Austin Rapp rebounds a ball with his right hand. He is in the college basketball transfer portal after one season at Portland
Wisconsin basketball was slated alongside a slew of other Big Ten teams after hosting the forward on a visit
The past two seasons, Wisconsin basketball head coach Greg Gard has found his team’s leading scorer in the college basketball transfer portal. After AJ Storr portaled again and John Tonje exhausted his eligibility, Gard is hoping to hit on another transfer.
So far, the Wisconsin Badgers have only lost players to the transfer portal. After one season in Madison each, guards Camren Hunter and Daniel Freitag are seeking other opportunities. However, it is not just depth in his backcourt that Gard needs to fill.
The Badgers have a seven-foot hole in the frontcourt. Veteran starting center Steven Crowl’s 25.6 minutes per game will have to be filled. Plus, Wisconsin needs to find some way to replace Carter Gilmore’s steady presence at forward off the bench.
The first step in rebuilding Wisconsin’s frontcourt may not be far away, as a standout prospect in the portal announced his top-five schools on Tuesday.
Transfer Portal Center Austin Rapp Includes Wisconsin Basketball in Top Five
Austin Rapp is a highly-coveted prospect after his one season in the West Coast Conference. As a freshman at Portland, he averaged 13.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. While the sheer volume was impressive, it was how Rapp compiled those numbers that may have played an even bigger role in earning him the WCC Freshman of the Year Award.
On 236 attempts, Rapp shot 35.2% from three. The All-WCC Second-Team honoree’s ability to stretch the floor and create mismatches changes the way defenses have to play. Rapp connected on three or more shots from deep 14 times his freshman year, including two games in which he connected on six three-pointers.
As Wisconsin basketball looks to replace Crowl, a career 36.3% shooter from beyond the arc, Rapp may be a perfect fit. Following a visit to Madison, the Badgers received encouraging news.
In a social media post, Rapp announced that he has narrowed down his recruitment to five schools. The Melbourne, Australia native will play his next season of college basketball with the Wisconsin Badgers, Michigan Wolverines, Iowa Hawkeyes, Oregon Ducks, or Clemson Tigers.
In a conversation with All Badgers before the 2024-25 season, Wisconsin basketball assistant coach Kirk Penney said that in UW’s overhauled offense, the Badgers “are really trying to spread the floor, create as much spacing as possible, giving guys the opportunity to drive if they want to, a lot of room for the bigs to roll without having too much help, and also having players that can shoot the ball.”
With that offensive philosophy in mind, it is easy to envision Rapp in the Gard-Penney offense.
At 6-foot-10-inches, 230-pounds, Rapp can complement rising junior Nolan Winter, another capable shooter, in the frontcourt on high-low actions, in addition to rotating minutes at center. Good things happen when Rapp tries getting to the rim, as he connected on 81.5% of his 92 attempts from the free-throw line last season – including a perfect ten-for-ten performance against the Washington State Cougars.
Rapp can play inside and out on both ends of the floor. A willing rim protector, he totaled 45 blocks in 31 games. No Badger has recorded a block per game since Nate Reuvers swatted away 1.3 per contest in the 2020-21 season.
Wisconsin basketball guard Daniel Freitag lifts his arms in the air to defend the lane
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