Down 2 Starters in the Frontcourt, Badgers Backups Made 'Tremendous Strides' This Offseason

Wisconsin basketball is set to return one of the most experienced and dangerous frontcourt duos in the country with Nolan Winter and Austin Rapp.

The problem for the Badgers with the season less than a month out? Neither got anything close to substantial practice time this offseason.

With Winter battling an ankle injury and Rapp dealing with a hand injury, and both forwards receiving offseason surgery for their respective ailments, Wisconsin's offseason practices were largely without the Badgers' two starting big men.

That led to exponentially more opportunities for rising sophomore Will Garlock and Hofstra transfer Victory Onuetu, both of whom figure to play key roles as the top forwards off the bench for Wisconsin.

“I think they were good for each other. Without having Nolan and Austin throughout the summer, it forced those two to be on the floor a lot. There were days where they didn’t come off. They just stayed out through the whole practice, and they obviously had to be on opposite teams," head coach Greg Gard said at the Badgers' local media day.

Garlock, Onuetu thrust into the spotlight.

Winter and Rapp are obviously critical pieces to Wisconsin's 2026-27 squad. Winter, a member of the preseason All-Big Ten team, is coming off a career year as a junior in which he averaged 13.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 blocks on 57/33/74 shooting splits. The latter averaged 9.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists, and became an especially crucial player for the Badgers down the stretch, shooting 43% from distance on 6.2 attempts per game of the final two months of the season.

But Garlock and Onuetu are going to be big for Wisconsin as well this season, especially defensively. The latter, in particular, specializes as a hyper-athletic rebounder and shot-blocker while Garlock's size at 7-foot, 243 pounds makes him a force to be reckoned with down low.

Former Hofstra Pride forward Victory Onuetu. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“They’re both very competitive in different ways. Victory is very outwardly spoken, emotional. That’s some of his descent of being from Spain and Europe and how he plays with emotion. And I think that’s been good for Will. Because they’ve each challenged each other to the point of, we haven’t crossed the line, but we’ve come close in practice…the evolution of those two has been impressive to watch, because they’re both much better than they were," Gard continued. "They locked horns all summer long.”

The Badgers have stressed size and defense this offseason as they look to right the wrongs of last year's team that was loaded with individual talent but melted down defensively in a stunning loss to High Point in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Garlock and Onuetu are a big part of Wisconsin's size and defense, and Winter and Rapp's injuries were their chance to take big strides this offseason.

By all accounts, that's exactly what transpired. With Winter and Rapp both question marks for the Badgers' first exhibition game against UW Parkside on Saturday, they'll get a chance to display the work they've put in this summer.

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