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Storr was a star.
Tonje was a terror.
Boyd was a blur.
In each of the past three seasons, the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team has evolved around a transfer player whose impact was undeniable in its success.
From AJ Storr to John Tonje to Nick Boyd, they had an influential role in helping shape the identity of the Badgers through the strength of their own game and personalities.
Whether it was the 6-foot 7-inch Storr, the 6-5 Tonje or the 6-1 Boyd, they were the leading scorers on their respective teams during their one and only season in a Wisconsin uniform.
Boyd and Tonje used up their college eligibility after starring on UW teams that won 24 and 27 games before losing in the first and second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Storr has committed to a fifth college program (UNLV) in five years to go along with the five different prep schools and academies he attended on his journey.
For now, Storr is ineligible because a Tennessee Court of Appeals stayed a temporary injunction that had previously granted Storr and 17 other players a fifth year of eligibility.
For now, Braeden Carrington is eligible and returning for his fifth year at Wisconsin. Carrington is in a group of over 70 players who filed class-action lawsuits in California.
In August, these male and female athletes were granted a temporary restraining order for that fifth year. But it’s a fluid situation for the graduating high school class of 2022.
The next hearing in the California case is Sept. 29.
“We’re preparing that it could be somewhat of a roller coaster through the year as the courts continue to arm wrestle over this,” said UW coach Greg Gard.
“It could move back and forth as we go through the early season. Everybody is just guessing where this is going. All we’re doing is operating in the state we know is current.”
On how Carrington has dealt with the uncertainty, Gard said, “He’s been terrific. He worked out with us all summer. He’s been present. He wants to be here.
“But he knows a lot of it is out of our control and his control. So, you just ride with the wave. You get into coaching because you’re in education. Now you need a law degree.”
Wisconsin guard Braeden Carrington talks to coach Greg Gard during free throws against Minnesota in their January 2026 game at the Kohl Center.
OWEN ZILIAK / WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL
New roster, ‘wired different’
The Badgers will report to practice on Sept. 23 with a reshaped roster made up of three transfers, five freshmen and seven returnees, including Carrington, from last season.
“Even with the pre-portal era, every team always takes on a different personality,” Gard asserted. “You have to develop the identity in that said year.
“If you try to copy cat or duplicate what was done in the previous year, you’re fooling yourself because this team is different, this team is built a little different.”
With four players 6-10 and taller, he said, “This team will really utilize tremendous size and depth of that size. We have exceptional depth across the board.
“How does it all play out knowing you can’t play all 11 or 12 of them? That’s what is going to work itself out as we go through the next month or month and one-half.”
On whether this UW team will feature a different style than last season’s team, Gard conceded, “Nick Boyd obviously brought a certain style of play to us.
“Not only are we much bigger and have more power in the paint on both ends of the floor, but we’re also wired different in the backcourt.
“Boyd brought a level of pace to us. You’re always trying to increase pace. But he was a one-man fastbreak at times. There was a roll of the dice there…
“Many times that worked in our favor.
“And sometimes it didn’t.”
Averaging 20.7 points, Boyd was the third-leading scorer in the Big Ten and the first UW player to average 20 or more since Michael Finley in 1995.
Offensively, as a team, the Badgers ranked third in the Big Ten, averaging 83 points, the third highest mark in school history and the most in 55 years at Wisconsin.
Complementing Boyd in the backcourt was 6-4 junior guard John Blackwell, who averaged 19 points and has since transferred to Duke.
Wisconsin Badgers guard Nick Boyd (2) shoots a three-pointer against Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the first half of a game at the Kohl Center in Madison on Jan. 17, 2026.
AMBER ARNOLD / WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL
Although Boyd had a scoring mentality, he still had a team-high 149 assists. Among those vying now at point guard will be 6-2 Owen Foxwell from Melbourne, Australia.
The 23-year-old Foxwell has played the last five seasons with the Melbourne Phoenix in the Australian NBL, the country’s top professional league.
“Foxwell, I would say, is more of a distributor, more of a passer,” Gard said. “He understands the angles of screens and making plays for others, the set-ups.
“He’s got a tremendous amount of experience (as a pro). Nick Boyd played to his strengths and Owen is going to have to play to his.”
Winter, Rapp ‘up and running’
Nolan Winter and Austin Rapp both had off-season procedures and Gard said, “Everybody is up and running and it depends on how much contact people can have.”
While the 7-foot Winter and the 6-10 Rapp were rehabbing, 7-foot sophomore Will Garlock and 6-11 transfer Victory Onuetu benefited by receiving more practice reps.
“They rarely came off the floor,” Gard said. “It allowed them to compete against each other because they were head-to-head every single day and it pushed both of them.
“What Garlock and Onueto give us are two lob threats on ball screens and the ability to play above the rim and play really fast with a big man in transition. Both can run all day.”
This UW team will obviously look different.
“It was intentional,” said Gard, who’s entering his 12th season as UW’s head coach. “You just look at the game and how the game continues to evolve, the trends.
“Look at last season’s Final Four teams — Michigan, UConn, Arizona and Illinois — all had tremendous size. That’s just where the game is trending. Size is at a premium right now.
“How we play requires it. This is the first time we’ll have 5’s (centers) who really fit the rolling, lob threats, that type of thing that maybe we haven’t had in the past.
“I’m excited to see how it comes together because there are a lot of unknowns. The pieces are really good. But we’ve got to get those pieces to be in harmony together.
“There’s a lot of people that are going to be vying for the minutes.”
Wisconsin men’s basketball players Victory Onuetu, left, and Austin Rapp, right, workout together on Bascom Hill on Sept. 16, 2026, in Madison.
NILE MCNAIR / BADGER EXTRA
Last season, the Badgers took 1,131 shots from beyond the 3-point line and made a Big Ten record 409. They averaged nearly 12 triples per game to rank fourth in the NCAA.
“We’re still going to shoot a lot of them,” Gard promised of the 3-point shooting. “We’re built somewhat similar on the perimeter, minus the speed of Nick Boyd.”
A year ago, Wisconsin had four wins against opponents ranked in the Top 10 matching a program high. Among the highlights were upsets of Michigan and Illinois.
The backcourt leaders were Boyd and Blackwell, who combined to average 40 points while Andrew Rohde and Aleksas Bieliauskas generally rounded out the starting lineup.
All have moved on.
Letting leaders emerge
Who will be this year’s leaders?
“You lean on experience and then over the course of time — as we go through the journey — the leaders will emerge,” said the 55-year-old Gard.
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“I never want to anoint somebody a leader because you have to earn that label. It has to happen organically for it to be really good. And it will … and already is.
“I let that grow on its own. You water it a little bit where you need to. You throw a little fertilizer on it if you need to. But it’s got to grow on its own.”
The Badgers will open Big Ten play on Dec. 1 at Northwestern. The next two league matchups, Purdue and Illinois, will be at the Kohl Center.
“I’m really conscious of the big picture and the long haul,” Gard said, “and obviously we’re trying to get a couple of guys back to complete full-go in Winter and Rapp.
“I have to hold myself back at times from trying to do too much too early. Time is on our side, and I want to be smart about how we navigate through it.”
Gard stressed, “Not jumping into deep water too soon, and making sure they’re physically acclimated to the pace and things that are going to come with this.”
Things like an identity.