Three Hot Takes as Wisconsin Basketball Tips Off Summer Practices

Wisconsin basketball is back at it.

Summer practices officially started on Monday, June 15, as the Badgers welcome seven new players into their facility (with an eighth still waiting on his Visa to be approved).

There's no shortage of new faces from every walk of life — the high school ranks, the transfer portal and overseas. As such, there's no shortage of storylines this offseason as Wisconsin looks to finally snap its Sweet 16 drought.

With the Badgers back on the hardwood this summer, here's three hot takes marinating in my mind about Greg Gard's squad ahead of 2026-27:

Back on the hardwood pic.twitter.com/tiwI2ZCr9V
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) June 18, 2026

1. Owen Foxwell will be the Badgers' best facilitator in years

South East Melbourne Phoenix guard Owen Foxwell. | NBL

In the above tweet, you can see Foxwell executing a silky-smooth pass over his head. Yes, it's a two-second clip in a heavily edited 30-second video about Wisconsin's first practice of the summer, but it gives you a glimpse of what kind of player Foxwell can be, and what he brings to the table with his experience having spent the better part of five seasons in Australia's NBL.

Wisconsin is obviously going to miss star point guard Nick Boyd, and it'll certainly be a tall order to ask Foxwell to replicate his scoring output (over 20 points per game). But in terms of passing and facilitation, Foxwell should be the best the Badgers have had in years. Last season, he notched 4.5 assists per game in the NBL and when you watch his highlights, it's clear the 22-year old understands how to set up his teammates and manipulate defenses.

2. Wisconsin is significantly deeper at guard

Wisconsin guard Zach Kinziger. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Last season, Wisconsin had at five guards that played at least 15 minutes per game. Look at its roster for 2026-27, and you could feasibly see seven players with that kind of trust from the coaching staff.

The projected starting backcourt looks like Foxwell at point guard, George Washington transfer Trey Autry at the two and Miami University transfer Eian Elmer at the wing/three. That still leaves plenty of players who figure to deserve minutes off the bench.

Jack Janicki was good for 16.5 minutes per game last season, and he figures to have a role once again. It's reasonable to expect Hayden Jones and Zach Kinziger to take a leap heading into their sophomore seasons, and both looked quite promising at times last season. Then there's the New Zealander freshman Jackson Ball, who is considered one of the top incoming international players in the Big Ten. He figures to be difficult to keep off the court too.

We'll have to see where everyone is at in their development by the time the season tips off, especially the youngsters. But overall, Wisconsin should have better backcourt depth in 2026-27.

3. Individual creation still a concern

Wisconsin Badgers head coach Greg Gard and Nick Boyd. | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

This could just be a byproduct of Wisconsin having two guards last season that were incredibly skilled in creating offense for themselves. But looking at the Badgers' roster, I don't see nearly as much individual creation for 2026-27.

The Badgers hope Elmer, who certainly has the shooting skill and athleticism to create for himself, can develop into that slasher off the wing that pressures the rim while creating open looks from deep. Foxwell also has a nifty bag of moves and can certainly provide some instant offense. Otherwise, I'm not so sure how much isolation scoring talent is on this team.

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