at UW.
Although Wahl was a terrific defender and rebounder and a dependable post presence, his season-high mark for three-point shooting was just 29.4%. Amos can score around the basket, but his No. 1 asset offensively is the ability to shoot from the perimeter.
"We are really excited to welcome Xavier Amos to the Badger family," Gard said. "His size and skillset are very versatile, and we are excited about what he can do both on the offensive end and the defensive end."
Amos showed significant progress as a sophomore.
After averaging 3.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in seven games as a freshman, Amos moved into the Huskies' starting lineup last season.
He started 25 games and averaged 13.8 points and 5.8 rebounds Of his 260 field-goal attempts, 140 were from three-point range. He converted 38.5% of those attempts and shot 49.6% overall.
How did he fare against teams outside the Mid-American Conference?
Amos contributed eight points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals in the Huskies' 92-70 loss to Marquette in November.
He had 12 points, six rebounds and three steals in a 90-67 loss to Indiana State, which reached the title game of the NIT.
Perhaps Amos' best overall performance in nonconference play came in an 89-67 loss at Northwestern.
Amos hit 11 of 15 shots, including 4 of 5 three-pointers, and finished with 26 points and seven rebounds.
Amos was a standout player at Chicago’s Whitney Young High School before signing with Northern Illinois. He averaged 18 points, nine rebounds and four blocks as a senior to help his team to the Chicago Public League title and a runner-up finish in the Illinois Class 4A tournament.
UW hopes to add at least one more transfer this spring. Guard John Tonje, who played at Colorado State and Missouri and is a grad transfer, is expected to visit UW Tuesday.
A commitment from Tonje would give UW a trio of solid transfers.
"After meeting with Xavier and his family, we know this is a great fit for our program," Gard added. "Being from Chicago, he also has familiarity with Badger basketball. We feel that Xavier will blend right in with our culture and our vision."
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Northern Illinois' Xavier Amos transferring to Wisconsin
