Wisconsin men's basketball coach Greg Gard has added 3 players from the transfer portal. Here's what he likes about each of them.
MADISON – Speaking before the seventh annual Garding Against Cancer event Friday at the Kohl Center, Wisconsin coach Greg Gard provided updates on UW’s recent recruiting efforts.
The Badgers landed three transfers in a span of eight days – guard Camren Hunter (Central Arkansas), forward Xavier Amos (Northern Illinois) and guard John Tonje (Colorado State/Missouri).
Select comments from Gard follow.
Greg Gard’s staff began working on the transfer portal shortly after the team returned home from the NCAA Tournament
“It started when we set wheels down coming back from Brooklyn,” Gard said. “I brought the team into our locker room and met with them. We knew what was going on. We knew the transfer portal was open.
“We knew AJ (Storr) might want to test the NBA draft waters. We knew there was likely somebody on the outside talking to somebody on the inside. The tampering is real. The poaching is real. I’m not going to pretend like it doesn’t exist.”
UW eventually lost four scholarship players. Storr went to Kansas; Chucky Hepburn went to Louisville; Connor Essegian went to Nebraska; and Gus Yalden, who redshirted last season, went to Seton Hall.
“There hasn’t been a day off since we got back from Brooklyn," Gard said. "We went right from the bus to our locker room and it has been full-go since then.
"The assistants did a phenomenal job. Our upstairs board room was like NFL draft headquarters some days. Everybody was flying in 10 different directions and we’re watching film."
Greg Gard provides a mini scouting report on each of the team's three new transfers
Tonje started 46 games and played in 122 at Colorado State. He was limited to eight games last season at Missouri because of a foot injury.
Tonje shot 37.2% from three-point range, 45.2% overall and 81.0% from the free-throw line at Colorado State.
He averaged 14.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in his final season at Colorado State.
“I went back and really watched – as did our staff – a lot from Colorado State,” Gard said. “And that really showed me what he could do at a high level. That was convincing.”
Hunter starred in his first two seasons at Central Arkansas before sitting out last season because of a foot injury.
He averaged 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists in his first two seasons.
“You go back and watch his freshman and sophomore film and how good a player he was right out of the game in that league,” Gard said. “And we (talked) to coaches in that league, too, and asked them what they thought. We got all glowing reviews that he was definitely a Big Ten player.”
Amos averaged 13.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game and shot 38.5% from three-point range last season at Northern Illinois.
“He has tremendous upside,” Gard said. “He has got a lot raw ability at that size and that length. That is exciting. And the ball comes out of his hand like you teach it. He can really shoot it.”
John Tonje and Xavier Amos had connections to Wisconsin
Before Max Klesmit transferred to UW, he played two seasons at Wofford. One of the visits he took after entering the transfer portal was to Colorado State.
His host for the visit? Tonje.
“That is the connection,” Gard said. “So. when John was deciding what to do, he called Max. And Max gave him a reference. Obviously, Max said: ‘You’ve got to come here.’”
Mission accomplished.
According to Gard, Amos’ stepfather received two degrees from UW. When he was an undergraduate, he shared the campus with UW players Rashard Griffith, Tracy Webster and Howard Moore.
“There was a quick connection there,” Gard said, “a lot of names that connected and gave everybody a lot of comfort.”
Can John Tonje, Camren Hunter and Xavier Amos make the transition from smaller programs to the Big Ten?
"I don’t like the term low major and mid major," Gard said. "Because with the portal, throw that out the window. I mean, there are just so many good players in so many players."
Gard pointed to Klesmit who has started all 69 games he has played in his two seasons at UW. Klesmit, a graduate of Neenah High School, got valuable experience at Wofford before returning home.
"Max Klesmit coming out of Neenah High School wasn’t ready for this," he said. "Max Klesmit after two years at Wofford was ready for this.
"There is a developmental piece. They go and get a chance to play vs. maybe (being) the 14th or 15th guy and sit on the end of the bench and take a little longer to develop. They can go and play and get game experience."
Greg Gard hopes Wisconsin can land one more transfer
“We have one scholarship left,” Gard said. “The guys that have volleyed back and forth from walk-on status to scholarship status have varied through the years. We’re in position now where we are able to use one more…
“I’d like to create more depth, specifically on our front line.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin basketball coach Greg Gard discusses three new transfers
